hip guarantee /HD info

Any 2 Dogs certified OFA passing ,when bred ,can still produce HD .Some of their pups of course pass , some WILL fail OFA & some may have some degree of HD.Not every pup they produce will be OFA certified as passing & deemed HD free .

Vet's recommend that a wise buyer purchase pups from OFA certified stock as they have a better CHANCE to produce passing stock .Keyword here is" chance" leaving it to be really - a roll of the dice .However vets often forget to mention to the general public ,the fact that just because the parents of a litter of pups have OFA hips ,does not mean that all of their pups will have good hips .OFA thus far xrayed 89,919 German Shepherds - 20 % [ thats 18,000 ] failed .These statics do not count for the entire German shepherd population in USA ,if they did the amount that fail would be far higher ,nor does it reflect dogs whose xrays were never sent in by owners because their vet told them dogs hips were to bad to submit to OFA .

Learning a little about HD .HD is polygeneic .Meaning that there are many genes responsible for causing it ,as well as outside factors compounding it .There is no 1 particular gene responsible for its occurance , this makes it harder to defeat. Enviromental factors, such as over feeding ,feeding high protein puppy formulas ,over excersise , etc . during the first 1- 2 years of a pups life has been proven to effect the overall degree of HD. Esterus [female dogs heat cycle ] , even positioning of a dog for xray ,as well as any medication's the dog is on - all will influence the dogs hip xray reading -resulting in the dog appearing to have far worse off hips if xrays are done at those times .reference Cornell University & OFA & GSD HELPLINE & .SHOWDOGSUPERSITE

HD can happen to any pup from any kennel , whether sired by OFA certified parents. It happens to the best bred , to Champion dogs , it can & does happen to all BREEDS of larger dogs, some small breeds & even Humans have HD .Just because a dog is deemed OFA certified "passing" does not mean that the dog will not carry or pass down some " bad genes" it may have some pups resulting in HD.Keep in mind there are 2 parents so each pass on 50 %genetics to pups . HD has been proven to occur more frequently & in far worse cases & in a higher concentration within a litter ,if the purchased pups come from dogs who are NOT OFA certified & of poor breeding .Hence vet advice to purchase a pup from parents who are OFA certified . Breeders can only help to create life wisely by using OFA .Nature & God are very strong factors in deciding what animal lives & it's health .How owners maintain the pups health also play a roll - all of these things fit into the whole picture of HD & its effects .see showdogsupersite once there read abstracts at bottom of the webpage ..

CONCLUSION Until scientist invent a test ,making it possible to draw blood from a dog to see who carries bad genes for passing HD on to their pups we will never rid dogs of HD . No such test exsist to help breeders find which dogs are carriers of those gene's responsible for HD. Is it fair to say breeders are at fault ? No breeder using OFA certified dogs should be singled out & put down because they produced a dog with bad hips .No breeder in this world can HONESTLY say they have not- nor ever will- produce a pup with HD . It is unfair to ,judge or overlook a breeder who has produced a bad hip pup ,as one that is unfit to buy from ,as ALL breeders WILL PRODUCE A BAD HIP pup whether THEY ADMIT OR NOT . If HD were easy to control & breeding were so very easy,all dogs would be forever healthy HD FREE .

Many breeders using OFA x-rayed certified dogs as a means to fight HD infected dogs have indeed improved their chances of unaffected dogs or pups having lessor degrees of HD .Sadly HD can not be stopped that easy - if this were so, HD would not exist today or be drasticially low in occurance .

The TRUTH on " Can Breeders really guarantee pups" ? No , they give a health contract claiming pup is guaranteed .Whether or not a pup comes down with HD [ or anything for that matter ] depends on the pups genetics ,its enviroment ,how it is raised, how much its fed , how much strenous exercise it gets , etc . all of these things effect the out come of HD.That guarantee paper will cost you extra also .

