Opinions concerning PennHip and OFA hip/elbow evaluations

I decided to go with PennHip on Drago because of the latest evidence showing PennHip to be more sensitive than OFA, breed specific, and you can have them done at an earlier age. Here's some information about a study coming to press this fall:

New longitudinal research following canines throughout their lifetimes comparing OFA to PennHIP will be published this fall showing that PennHIP evaluations are about 6 times (on average) more sensitive than OFA. There are over 62,000 animals in the "breed specific" PennHIP database Beyond the normal OFA x-ray, PennHIP does 2-views of the hip undergoing stress (inward and outward). They measure hip laxity or distraction index (DI) when the hips are subjected to outward pressure. PennHIP can be done on animals as young as 16 weeks old, and can now be posted on a dog's OFA - CHIC record.

In general DIs of less than 0.3 [the higher the number the worse the hip] are considered to have "no radiographic evidence of hip dysplasia or DJD." The PennHIP radiographic study is a measurement of hip joint laxity (distraction index) which has been scientifically proven to be a more sensitive predictor of DJD. It should NOT be interpreted as a rating (pass or fail, fair, good, excellent) hip score nor should the DI measured early in life be considered the score for the dog's lifetime of wear and tear on the hip joints. Thus, PennHIP recommends repeat studies at 4 to 5 years and then again around 9 to provide a lifetime average for your dog. These follow up radiographs are not only important for the health of your doberman but provides valuable data to maintain this excellent "breed specific" database. To locate a veterinarian certified to perform PennHIP radiographs or for more information on PennHIP see: http://www.pennhip.org.

I am happy to report that Drago (Katoba's Fire Roller) scored DIs of 0.24 (right hip) and 0.28 (left hip) measured at just under 16 months of age which placed him in the 80th percentile of the dobermans currently listed in the database. In other words, his hips are tighter than 80 percent of the doberman sample. The median DI (50th percentile) for dobermans was 0.35 at the time Drago was measured. The breed specific data is updated semiannually. While PennHIP does not have the funding to make their database fully public accessible, those of us who have participated will be able to view other participant's results. Drago's PennHIP is listed on his OFA record and readily available along with his other CHIC testing for anyone interested in his current health.

Tracy.

We do a lot of OFA films in our clinic and one thing that disappoints me is how many people don't initial the release of abnormal results. Some don't want the films sent in. I think many people think that it somehow reflects badly on them if their dog comes back dysplastic. But... the point of the database is to have all results so we can make educated decisions in breeding programs. Without the abnormals, it skews the results. So when you look up an animal on OFA and see it has hips listed, but no elbows.... you have to wonder, did they NOT DO elbows or were the elbows abnormal?
I wish people would realize that by "hiding" the abnormals we are only hurting the breed in the long run. The same goes for DCM in our breed.
I think the dobequest database is great and the more dogs we get on there with honest/complete health results, the more we will be able to learn about and prevent some of these diseases.
I plan to do OFA pre-lims this fall and will do films again at 2 yrs and WILL release the results. If they don't pass, I will spay my girl and love her just the same.... and try again with a different dog.

BTW, I'm glad to see so many people on here doing health testing!