PennHip vs OFA for hip testing: Which is better and more accurate?

This is an online question and answer service and not associated with a clinic. What you will need is a clinic that can take xrays and submit them to ofa for review. It is best to find a vet that has experience with taking these xrays as they need to be appropriately taken. You could go to the ofa website (www.ofa.org) for more information. Your best bet is calling some local clinics in your area for availability and pricing. I hope this helps and thank you for using PetCoach!

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Sorry to hear that Nina has this issue. Hip replacement is always the best option if they are determined to be a good anesthetic candidate. The surgery is very commonly done and while all surgery is painful, in the long run it is the best option. If you ask human patients how they feel after hip replacement surgery, the vast majority will say they wish they had done it sooner as they feel so much better. That being said, typically dogs will still need some type of pain medication/anti-inflammatories after surgery, definitely short term but maybe even long term. There is no way to know this ahead of time. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

It is best to get a dog from a breeder that has breeding stock that is OFA certified. Whether or not the vet checks, shots, dewormer are included is up to you. Any dog, but especially a GSD, with hip dysplasia is going to cost you a lot of money and the dog a lot of pain. Go with the OFA tested parents regardless of the price.

I agree with the doctor who said the x-rays were not positioned properly. In order to obtain really diagnostic quality hip x-rays, the patience should be fully sedated. Without being able to bend the hips all the way downward, you simply can not obtain completely accurate results. Depending on the current clinical picture, I might possible recommend starting medication. Joint supplementation definitely can't hurt, but starting an NSAID at this early of an age is not advisable unless there is clear and obvious discomfort / inflammatory pain. Hope this helps!

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach The British Veterinary Association (BVA) uses a scoring system where each hip is evaluated and assigned points based on degree 9 criteria of hip dysplasia in each hip. Each hip is then scored independently and given a number from 0 (best) to 53 (worst). So, a dog may get a total value from 0 to 106, with lower scores being better. A "good" score is anything lower than the breed average, which can fluctuate a bit over time. The current average score for German Shepherds is 18, so anything lower than 18 is a better-than-average score. (Of course, the average is only taking into account those dogs who have been submitted to receive a score, which I would expect to be better than the population at large, since the dogs being submitted are generally those being shown or bred). If your paperwork is indicating that one of your pup's parents received a total of 6 and the other a 3, I would consider those very good scores. Alternatively, it might be indicating that one of those dogs received a 6 in one hip and a 3 in the other hip, for a total of 9...which would still be well below (and therefore better than) the breed average. Either way, I'd say those look like good scores. :-) Hope this helps!

Hip scores range from 0 to 106 and the lower the score the better. So 0/0 and 7/3 are very good scores. Here is good information on the respective health tests from the UK Kennel Club. https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/services/public/glossary/health-tests.aspx This will help you in making your decision.

Hi there, It's great to hear that the puppy's parents have good OFA certifications! This is the best predictive factor we currently have for good orthopedic health. I do not know of any direct size correlation with orthopedic disease and size. The bone density should be the same either way. The best things you can do to keep any dog from having orthopedic disease over time is appropriate exercise (swimming is great!), keeping the dog lean, and feeding a high quality diet made for large breed dogs. Royal Canin is my personal favorite brand, and they make a diet specifically for German Shepherd health. I would avoid anything marketed as "grain free" or "raw" as these are linked with many nutritional disorders, many of which can be orthopedic related. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.