Hi all,
I can't seem to shrug off this feeling that my dog was misdiagnosed by the OFA for Severe Unilateral Hip Dysplasia. She has always been a clumsy dog in & out of the field and it wouldn't surprise me if she injured her hip somehow, even slightly where we couldn't notice. She's injured her paws so many times, either rubbing the skin off or stepping on something which makes it quite hard for her to exercise with a sore foot.

Please do not misunderstand me...I am not trying to be a doctor or undermine the OFA's experience and expertise, but my "mothers instinct" tells me differently.

She comes from a long, long line of very healthy working dogs with excellent or good hips. Her siblings were all excellent...I just cannot see how one of her hips is so bad and the other excellent?!!

Speaking to our breeder he, too, thinks that this is a result of trauma and not CHD. When sending the OFA her x-rays I included a letter stating that we think she injured her hip. She was still not given an OFA # on the other hip, even though it was excellent and per the OFA they told me that they will rate 1 hip only, if applicable.

We are hoping to breed her and my gut just tells me that she was misdiagnosed. I've spoken to another vet who said that he would be concerned whether she had trauma, even as a pup, on her right hip, given that her left one is perfect.

Maybe I'm very "off" here, but if 2 dogs that are rated excellent have pups that are dysplastic, then couldn't 1 dog or both dogs that are dysplastic have pups with excellent hips? From my research, I've seen that CHD is a recessive gene.

Love to hear your thoughts!

Tina

Tina,

HD is a general term that can include several deferent defects in hips; formation of the ball, socket, laxity of the joint, etc (see OFA's website http://www.offa.org/hipgrade.html.

As such, there are several different genes involved. What might cause one dog to be classed as a fair or mild, might be a strong point for another dysplastic dog. The key is being able to look at and read the x-rays to determine what particular aspect of your dogs hips is causing the rating. I had a female sired by an OFA excellent, out of an OFA good whose siblings were all good to excellent. Yet she was dysplastic. She had no sockets. She was one of the most athletic dogs that I have had and showed no signs of any problems. And based on her breeding and the OFA results of the previous breeding, I did not prelim her.

So she was spayed and placed in a good companion home.

T. Mac

Tina,

I can empathize with you.....did not have a dog with HD, but did have one (my first chessie) with juvenile cataracts (which wouldn't necessarily cause blindness - but there was a slim chance)....I had her spayed and placed her in a great family home.

One thing to think about - IF she was injured as a pup, was the injury the (supposed) cause or result of being dysplasitc.......

IF she were my dog, I would have her spayed....

Juli

Why are you breeding there are plenty of good breedings out there? Other then you love your dog is there something that is desireable in his breeding stock? If not get over it and move on. Your not the first or last person who had to make that decision.