What Breeders really guarantee is simply another pup if the first has HD or another serious malady .Read guarantee's closely as most have not been made for the buyer - watch wording carefully .Below are a few examples of HD guarantees

Nearly all Guarantee's state NO money will be refunded,all say Buyer pays for testing / diagnosis of condition by at least 1 vet , some require 2 vet opinions.Nearly all require first dog be returned before replacement is given. Most require diagnosis be confirmed by vet & OFA within a set time usually 1 year .Statics show most dogs with HD do not show signs of visible impairment[ visibly seen by owners ] of the disease until after guaranteed time expires . ALL guarantee's say Buyer pays for expense of diagnoisis of dog #1 ,shipping & returning diagnosed dog#1 ,buyer also must pay expense for shipping replacement dog #2 & extra $ if their price on a pup suddendly increased. Some guarantees even state you must feed pup breeder specified feed only & send pics of dog in every so often so breeder can check weight of dog .Please visit another of Bobbie Impellizzeri's articles on wording of HD guarantees .

Lets look at what needs to done to get a guarantee honored. Pup gets a hip xray at 1 or 2 years [ most owners do not bother to do this unless they see dog showing pain ] vet tells owner the dog has some degree of HD .Buyer gets out the guarantee sees it states that HD must be crippling or severe ,also notes breeder must be notified before contract time .Some contracts state only OFA diagnois will be honored , some require 2 seperate vet diagnoses of HD plus OFA ,some even require that xrays be sent to the breeder's vet for final conclusion before any action is taken by breeder .Fast forward to getting a replacement after you meet all conditions of their guarantee.

The breeder will do 1 of following -offer "replacement pup" after the first dog is returned to them, let you keep dog after proof of spay & surrender papers,string you along for years waiting on replacement or disappear on you . Replacement pups of course are never your pick but breeder chosen & " when ever" breeder feels like it -then or years later .Reality sets in when Buyer realizes that he/she must pay all expense & arrangement of getting the bad hip pup back to breeder,after paying for all testing to diagnoise HD -as well as all expense to get the replacement pup to their home . Buyer feels cheated ,as they did pay extra for pup#1 because of so called guarantee & let down when they see contract states surrender of pup #1. The last straw for most is paying extra to get a replacement pup . Most are shocked to find out they may need to come up with even more cash for replacement pup as now the breeders pup prices are even higher - breeders have cost of living increase too ! real icing comes when they see that replacement pup has no guarantee on it .

Buyers who shipped pup in or traveled to get pup ,have extra expense & time spent returning pup #1.They find out it is their responsibility alone ,for all arrangements & expenses to ship pup#1 back as well as expense to fly pup#2 in .Who wants to give up a dog they have spent 2 years loving , raising , caring for only to get a replacement pup from the same source?

We ask you ,"Can a Breeder really guarantee that all pups sold will be healthy their entire lifetime ? Is it worth it to you to pay extra for that piece of paper called the guarantee ? Do you think it fair /honest for breeders to charge the public /mislead

Our CONCLUSION Perhaps breeders will realize that enough is enough & HD guarantees don't work & really just aggravate a customer who finds need to use them .Perhaps breeders should do as the Germans - stop giving guarantees on pups as it is something which they really can not honestly give .This in turn would help lower pups prices a little .Perhaps it is time for the public, vets & breeders to realize -guarantees are not really worth much except extra dollar to Seller , certaintly not all they are deemed to be for the buyer .Dogs are living things to say you can guarantee a pup is like claiming you can guarantee a newborn human baby will always have a healthy uneventful life never needing to see a doctor !

HD is not a death sentence . anyone having a dog diagnosed with HD do not give up,these dog are still living beings who for the most part can provide many years worth of love & companionship . Those with early stages of Hd or minor HD have many options of non surgicial treatment .Most dogs with minor femur head changes can get by for years without to much discomfort if their diet & exercise are maintained properly .As they get up in age ,they will have good and bad days, they may need MSM and rimadyl to see them thru these spells or during bouts of cold weather .If your dog is already at the point of showing you visible signs of HD which are severe enough to destroy mobility& its quality of life , surgery is the only means of help for your dog.