Health Testing Forms and Information
Submission of Hips and Elbows should be done between 12 to 15 months of age. Once your X-rays are submitted you will receive hip elbow certification from Germany.
Passing Hip and Elbow scores are a1 normal, a2 fast normal and a3 Noch Zugelassen
Poor hips and elbows are rated at 4 moderate (Mittlere) and 5 severe (Schwere)
Our aim as breeders is of course to keep within the average of the breed. a1, 2 & 3 all of which are functional joints with minimal impact on life and work.
Email office@gsdca.org and request "a stamp hip and elbow forms". In this email include your full name and mailing address so they know where to send the forms.
Make and appointment with a vet comfortable taking X-rays for SV and/or OFA and preferably one who can digitally send to the SV. (Contact me for Vet clinics I might know of who can do this).
Once you get your forms fill out your portion of the forms. If you don't have it already you will need to order a 4 generation pedigree from the AKC. You may also need a tattoo/microchip certification form.
Here is a link to the GSDCA-WDA which stands for the German Shepherd Dog Club of America - Working Dog Association http://www.gsdca-wda.org/asp/services/hip.aspx
Once the xrays are done, forms are complete mail them with appropriate documents to the GSDCA-WDA, then they forward your xrays to the SV in Germany.
Patiently wait! It takes approximately 2-4 months to get your results back!
Once rated your dog is given a "breeding value" and will be added to the German database http://www.schaeferhunde.de/site/rasse/zucht-aufzucht/bekaempfung-von-hded/zuchtwert/. This helps us and the breeding of German Shepherds. Unfortunately OFA has nothing like this and why we choose not to use them unless we need to. The breeding value is calculated by your dog's rating and all the dogs in their pedigree.
To date the SV in Germany has rated over 600,000 German Shepherds.
SV also does Spine and OCD and you must request those forms as well if that is something you want to do.
A note on Hip and Elbow Dysplasia:
Hip dysplasia is a disease of complex inheritance. It is well recognized that environmental (non-genetic) factors can influence the expression of diseases of complex inheritance. Food consumption, body weight, condition and age are found to be potent environmental (non-genetic) factors affecting the early onset and severity of Osteoarthritis.
Restricted food intake has a profound, beneficial effect on radiographic hip joint phenotype. Diet-restricted dogs have significantly lower frequency and severity of Chronic Hip Dysplasia compared to overfed dogs.
DO NOT OVERFEED YOUR DOG OR PUPPY!
You should feel the ribs (without searching) and should be able to see their last 2 ribs while panting after exercise!
A restricted diet also prolongs your dogs longevity http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070419160140.htm
An interesting study on HD from Germany which suggests HD is 20% genetic 80% environment if you care to view and translate it http://www.tg-tierzucht.de/hzucht/publikation/svzws1.pdf, http://www.tg-tierzucht.de/hzucht/publikation/svzws2.pdf & http://www.tg-tierzucht.de/hzucht/publikation/svzws3.pdf
*Found from Kavallerie Shepherds*
AIS PennHIP testing is accurate in puppies as young as 16 weeks of age. It gives an estimate of the risk for painful osteoarthritis (OA) of canine hip dysplasia (CHD) later in life. With this information, preventive and palliative strategies can be recommended by the PennHIP-trained veterinarian.
All dogs can benefit from PennHIP testing. For pet dogs found to be at risk to develop hip OA, early intervention can help prevent or lessen the severity of CHD. For working/service dogs, identifying a dog with healthy hips can extend the working life of the dog. For breeding dogs, early detection of at-risk hips can allow the breeder to make early, informed decisions as to which dogs to keep in breeding programs.
Turnaround Time for a PennHIP Consults is 72hours
Must be 12 months or older for official rating
Must be 12 months or older for offical rating
Must be 12 months or older for official rating
Must be 12 months or older for official rating
Veterinary clinics can register to submit digital images and find detailed directions on how to submit images digitally at www.ofa.org/veterinarian/veterinary-submissions. The average turnaround time from receipt for of-age evaluations on dogs 24 months of age or older is 2-3 weeks. Preliminary evaluations on dogs under 24 months of age have an average turnaround time of 1-2 weeks. Reports are sent to the veterinarian and owner on completion of the evaluation.
Click here for clinics that offer these tests