# OFA vs PENN hip



## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

been looking for vets here who have experience doing xrays for OFA tests , hasnt been going well lol. Alot of them have no clue what im even talking about and had one try and correct me with " OWL tests" lol. I have messaged some local breeders { not sure if they test or not, just taking a chance that they do or may know someone who does} and messaged the OFA page on FB to see if anyone there can help. 
In the meantime I typed in Penn hip and found a vet here in my city who is certified through them. 
Question is how much more will the Penn hip tests run me vs the OFA? does anyone know? and quality is one better then the other? And are they exactly the same test or is one more thorough then the other? 
Any advice on what tests to get for sure , and ones that arent worthdoing is appreciated. was wanting to get hips,joints,elbows, cardiac done for sure , should I be getting eyes done as well?
The OFA site says I can submit my penn hip tests to them for there data base at a $20 fee , couldnt find if penn hip offered a data base or not.

Also if anyone knows of a vet in the vancouver area of BC that does know what the OFA is let me know please  { I know most of you are american and wont be able to help me there lol}


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)

_*PennHIP vs OFA
*_
A new scientific paper has just been published in the _Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association_ entitled *"Evaluation of the relationship between Orthopedic Foundation for Animals' hip joint scores and PennHIP distraction index values in dogs" *(pg 532-541).This study shows that dogs judged as "normal" by the OFA can have clinically important passive hip joint laxity as determined by the PennHIP method. The results suggest that OFA scoring can underestimate susceptibility to osteoarthritis in dogs, which may impede progress in reducing or eliminating hip dysplasia through breeding. 

*Article*: Click to *here* to read the abstract and to gain access to the full article.
*Press Release:* Click *here* to read the press release.
*Video*: Click *



* to view a short *



* featuring Dr. Smith explaining the results and their significance.
*Bibliography*: JAVMA, September 1, 2010, Vol. 237, No. 5, Pages 532-541


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

thanks good read, makes me wonder why the breeders in the bully world I know who are testing there dogs choose to use OFA then? sounds like its easier to get a passing grade on there tests with OFA. I will call the vet near me who does penn hip tomorrow and see what the fees are, kinda sounding like this is an expensive procedure. 
Anyone on here done Penn hip tests? can you say around what it cost you, or will that vary depending on vet?


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## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

AFAIK, most breeders choose to do OFA because that is what has become the "standard". I get the feeling that Penn Hip is OFAs little cousin. Okay if you can't pony up the money for OFA, but not as good. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. I don't have the knowledge to make a decision on that.

Why are you looking to do a Penn Hip or OFA done? Any vet can look at an x-ray taken of your dogs hips and elbows and say whether the dog has hip or elbow dysplasia (as long as the vet has the right knowledge of course). Sending the x-rays to OFA and Penn Hip is just to put the results in their databases as a record to verify the results to future puppy buyers; if the dog has had their hips/elbows OFA'd, you can look them up on their database and verify that what the breeder says is true. But signs of hip/elbow dysplasia are usually evident on an x-ray, enough for a vet to be able to say, "Well, the socket in his hip looks a little shallow", blahblahblah.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

Really i thought by the sounds of it with Pennhip being the new technology its seems a bit more advanced then OFA and would in turn cost more .... lol , guess ill find out costs when I call in. We want it documented more for our own peice of mind, from what I understand its better then just having your vet look at it as many vets can give varied responses. The OFA and PENN hip are up to the same standard for each dog and a bit more thorough then just your average vet looking at the X-rays { I could be wrong but this is how I look at it} and it is more then just the xrays and stuff I want cardiac and thyroid tests as well. Also with Loki pulling its a good thing to get him checked out as well { hopefully the boyfriend agrees and gets him checked}.


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## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

I'm trying to find the thread Lisa was on about OFA and hips and not sending them in because it was a waste of money--as LONG as you had a good vet that you trusted. I had Kane's hips checked by my vet in May and she said they would be FAIR normal if I sent them in to OFA; as long as your vet is familiar with the gradients that OFA and PennHip uses, and they're displayed and explained on OFA's website, then it should be fine.

