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Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)
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The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), established
in 1966, is a non-profit organization established to assist breeders in
identifying canines with hip dysplasia. Since its inception, the OFA's focus has
expanded to include numerous additional hereditary concerns (i.e.
craniomandibular osteopathy, elbow and patella deformities, etc.).
When
breeders use the term OFA, they are typically referring to the Orthopedic
Foundation for Animals evaluation of a canine's hips. Any owner can have the
hips of his or her dog checked for hip dysplasia by having his/her veterinarian
x-ray the hips according the OFA's guidelines and submitting the "film" to the
OFA. Radiologists then generate a radiographic report depicting any
abnormalities. An OFA hip evaluation may yield one of the following seven
ratings; Excellent, Good, Fair, Borderline, Mild, Moderate, or Severe. The hip
ratings that fall within the normal range (excellent, good and fair) are
assigned OFA numbers and entered into the AKC record, available to the public
domain. In contrast, the OFA hip evaluations that result in borderline, mild,
moderate and severely dysplastic readings are closed to the public, unless the
owner chooses to make this information public. The AKC requires a canine to be
at least 24 months of age before assigning an OFA number to the evaluation and
requires the dog to be permanently identifiable, via a tattoo, microchip.
Hip Dysplasia is a polygenic heritable disorder, as such, more than one
gene contributes to the disorder. The polygenic nature of hip dysplasia makes it
very difficult to selectively breed the disorder completely out of existence.
However, by carefully selecting breeding stock, with OFA hip evaluations
performed, a breeder can significantly reduce the chance of this disorder in
offspring. Getting a puppy from OFA certified parents will increase the
likelihood that your puppy will be also be normal, however, it is not
guaranteed.
Hip Dysplasia Classifications: (As explained by OFA)
Excellent - superior conformation in comparison to other animals of the same
age and breed.
Good - slightly less than superior but a well-formed congruent hip joint is
visualized.
Fair - assigned where minor irregularities in the hip joint exist.
Borderline - there is no clear cut consensus between the radiologists to
place the hip into a given category of normal or dysplastic.
Mild - there is significant subluxation present where the hip ball is
partially out of the hip socket causing an incongruent increased joint space.
Moderate - there is significant subluxation present where the hip ball is
barely seated into a shallow hip socket causing joint incongruency.
Severe - assigned where radiographic evidence of marked dysplasia exists.
Additional information is available by contacting:
Orthopedic
Foundation for Animals
Website: OFA
American Kennel Club
Website: AKC
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