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 Our views on Canine Hip Dysplasia

During your search for a puppy, you may haveheard a lot about “O.F.A. Certification”.  O.F.A stands for the OrthopedicFoundation for Animals.  What O.F.A. does is keep track of dogs who have hadtheir hips and/or elbows X-rayed by a vet of the dog owner’s choosing.  Those X-raysare then forwarded to O.F.A and evaluated by 3 separate, unbiased veterinarians.  Arating of either “Excellent”, “Good”, “Fair”, or”Poor”, is then given to the dog, and that information is kept in a data basefor public consumption.   There is another certifying organization known asPennHIP (Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Program) which basically does the same thing, onlyin a different manner.

The reason hips and elbows are checked, is totry and predict the dog’s potential for developing Canine Hip Dysplasia.  If a doghas poor hips, there is a chance they could pass that on to their progeny, therefore thatanimal should never breed.

Canine Hip Dysplasia is a very seriousdisease, and is prominent in large, fast-growing breeds like the Mastiff. A lot ofpeople are of the incorrect opinion that CHD is only an inheritedcondition.  That simply isn’t true.  There are also a lot of environmentalissues to consider.

Here are couple of quotes to support that,which we’ve found from various authorities who have published articles on the topic.

(from Southern California Veterinary Referral Group)“…feeding a high calorie, high protein diet which produces rapid weight gain will increase the incidence and severity of the disease.”

This article goes on to state:

“The common belief that, if no dysplastic dogs became parents, the defect would then disappear was simply not true. Two radiographically sound dogs may still produce dysplastic offspring if the genes responsible for this disease are present. In one study, a 37.5% incidence of dysplastic puppies from normal parents was observed. This indicates that the genes tending to induce hip dysplasia are widespread in certain breeds, and that radiographs showing normal hips, although highly desirable, are no guarantee of normal hips in offspring. Similarly, parents that are superior with respect to any character (champions, perhaps) are more likely to produce superior progeny than are parents less fortunate, but they can not be counted on to do so.”

(by Tom Phillips, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D.)“During puppyhood, diets that are low in protein combined with low activity levels markedly reduced the severity of CHD in animals that were genetically predisposed to developing this condition. However, even dogs that are not at a genetic risk of developing CHD, if exercised too strongly early in life and/or are fed diets that are too high in calories and protein can develop CHD, since hyper-nutrition and excessive exercise may interfere with proper joint growth and development. Thus, it is best to prevent a puppy from jumping or undergoing sustained exercise until at least a year old. Also, the premium dog foods that are so often recommended may also contribute to CHD development by increasing the growth rate. A protein percentage of 22% (dry food) is generally all that is required for normal growth. However, we all want our dogs to reach their full potential, so premium dog foods are often fed. Here in lies the problem – consider this information as food for thought (sorry).”

Later in the article Dr. Phillips adds:

“Genetics alone is not the only cause of CHD. Therefore we will never be able to completely eliminate CHD from the breed by selective breeding. However, we can realistically reduce the incidence of CHD through appropriately selecting the correct dogs to breed. Obviously a dysplastic dog should not be bred even if there is reason to think that environmental factors may have contributed to the animal developing CHD, such as trauma to the rear end when the dog was young. In such an animal, it is impossible to determine the exact role genetics played in CHD development, and it is far too easy to make excuses for breeding a dysplastic animal once one starts down this road. Thus, only breed animals that do not have CHD and all should be fine – right? Unfortunately this is not the case. The polygenetic control of the hip joint structure greatly complicates the situation. It is entirely possible for a dog with an OFA rating of excellent to produce puppies that develop CHD.”

What one must consider when screeningbreeders, and verifying the information they provide, is that breeders might certify theirbreeding dogs so they can promote their puppies as being from certified parents and charge a lot more for the pups, however,if the puppies don’t go onto be certified themselves, who will ever know if a problem withCHD arises in the line?  As you’ve just read, the parents could be excellent, but theoffspring could be dysplastic. Most people who buy puppies, especially if they don’tintend to breed or show them, aren’t going to pay the high cost of hip checking andcertification, just to be placed in those data bases.  I can’t count the number oftimes I have gone to the O.F.A. web site and ran a request on a specific dog that I knowis being used for breeding, only to find that none of its offspring are in the data base.A problem could exist in that line, but O.F.A. doesn’t have the answer if alloffspring aren’t offered for evaluation.  In fact, anyone who has their dogs X-rayedand gets an initial opinion from their own vet that the hips are bad, probably isn’t goingto waste the time and money sending those films to O.F.A. and be put into the data basewith a “poor” rating.  Why would they?  That simply wouldn’t makesense and would be a complete waste of money, if they are going to be ethical and alterthat dog to prevent it from ever reproducing.

We have seen many breeders advertise O.F.A.excellence in their line, but we have never seen one single breeder requireany puppy buyer to have their puppy X-rayed and evaluated to be placed in the O.F.A. database.  Without 100% contribution, from every single buyer, of everysingle puppy produced, the system simply is not a reliable source of tracking. Only the”good” information is being shared, which is very misleading, in our opinion.

