Black Jade Rottweilers is proud to post our dogs hip x-rays on our website.
Some may say, well what's OFA and why are your dogs more expensive than some other breeders. If a breeder cannot supply you with a certified copy of a dog's health certificates, then you're most likely dealing with a classic BYB.
A BYB is a (back yard breeder) that just allows any two dogs to breed together and the owners has no knowledge if their dogs are healthy or not. A lot of BYB's will say, "well my dogs are current on their vaccines, so they're healthy" Wrong answer... If a breeder cares about the breed and the offsprings that they're producing, they will take it to the next level and have their dogs OFA certified. Those that do not, are just looking to make a quick dollar on those individuals who don't know what to look for and those that don't know the proper questions to ask a breed. It's very unfortunate, but in many cases a buyer who doesn't have a lot of money to spend on a quality dog, will choose a puppy from a BYB. I've done it myself, thinking, oh what a great deal. I can't begin to tell you how many poorly bred bitches I went through and ended up having to rehome them because they didn't meet my minimum standards of a bitch that was eligible for breeding. I always tell people, you get what you pay for and although a cheap puppy may sound appealing now, don't get mad when the puppy produces major health problems i.e hip or elbow dysplasia, a heart defect and/ or temperament problems and you find yourself with hefty vet bills.
Our minimum standard now, is to get a puppy off of two parents that are both OFA certified as "GOOD" or "EXCELLENT." That's my standard and I feel more secure with that decision as I will plan to breed the dog once he/she is eligible for breeding.
I also see so many times, that a breeder will say, "my dog's are OFA certified because the grand or great grand parents were certified" WRONG answer again. If the direct sir and dam that has produced the litter are not found in OFA's website, then the parents of that specific litter are not OFA certified and you run the risk of having a puppy that may produce various issues.
OFA makes their records public for anybody to look up, please visit: http://www.offa.org/ and then type in the dogs name. Were you able to find the dogs name? If yes, then your dealing with an honest breeder. If the site yields no results, that's a quick red flag for me and my research with that breeder ends right then and there.
In order for a breeder to OFA their dogs, they must have the dogs x-ray by a licensed vet that knows the proper positioning and then those films are submitted to OFA. From there, OFA will submit the films to 3 different radiologist throughout the US for their opinion. Once the feedback is received from all 3 radiologist, OFA will certify the dog's hip if it qualifies as a "FAIR" or "GOOD" or "EXCELLENT" A buyer may ask, well what's the difference between the 3 readings? My personal opinion is that, the better the result, the less likely your puppy will exhibit early signs of dysplasia. With that said, there are recessive genes that can pop up in any breeding. I've heard of a puppy produced off of two OFA certified "GOOD" parents having hip dysplasia. It can happen, but you're better off getting a puppy from a dam/sir if they are OFA certified with good-excellent results. Dogs can also be rated as "MILD", "MODERATE" & "SEVERE" dysplastic. Those ratings are below standards and shouldn't be bred. Dysplasia can be caused by poor genetics and it can also be brought on by a poor diet and/ or an accidental injury. Rottweilers can have a lot of energy and can easily cause an injury to their joints by jumping down, up or over something that was too high. They can also cause an injury to themselves by running full blast in a straight line and then decide to cut a corner at a 90 degree angle. Buyers have to be careful in how they exercise their dogs.
Below are some examples of what OFA will consider a dog's hip as:
Excellent: this classification is assigned for superior conformation in comparison to other animals of the same age and breed. There is a deep seated ball (femoral head) which fits tightly into a well-formed socket (acetabulum) with minimal joint space. There is almost complete coverage of the socket over the ball.
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Good: slightly less than superior but a well-formed congruent hip joint is visualized. The ball fits well into the socket and good coverage is present.
Fair: Assigned where minor irregularities in the hip joint exist. The hip joint is wider than a good hip phenotype. This is due to the ball slightly slipping out of the socket causing a minor degree of joint incongruency. There may also be slight inward deviation of the weight-bearing surface of the socket (dorsal acetabular rim) causing the socket to appear slightly shallow. This can be a normal finding in some breeds however, such as the Chinese Shar Pei, Chow Chow, and Poodle.
Borderline
Borderline: there is no clear cut consensus between the radiologists to place the hip into a given category of normal or dysplastic. There is usually more incongruency present than what occurs in the minor amount found in a fair but there are no arthritic changes present that definitively diagnose the hip joint being dysplastic. There also may be a bony projection present on any of the areas of the hip anatomy illustrated above that can not accurately be assessed as being an abnormal arthritic change or as a normal anatomic variant for that individual dog. To increase the accuracy of a correct diagnosis, it is recommended to repeat the radiographs at a later date (usually 6 months). This allows the radiologist to compare the initial film with the most recent film over a given time period and assess for progressive arthritic changes that would be expected if the dog was truly dysplastic. Most dogs with this grade (over 50%) show no change in hip conformation over time and receive a normal hip rating; usually a fair hip phenotype.
Mild Hip Dysplasia: there is significant subluxation present where the ball is partially out of the socket causing an incongruent increased joint space. The socket is usually shallow only partially covering the ball. There are usually no arthritic changes present with this classification and if the dog is young (24 to 30 months of age), there is an option to resubmit an radiograph when the dog is older so it can be reevaluated a second time. Most dogs will remain dysplastic showing progression of the disease with early arthritic changes. Since HD is a chronic, progressive disease, the older the dog, the more accurate the diagnosis of HD (or lack of HD).
Moderate Hip Dysplasia: there is significant subluxation present where the ball is barely seated into a shallow socket causing joint incongruency. There are secondary arthritic bone changes usually along the femoral neck and head (termed remodeling), acetabular rim changes (termed osteophytes or bone spurs) and various degrees of trabecular bone pattern changes called sclerosis. Once arthritis is reported, there is only continued progression of arthritis over time.
Severe Hip Dysplasia: assigned where radiographic evidence of marked dysplasia exists. There is significant subluxation present where the ball is partly or completely out of a shallow socket. Like moderate HD, there are also large amounts of secondary arthritic bone changes along the femoral neck and head, acetabular rim changes and large amounts of abnormal bone pattern changes.
Other Hip Dysplasia Registries—An Approximation
OFAFCI (European)BVA (UK/Australia)SV (Germany)
ExcellentA-10-4 (no > 3/hip)Normal
GoodA-25-10 (no > 6/hip)Normal
FairB-111-18Normal
BorderlineB-219-25Fast Normal
MildC26-35Noch Zugelassen
ModerateD36-50Mittlere
SevereE51-106Schwere
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see how a dog's hip will function, good or poorly, based on the example x-rays above. Please do your research before you make a decision on a forever companion. Education is the key to having a good v/s poorly bred puppy.
