Explain the process of getting hips certified to me please

[gritsar]

I'd like to know what's involved. Many sites and books give conflicting information. It's almost time for Jax's hips to be done. We'll have to take him to a different vet, because our regular vet does not have x-ray equipment. We'll probably go ahead and get his elbows done too. I'm looking for personal experiences with the process. TIA

 

[shadowpaints]

first off, its recommended that they be 2 years old.

then they are given a seditive, xrays taken, and with our vet they send the xrays to someone who specializes in OFA certifications. i have done 2 of our shelties ( both with OFA excelent) and are getting ready for a 3 in feburary

good luck !

 

[ranchhand]

LOL, I thought you wanted to get YOUR hips certified. as what was the next question.........

Haven't a clue, check the AKC site?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I've already checked the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) website. I know the costs involved and already knew that Jax (& Kane) have to be two years old. I am just curious about the process. Looks like most of the expense of having it done is at the vet. It's not expensive for the certification from the OFA.
P.S. I like the vet we'd have to take him to for it. We took Charlie to him for x-rays when she was sick and he consults with our regular vet about the results of x-rays.

 

[Brindlebtch]

You have to make sure you take their registration paper 'cause some of the info needs to be on the Xray.

Taking OFA X-rays is a bit of an art. You want the dog positioned just so for the best X-ray. If the dog's hips are rolled sideways a fraction, or something else is wrong with the positioning, the hips might not look as nice as they are. This happened to one of my dogs. Make sure your vet knows how to do it right.

Also, some vets will take the X-ray under sedation without putting them all the way asleep. You might ask about that, too.

I have actually gone to a specialist to make sure I got the best Xrays, but I'm sure that, if you trust your vet, they will do a fine job. Doesn't hurt to ask about it, though.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

What BB said.

You need a vet that does a lot of OFA films. If you want, I can ask around on some of my mailing lists for a good person in your area to go to.

You should also have your dog permanently identified in some way. A microchip is fine, so is a tattoo.

Many vets do OFA films with NO anesthesia. If I were you, and I were doing the hips, I would do the elbows at the same time. Then yo8u just show up with your dog, and sign a few papers and write a check before you leave. Most vets will send the films for you, so then you have the several weeks of sweating blood to wait for the results to come back in the mail.

If you have other questions please feel free to ask, I have had many dogs done over the years, with several different vets.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Thanks Brindle and Redyre for weighing in. I was hoping y'all would. I would appreciate knowing if there were any vets close by that do it frequently. Anywhere in the SW Arkansas area would be fine. Kane doesn't travel well.
I would take the boys to this vet (the one with x-ray equipment) all the time (I really like him!), except DH prefers our old-fashioned vet, especially because of the way she handled things when Charlie Girl was sick with her cancer.
Both boys are micro-chipped and the AKC has a record of their micro-chip numbers.
Our vet called yesterday to ask if we were interested in breeding Jax. They have a client that has a female and we are the only ones with quality, registered male GSDs that our vet knew of. We're not interested in breeding, but do want to get their hips done for our own peace of mind.

 

[Crazyland]

OFA is pretty if you have a registered dog. They will not do one that is not registered with a quality known registration company.
Rex had his done this spring. Just have his SV papers, filled out the papers with our vet, left Rex for the day. She did everything after that and I just picked him up in the afternoon. 2 weeks later I had my OFA papers. I was amazed at how fast they came in! Normally I heard they take a while longer.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

Sorry, yes, OFA certainly will evaluate ANY dog with respect to genetic disease, no matter if purebred or papered, or not.

http://www.offa.org/faq.html#3

 

[Brindlebtch]

If you don't get good X-rays and submit them anyway and they come back dysplastic you have to wait a certain amount of time to re-submit new X-rays. So make sure you submit a well done X-ray.

Also the OFA certification may depend on who is reading the X-rays that day. I expect they try for uniform guidelines but some vets do read X-rays more critically than others.