The owners of Big Baby Mastiffs will be completely honest and up-front in telling youthat you won’t find our dog listed in the O.F.A. or PennHIP databases, but you will find a great deal of her ancestors.  We don’t feel this is a necessary cost when any vet should be qualified toX-ray the hips and elbows to determine an educated prognosis. We couldsend our X-rays to O.F.A or PennHIP, pay the fee to be in their respective data bases, andtell everyone who buys a puppy “this puppy will never develop CHD because itsparents are rated excellent”, but we would be bordering on misrepresentationwith that statement.  As you can see in the quotes above, puppies who aren’t fedproperly, and are exercised excessively, can still develop thedisease regardless of the hip condition of their parents.  If puppies we sell aren’tfed or exercised in the proper way, and end up dysplastic, then our time and effort withsecuring O.F.A. and/or PennHIP ratings would all be for nothing. We can only advise youhow to feed your puppy, and how much exercise to allow, but we can’t control it, andtherefore can’t take responsibility for it.

We trust our vet…otherwisehe wouldn’t be our vet.  Our dog has been checked, and in hisprofessional opinion, she has good hips and elbows.  If any genetic pairingever produces dysplastic pups, and that dysplasia can be proven to be geneticallyinherited, we will not produce any more puppies with that genetic pairing.  We feel this is all that is within our power to promise.One can never know what a pairing will produce, until the pairing hasproduced!  Breeding doesn’t come with a crystal ball, unfortunately.

We feel that promotion of dogs that are”O.F.A. and PennHIP Certified” gives the buyer a false sense of security. Weprefer a more direct route in education about CHD and its causes.  It takes manygenes combined to form a CHD “potentially positive” genetic make-up.  Forany breeder, it’s possible for one of the Dams to carry a “bad” gene, but it notbe strong enough to produce CHD in her, and the case might be the same for the male withwhom they choose for her to mate.  Her recessive “bad” gene, paired withhis recessive “bad” gene, might produce puppies with a stronger potential forCHD than either of its parents possess.  By the same token, the fertilization processmight not match those two “bad” genes at all, producing a pup with as good as,or better hips than the parents.

Because it’s impossible to predict whatgenetic matching will occur in the mating process, and whether or not our dog has any hidden recessive genes, we can not, and will not guarantee our puppies will neverbecome dysplastic.  All we can tell you is that the parents hips are currently good,with no signs of the disease in them, andoffer you a one year health guarantee.  However, since we can’t control what you feed your dog, nor would you be able to prove what you feed your dog, CHD is not covered by the guarantee.

Any breeder who promises CHD will neverdevelop in a puppy they have produced, is basically gambling that either:

A) by the time you know about CHD in your dog (24 months of age for O.F.A. evaluation) you will have forgotten the promise they made you, or be unable to locate/contact them

B) if you remember the guarantee and call them on their promise, they can pass the blame onto you for improper feeding and exercise, which you won’t be able to prove otherwise

C) that you’ll never have your puppy’s hips checked

Think about it.  In your search thusfar, have you found any breeder that has offered a lifetimeguarantee? Further, if you find one who is doing so fraudulently, do youtrust that, if in 10 years your dog is diagnosed with CHD, you will be able to force themto do anything about it, that is assuming of course, you can even find them? What if their “guarantee” only states you will receive a replacement puppy?  Are you willing to give up a member of your family that has been around for 10 years?  We think not.

Further information that has assisted us inreaching our decision is, the difference of opinion on the methods in which X-rays areacquired, the dangers of anesthetizing dogs to ensure good X-rays, and the informationavailable to validate non-genetic development of CHD.  To us, this means that theentire process of radiological diagnosis is completely subjective according to whatorganization and what vet is doing the evaluating, and doesn’t ensure that CHD won’t stilldevelop in the end.

Here’s another quote that is slowly becomingthe replacement “buzz topic” on OFA an PennHIP certification importance:

“Nutrition and environment have a much larger part in the development of Hip Dysplasia than previously believed. The genetic concept of heritability’s effect is now believed to be around 25 % ONLY, in comparison to previously believe 75-100%” Author: Olli Wuorimaa – References: Prf em PhD DMV S.Paatsama, PhD DMV P.Axelson, Prf PhD MD T.S.Lindholm, Phd MD T.J.Gao, R.D.Kealy, S.E.Olsson, D.F.Lawler, J.C.Cargill, G.Lust, W.T.Beilman, V.T.Rendanom S.J.Morgan

Translation:  If a dog ends updysplastic, there is only a 25% chance that he ended up that way because of his inheritedgenetic make-up.  Those aren’t good odds, and spending hundreds to dollars to haveO.F.A. say our dog’s hips are okay for breeding is a complete waste of time and money.

Bottom line: O.F.A. and PennHIPcertification doesn’t guarantee anything…and so we have chosen not topartake.  If O.F.A. or PennHIP is important to you, we appreciate your time inlooking at our web site, and learning about our beautiful babies. We wish you well in yourcontinued search for a Mastiff, and if you choose to buy from another breeder who does O.F.A. or PennHIP certification of their brood stock, we sincerely hope your time andeffort pays off, and that your puppy remains CHD-free forever.

Our goal in publishing this information is togive the reader little better understanding of CHD and how it relates in the breeding ofdogs.  We hope you realize that we aren’t just merely trying to avoid investing moneyinto our breeding program.  Trust us when we tell you that we have invested plentywithout the further cost of hip certification, and we certainly aren’t getting rich fromproducing and/or selling puppies. In fact, it’s a “break-even” proposition atbest, considering the costs involved with the proper care of a breeding adultdog, every day of her average 8 -10 year life span, who will perhaps only produce 5litters in her lifetime.

Thank you,

Big Baby Mastiffs

If you are a breeder who is checking outour page, and you disagree with our assessment of how the importance of hip certificationis over-emphasized, that’s your prerogative and we respect your opinion.  Pleaserespect ours and don’t waste anyone’s time with a smear campaign or hate mail.