OFA Testing Nervous

3205 Views 48 Replies 17 Participants Last post by FilleBelle, Jul 12, 2009

Shaina

Discussion Starter · Jun 16, 2009

Well it's official.

Webster turned two years old last Thursday and Kim turned two back in March, so I made an appointment for them next week at a highly reputable performance vet clinic to have their hips and elbows x-rayed for OFA evaluation.

I'm not too worried about Webster...I have a hard time believing that a dog has faulty hips when he can walk 15+ feet on his hind legs, while bouncing, and who does so voluntarily on a regular basis. Kim on the other hand...who knows. And as the bigger dog, the work would affect her more anyway.

So keep your fingers crossed for us...I wanted to get this done while we are still just doing low intensity practice in our performance sports. I would rather retire or redirect them now than have my dogs breaking down in a couple years because I was too cheap to get them checked out (yes this is me trying to soften the blow on my poor wincing checkbook).

They are pets first and I'll love them regardless but...for the sake of their future comfort (and our future fun) I really really hope this turns out well lol.

1 - 20 of 49 Posts

alphadoginthehouse

· #2 · Jun 16, 2009

I continually learn on this forum so what does OFA stand for? Good luck BTW!

Renoman

· #3 · Jun 16, 2009

Good Luck Shaina. *fingers are crossed*

I'm sure they'll be fine, but it's natural to worry.

Keep us posted.

Keechak

· #4 · Jun 16, 2009 (Edited)

alphadoginthehouse said:
I continually learn on this forum so what does OFA stand for? Good luck BTW!

Orthopedic Foundation for Animals

YOu get your dogs X-rayed and then send OFA the x-rays and they look at them and give your dog a score based on what they see. Dogs with ratings of poor or dysplastic should not be bred or worked hard (the later can be done if you are willing to do a full hip replacement but breeding should stil never be done on these dogs.)

A dog with a fair rating should only be bred to one with a higher rating of good or excellent.

Dogs can only get their OFA certificates at 2 years old once the body is (theoretically) done growing

there are different things you can send in to OFA.

Hip X-rays (most common)
Elbow x-rays
Heart test
thyroid test
Vertibra X-ray

and many more

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Spicy1_VV

· #5 · Jun 16, 2009

I wouldn't be too nervous. I always get more anxious then nervous (I hate waiting). There is no guarantee they'll come out good but you have to hope for the best and try to distract yourself while waiting...lol Good luck for their scores!

MissMutt

· #6 · Jun 16, 2009

Good luck.. I should probably get this done too, though my vet hasn't really expressed conern..

sillylilykitty

· #7 · Jun 16, 2009

Good luck! I hope everything goes well and there is plenty of fun in the Webster and Kim's future.

Inga

· #8 · Jun 16, 2009

Are you actually sending them in to OFA or just having your vet score them for your own piece of mind? I am sure Webster is fine too. He jumps like a bunny.

Good luck to you, I know it is hard to wait..

Shaina

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 16, 2009

Thanks all for the good thoughts and well wishes lol. Having a muttly crew with indeterminate histories makes me rather nervous when it comes to this sort of thing.

Keechak - Thanks for explaining.

alphadoginthehouse - Did that answer your question? We're just doing hips/elbows at this time.

Inga said:
Are you actually sending them in to OFA or just having your vet score them for your own piece of mind?

Undetermined. The cost of sending them in and having them evaluated by the OFA panel appears to be minor compared to getting the x-rays done and having the dogs put under anesthesia. If there is any doubt in the examining vets' minds then we will definitely send them in...if not then we will see.

melgrj7

· #10 · Jun 16, 2009

Good luck

I still need to get Lloyd's hips and elbows done.

alphadoginthehouse

· #11 · Jun 16, 2009

Shaina: Keechak gave me all the info...all these initials confuse the h#ll out of me sometimes. Good luck!

Squeeker

· #12 · Jun 17, 2009

Good luck, and please let us know how it goes.

Libby turns 2 in September and we are going to have her hips done as well. However, we have 3 options: The vet can take a peek and let us know what he thinks (Probably ~$200, the cost of the exam, sedation, and rads), or we can send them to OFA (~$500+, it's expensive in Canada!), or we can have them sent to Guelph (~$250). We will be picking the Guelph option, and if it comes back that she is dysplastic we will take it from there.

We have a contract with our breeder so if Libby is dysplastic, the breeder will compensate us. However, we also want to know for Agility and hunting reasons as well.

rosemaryninja

· #13 · Jun 17, 2009

All the very best to you and the dogs!

FilleBelle

· #14 · Jun 17, 2009

I learn something new on this forum every day, if I'm not careful.

It honestly never occurred to me to test an adult dog's hips and elbows for any purpose other than breeding or a visible problem with said joints.

