Hip Dysplasia link
"And this is where I find my clients confused: Some tend to think that over time, rubbing and grinding might lead to a smoothing-out of the joint. Instead, the body reacts to the ill fit of the joint by trying to stabilize it. In essence, the body produces hard, bony material in and around the joint so that the hip doesn’t move as much and therefore won’t cause the animal so much pain."
Showing posts with label Hip Dysplasia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hip Dysplasia. Show all posts
2008-10-19
2008-09-20
More OFA Ramblings
There are two PRA affected dogs submitted to OFA (free submission for affected dogs, Bailey is one of those two affected dogs submitted) and twenty-one normal or carrier dogs. Someone was compiling a database in our yahoo group but that hasn't been updated in many months. My dogs aren't in there and they were tested over a year ago now.
I am absolutely thrilled that people have submitted results, I just wish more would. It seems to fall into the same category as failing hip and elbow results where many just cover it up because then no one will have "information" to judge their breeding decisions on.
I know a few people are still waiting on accurate paperwork from the lab and that's no good either! Hopefully we'll see an increase in submitted results soon. Both of my dogs are in there, and that's all I can do.
Bailey is the most health tested dog in her OFA "family" which is interesting as she's spayed. At least her relatives are in there for something though.
Hopefully next summer I can "do my part" and have both dogs blood run again to test for PFK. It's the same price as the PRA test we ran and at the time PRA information was more important so I had to decide. Their blood is banked for life (as long as I don't use it all up) so I just have to pay the fee to have the test run. Right now there's more important things to spend money on so it's still waiting (which is probably the mentality people have who haven't submitted their PRA forms to the databse, so I do understand but it doesn't change my desire for more ESS in the OFA databse for PRA).
I am absolutely thrilled that people have submitted results, I just wish more would. It seems to fall into the same category as failing hip and elbow results where many just cover it up because then no one will have "information" to judge their breeding decisions on.
I know a few people are still waiting on accurate paperwork from the lab and that's no good either! Hopefully we'll see an increase in submitted results soon. Both of my dogs are in there, and that's all I can do.
Bailey is the most health tested dog in her OFA "family" which is interesting as she's spayed. At least her relatives are in there for something though.
Hopefully next summer I can "do my part" and have both dogs blood run again to test for PFK. It's the same price as the PRA test we ran and at the time PRA information was more important so I had to decide. Their blood is banked for life (as long as I don't use it all up) so I just have to pay the fee to have the test run. Right now there's more important things to spend money on so it's still waiting (which is probably the mentality people have who haven't submitted their PRA forms to the databse, so I do understand but it doesn't change my desire for more ESS in the OFA databse for PRA).
2008-04-21
CHIC
As I'm sure most of my 'dog friends' are well aware, I'm quite obsessed with dog genetics and health. Of course, I know more about ESS in general, but I work on expanding my knowledge to other breeds whenever I have the chance.
Lately I've been contemplating what would be a good set of requirements for an English Springer Spaniel CHIC.
The 'obvious' are:
Hips (OFA, OVC, PennHIP)
Elbows (OFA, OVC)
PRA
CERF- at least every two years
From what I've heard, you don't want to make it "too complicated" at first, or no one will desire a CHIC number.
If I had my way... I would also include:
Shoulders (OFA)
Thyroid- after age 3
Cardiac- after age 3
PFK
Fucosidosis
Of course, I feel that all of these should be done prior to breeding. I don't believe dogs should be bred before reaching three years old, which is evident by the age restraint I would place on thyroid and cardiac, if I could have my way of course! :)
And "I know, I know" that running all of these tests would be mighty expensive. If they are spread out over time, it might not seem so bad! :)
Lately I've been contemplating what would be a good set of requirements for an English Springer Spaniel CHIC.
The 'obvious' are:
Hips (OFA, OVC, PennHIP)
Elbows (OFA, OVC)
PRA
CERF- at least every two years
From what I've heard, you don't want to make it "too complicated" at first, or no one will desire a CHIC number.
If I had my way... I would also include:
Shoulders (OFA)
Thyroid- after age 3
Cardiac- after age 3
PFK
Fucosidosis
Of course, I feel that all of these should be done prior to breeding. I don't believe dogs should be bred before reaching three years old, which is evident by the age restraint I would place on thyroid and cardiac, if I could have my way of course! :)
And "I know, I know" that running all of these tests would be mighty expensive. If they are spread out over time, it might not seem so bad! :)
- PRA, PFK, Fucosidosis at a year old (if the PRA status isn't known based on parentage)
- CERF at 2 years old
- hips, elbows, shoulders done at 3 years
- Thyroid and Cardiac done at 3.5-4 years old
Any male dogs I own in the future that come from breeders will be neutered at least after age two and will have hip, elbow, and shoulder xrays taken at the time of neuter and sent to OFA. The "other" stuff I would plan to do as I do now; take advantage of clinics and use them whenever available.