Here is the link (finally, it was earlier back than I thought it was, lol):

http://www.gopitbull.com/health-nutrition/38778-conditioning-young-dog-also-when-x-ray.html


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

I think she was saying if its just a pet then there is no point to spend the money. For loki who he wants to get more into the weight pull and since some of our dogs have been used for breeding already { i know should have beendone before } but I want the official results so i can pass it along to those with pups as well as for our future refrence. Would be basing things like if we fix certain dogs or what we use certain dogs for off these tests so i would feel better about paying to have them done properly rather then taking a chance that the vet knows how to read them. If you read the posts above it talks about how OFA results with good and fair have come back with less of a score when done with PENN hip , if OFA can have results that are off imagine what the average vet can do when just looking at them, vets can also mess it up if xrays arent done properly. So if its just a pet your wanting to look into Iagree save the money and get your vet to do it if you trust them , if your working or breeding Id pay to get them OFA or PENN hip certified. JMO. I also seen machos post there saying he paid $200 thats a great price I was expecting closer to $1000 after ALL the tests ... hope its closer to his price.


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## k8nkane (Jul 9, 2010)

Ohh, that's what I thought you were doing ... just getting them checked out for peace of mind. I didn't realize you were going to be working them (and breeding them again? not sure if I read that right).

Kane's not going to be doing anything too hard on his joints; I only have plans for rally and dock-diving with him, so I understand your point about making sure to do them and have them verified, especially with WP.

This is the first I'd heard about Pennhip being more accurate than OFA, I'd thought they were about the same, only breeders went with OFA because that's what they were used to.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

Id look into OFA as well just havent had any luck finding a vet familiar with it so it doesnt matter which one really they both seem good , and any is better then not doing it.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

called a place today the one who does Penn hip, not as bad as I was expecting its $537.77 for the xrays, blood work before anesthesia , and the xray evaluation ect . Cardiac and thyroid and eyes are ontop of that....
they asked which cardiac test I wanted as they have a bunchof different ones, can someone help me on that ? what am I wanting ? 
Cant wait to get my dogs started now its just choosing who to do 1st .


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## bluefamily (Aug 8, 2007)

I have done Both OFA and PENN Hip...personally I like the PENN Hip better because the PENN Hip gives me a number scale on which to compare my results. For example if you get a "fair" score in OFA, my next question is _how fair _is fair? but if I knowthe score was 7/10 then I know where exactly the score is.
If I got a dog to work him and pushed him hard with a "fair" what I wonder is this dog on the "fair but almost poor" side or "fair but just under good" side...does that make sense?
That is my opinion about both of the tests, but then comes the reality of what is available in your area.
Hope it helps


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

thanks blue that does help, we have decided to go with penn hip and lucked out the vet who is certified is about 5 minutes from me . I like they give you a score like that I do better when i can understand ona 1-10 scale . Kinda nervous spending all this money and not sure if they will pass especially my more bully of the dogs lol I guess this will help decide what each dogs future holds though. Trying to get the boyfriend toget his dog done since he does weight pull and alot of jumping and running thnk he needs to do this as well , but he is a bit tighter with money then I am and not sure he sees the benfits of this. His answer to me yesterday was " who has even asked us for this info when getting the pups" and "noone else does this". Im hoping when I get them done I can educate more people here about what to look for and ask for from breeders see if we cant get more breeders to do this. its deff worth the money to me.


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## bluefamily (Aug 8, 2007)

Well tell him no one else does a prostate exam if they already have prostate cancer either. Do it ahead of time to maintain the health of his dog. Even if no one asks, do folks ask for a health history on spina bifida or cerebral palsy traits before they make a kid?? The cost is more expensive after the hip displagia has alrady started. Surgery costs, rehab therapy costs, pain medication costs...or would he just shoot him to ease his pain? Besides he's already spent the time and money to compete in WP. Isn't upkeep of his dog count? Just being Straight up is all


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## shadyridge (Dec 9, 2006)

If you can find a OFA or PEN clinic. It will be cheaper then going to your regular vet. Thats what we did with my show pointer.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

there are some OFA clinics up here next year but its with cavalier spaniels clubs and on the site it said they are doing eye exams and cardiac but didnt say anything about xrays offered. The penn hip clinic I found the vets have to be certified with penn hip so you cant just go to your vet for it, I did find one near me though kinda lucked out she is this close so will be using her.the price isnt that bad to me I was expecting a bit more.


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