Duh...

Shaina

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jun 17, 2009

Sounds like a good plan, Fillebelle. You could also see if shipping to PennHIP is cheaper for you in Canada...it's quite expensive here.

I have a feeling that when push comes to shove, no matter what the vet says I'll be sending them in to OFA. Seems silly to go through x-rays and anesthesia only to cop out on the last part, considering.

FilleBelle said:
I learn something new on this forum every day, if I'm not careful.

It honestly never occurred to me to test an adult dog's hips and elbows for any purpose other than breeding or a visible problem with said joints.

Duh...

LOL well to be fair you're not the first person to say that...a couple of the hardcore breeder/purebred people I know couldn't imagine why anyone would waste their time even showing a neutered or mix breed dog...I couldn't imagine what they would think of my "wasting" even more money to make sure that our showing isn't going to wreck havoc on their bodies.

Not that I'm saying that was your reasoning, just that you're not alone in thinking it's just for breeding stock lol.

FilleBelle

· #16 · Jun 17, 2009

No, no, definitely not my reasoning. My reasoning actually has more to do with the kinds of dogs I've owned. None of them have been willing and/or able to participate in any activity that would stress their joints, so the idea of testing them never crossed my mind. I'm very impressed by your responsibility!

JohnnyBandit

· #17 · Jun 17, 2009 (Edited)

Shaina said:
Well it's official.

Webster turned two years old last Thursday and Kim turned two back in March, so I made an appointment for them next week at a highly reputable performance vet clinic to have their hips and elbows x-rayed for OFA evaluation.

I'm not too worried about Webster...I have a hard time believing that a dog has faulty hips when he can walk 15+ feet on his hind legs, while bouncing, and who does so voluntarily on a regular basis. Kim on the other hand...who knows. And as the bigger dog, the work would affect her more anyway.

So keep your fingers crossed for us...I wanted to get this done while we are still just doing low intensity practice in our performance sports. I would rather retire or redirect them now than have my dogs breaking down in a couple years because I was too cheap to get them checked out (yes this is me trying to soften the blow on my poor wincing checkbook).

They are pets first and I'll love them regardless but...for the sake of their future comfort (and our future fun) I really really hope this turns out well lol.

I had Merlin's Hips, elbows, Patellas and Cardiac done for OFA two weeks ago today.

Like you I went to a vet that specializes in show, performance and breeding dogs. Most of the breeders, performance and show people in this area take their dogs to her for testing.

All of Merlin's tests looked GREAT and I am waiting to hear back from OFA.

BTW I don't think her prices were too bad. I paid $297 for everything including a tattoo.

It was another 70 bucks to send everything to OFA....

Shaina

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jun 17, 2009

Fillebelle - I didn't meant to suggest anything by it lol...I totally understand. And thanks

JohnnyBandit said:
I had Merlin's Hips, elbows, Patellas and Cardiac done for OFA two weeks ago today.

Like you I went to a vet that specializes in show, performance and breeding dogs. Most of the breeders, performance and show people in this area take their dogs to her for testing.

All of Merlin's tests looked GREAT and I am waiting to hear back from OFA.

Oh good luck! That's really great that you have a vet like that in your area...this one's a bit of a drive unfortunately, but again if I'm doing this I want to do it right.

rosemaryninja

· #19 · Jun 17, 2009

Shaina, since you're doing this, could you shed some light on the actual process? What do Kim and Webster go through? You take them to the vet, who X-rays them... and sends the X-rays to OFA? Does the vet do anything else? Are the dogs sedated for the X-rays?

JohnnyBandit

· #20 · Jun 17, 2009

Shaina said:
Fillebelle - I didn't meant to suggest anything by it lol...I totally understand. And thanks

Oh good luck! That's really great that you have a vet like that in your area...this one's a bit of a drive unfortunately, but again if I'm doing this I want to do it right.

Well it was a fair drive for me. An hour and a half each way. They got me right in and out though. They were like a well oiled machine.

I walked in and they put me in a room to fill out all the paperwork. A tech came in while I was doing that and made sure I understood everything that was going to happen. Finished the paperwork, a tech took it. Another tech had me take him to a scale. We weighed him, went into the xray room. Vet was waiting in there. They did the Cardiac and Patellas. The vet shot him with the anethesia, We put him on the table. The vet shot him again because he was still awake. I stepped out of the room. In a few minutes I hear the tattoo gun going. A few minutes later a tech brings him out and lays him on a blanket. Another tech trimmed his nails and sat with him until he was awake. I went up front and paid. Came back and the vet showed me the xrays and went over everything. By then he was ready to go and they gave me everything in a big envelope all the OFA paperwork was filled out and all I needed to do was sign it and put the checks in there (the instructions said send a separate check for each test.)

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