OFA Information

Orthopedic Foundation for Animals

Q.   Will getting a puppy from a breeder where the Sire and Dam have an approved OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) hip rating protect my puppy from a risk of getting Hip Dysplasia ?

A.      Absolutely not, It may actually do the opposite and result in a pup with bad hips. An acceptable OFA rating of the parents, the grandparents, the great-grandparents, the great-great-grandparents and to infinity, BY THEMSELVES, is almost worthless. What is important is the status of the siblings of the pup and the siblings of all these ancestors. Here is a quote from the OFA official website. “For example; a dog with fair hips but with a strong hip background and over 75% of its brothers and sisters being normal is a good breeding prospect. A dog with excellent hips, but with a weak family background and less than 75% of its brothers and sisters being normal is a poor breeding prospect”. In other words, it possible to have an excellent rated dog that should NOT be used for breeding and at the same time have a dog with poor rated hips be a good choice for a breeder. From that statement alone it should be obvious the rating, by itself, is of no use to a potential puppy buyer. In the same vein, a rating is also useless to the breeder unless they implement the entire protocol.

Q.     How are OFA rating really supposed to be used?

A.      To properly use the OFA ratings, the breeder must know the OFA ratings for the Sire and Dam, for ALL of the siblings of both the Sire and Dam, for All four Grandparents, and ALL of the Grandparents' siblings, for ALL eight Great-grandparents and for ALL of the Great-grandparents' siblings. These OFA ratings must then be placed in a "vertical pedigree" and calculated to determine whether or not a dog should be bred. Assuming that each dog is only bred once and each litter has 10 pups, that is a minimum of 140 dogs with OFA ratings that the breeder must have recorded. What is important is that the mass quantity of dogs in that list be free of Hip Dysplasia. Since Hip Dysplasia has both an nutritional and complex genetic components, it is very possible to have a dog with excellent hips whose entire genetic makeup is composed of dogs with horrible hips(and such a dog will throw pups with bad hips). Its for that reason that any individual dog’s OFA rating is a worthless predictor of Hip Dysplasia and it is also the reason why it takes so much information to attempt to make the OFA protocol work. In fact, it requires such a large amount information to do the ratings properly that I doubt if ANY show breeder has successfully implemented the protocol. If you desire more information check out the following document on the OFA website BREEDERS GUIDE TO DATA.    (http://www.offa.org/hovanart.pdf )

Q.      If the OFA rating of any individual dog is basically worthless, why do breeders and breed clubs push the ratings?

A.    There are few that do understand all the science involved, let alone have enough historical data to make the system work. However, what most breed clubs and breeders do understand is fashion and political correctness, and they want to be seen as attempting to address the "problem" of Hip Dysplasia. 

Q.      How can you protect yourself from unscrupulous breeders that are using their OFA ratings to scam you?

A.    If the breeder claims to use the OFA protocol, ask to see the “VERTICAL PEDIGREES” and have them explain how the OFA protocol works. If they don’t know what you’re talking about and can’t provide you with the data and answers, then you can be sure they are either ignorant or trying to con you. In either case be very wary.

Q.   How common is Hip Dysplasia in Weimaraners currently?

A.   According to the official OFA website, only 8.7% of all Weims tested were found to have any degree of Hip Dysplasia. See the results by clicking on the link below.