I love the Cardiac and CERF clinics at the TCVESSA August show. Even though I've only utilized them for a year now, I plan to continue into the future. Buzz will have a CERF exam and Cardiac exam this year while Bailey will probably only have a CERF.
2008-02-22
OFA
Nope, no elbow ratings yet (they were just sent in on Monday... I do have SOME patience), but I did find something quite intriguing while perusing the OFA site looking for explanations to hip and elbow xrays. It clearly states that the vets who read the xrays will take into consideration the breed, age, and sex when scoring the hip. That's the first I'd heard or seen of that. Does that mean the exempt all bulldogs? No, it just means that they realize what is good for one breed, may be excellent for another.
What was very interesting is that I couldn't find anything about those three factors (breed, age, and sex) in the elbow information. Especially in our agility discussion lately, it seems as though even more emphasis is finally being put on elbows, especially with that slamming down for 2o2o contacts a lot of people teach. I understand we need strict guidelines to improve breeds (and maybe they do consider those three things) but there has to be some leeway it would seem, espcially for age. I hate to say it, but I'm beginning to think that elbow xrays are more important than hip. The dogs' massage therapist told me that they carry 60% of their weight in the front (I hope I got that number right... and I think so because she was saying Bailey probably carried 70% when she was tight all over and hurting) and only 40% in the rear.
Back to school... almost done with my script for tomorrow. Mock parent/teacher conferences, fun... maybe? My "parent" is, of course, the head of the education department. I've met him a total of twice now. Once was this (yesterday now) morning at a meeting about student teaching. I asked him to be nice, and not be a disgruntled parent... hehe, he thought it was pretty funny, I was pretty serious!
We shall see!
What was very interesting is that I couldn't find anything about those three factors (breed, age, and sex) in the elbow information. Especially in our agility discussion lately, it seems as though even more emphasis is finally being put on elbows, especially with that slamming down for 2o2o contacts a lot of people teach. I understand we need strict guidelines to improve breeds (and maybe they do consider those three things) but there has to be some leeway it would seem, espcially for age. I hate to say it, but I'm beginning to think that elbow xrays are more important than hip. The dogs' massage therapist told me that they carry 60% of their weight in the front (I hope I got that number right... and I think so because she was saying Bailey probably carried 70% when she was tight all over and hurting) and only 40% in the rear.
Back to school... almost done with my script for tomorrow. Mock parent/teacher conferences, fun... maybe? My "parent" is, of course, the head of the education department. I've met him a total of twice now. Once was this (yesterday now) morning at a meeting about student teaching. I asked him to be nice, and not be a disgruntled parent... hehe, he thought it was pretty funny, I was pretty serious!
We shall see!
2008-01-12
interesting study
http://www.pennhip.org//09230v7.pdf
Key Points
"Keeping dogs lean did not change the genes of dogs predisposed to hip dysplasia. Rather, leanness was shown to delay or prevent the expression of radiographic signs of CHD and therefore confounded diagnosis using the OFA scoring method at 2 years of age."
"The normal OFA designation of hips at 2 years of age was conservatively wrong 46%
of the time when compared to end-of-life radiographic results. Even more telling, when 2 year OFA score was compared to histopathological findings in aged dogs, a 56% false-negative diagnosis rate was found."
"Recommendation: Dogs susceptible to CHD should be kept lean for life."
" The high false-negative rate of OFA type diagnoses at 2 years of age (46% end of life OFA type score) (56% histopath OA) warrants a more accurate test for selecting breeding stock."
"Recommendation: Hip films are warranted well beyond 2 years of age, and in the case of breeding dogs, hips should be evaluated at regular intervals for life."
Key Points
"Keeping dogs lean did not change the genes of dogs predisposed to hip dysplasia. Rather, leanness was shown to delay or prevent the expression of radiographic signs of CHD and therefore confounded diagnosis using the OFA scoring method at 2 years of age."
"The normal OFA designation of hips at 2 years of age was conservatively wrong 46%
of the time when compared to end-of-life radiographic results. Even more telling, when 2 year OFA score was compared to histopathological findings in aged dogs, a 56% false-negative diagnosis rate was found."
"Recommendation: Dogs susceptible to CHD should be kept lean for life."
" The high false-negative rate of OFA type diagnoses at 2 years of age (46% end of life OFA type score) (56% histopath OA) warrants a more accurate test for selecting breeding stock."
"Recommendation: Hip films are warranted well beyond 2 years of age, and in the case of breeding dogs, hips should be evaluated at regular intervals for life."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)