Do You Have OFA Hip Scores on that Puppy?

No, you do not, because puppies cannot be tested for hip dysplasia by OFA.

In other news, OFA hip scores do not tell you much.

After 60 years of OFA "scoring" of canine hips, dogs are now worse off than they ever were.

And why is that?

Well, it turns out that the OFA scoring system is not very good or very accurate.

OFA ranks hips on a seven point system after a single x-ray is taken of a live dog. Three vets then assign scores to the hips, and those scores are then averaged.

When I went to grad school we called this the "Delphic Method" -- a reference to the Oracle at Delphi. I was always said with a wink and a tired smile. Everyone knew what it really meant: a bunch of "experts" took a guess, based on murky evidence, and then the guesses were averaged. You would be surprised how often the Delphic Method is used, especially here in Washington, D.C.!

A newer competing system, the University of Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Program (PennHIP), requires the dog to be anesthetized before three x-rays are taken of the hips, and then a score is assigned based on an actual measurement of the hip’s distraction index (DI).

With PennHIP, a DI of 0.15 means the femoral head is 15 percent out of joint (a tight hip), and a DI of 0.77 means the head is 77 percent out of joint (a very loose hip).

The "division street" at PennHIIP is 0.30. A DI equal to or greater than or 0.30 means the dog is "osteoarthritis-susceptible," and a DI of under 0.30 as "osteoarthritis-non-susceptible."

To cut to the chase, OFA is giving "excellent," "good," and "fair" hip scores to a LOT dogs with real hip problems.

In fact, it appears they are doing it nearly all the time.

▪️14% of dogs had hip joints scored as excellent by OFA standards, but 52% (31/60) of those had a DI ≥0.30 (range, 0.14 to 0.61) 

▪️82% of dogs with OFA-rated good hip joints had a DI ≥0.30 (range, 0.10 to 0.77) 

▪️94% of dogs with OFA-rated fair hip joints had a DI ≥0.30 (range, 0.14 to 0.77) 

▪️Of all dogs with fair to excellent hip joints by OFA standards, 80% had a DI ≥0.30. 

▪️All dogs with OFA-rated borderline hip joints or mild, moderate, or severe hip dysplasia had a DI ≥0.30 (range, 0.30 to 0.83)

For some breeds, already shot with cancer, such as the Bernese Mountain Dog, OFA testing is akin to testing the anchor chain on the Titanic.

We know why canine health is wrecked.

We know why dogs are getting sicker and not better.

1. Dogs are being bred too young, before problems self-illuminate; 

2. No health or performance tests or veterinary inspections are required to win at dog shows, not even at Westminster. The Kennel Clubs actually *prevent* breed clubs from requiring veterinary inspection and health tests as a condition of registration.

3. There are no bans on inbreeding or line breeding, which means ribbon-winning dogs with bad hips (pretty much all of the dogs being screened by OFA) are seeing their genes passed on, and even doubled down on. In fact, the Kennel Clubs *require* inbreeding within a closed registry. Are there “responsible, ethical” breeders of dogs within a closed registry where 50 percent of the dogs die of cancer, or 80 percent have heart disease? I think not.