Here are the 3 hip x-rays from yesterday in the same order as the films were taken. Two people are all that’s necessary, but a third one in the middle can make it easier to line things up well. Our vet got acceptable x-rays first try on all three of these dogs, but to be fair he sometimes takes more than one before he’s satisfied with the positioning. The vet has to be able to see the positioning for the hip films, so experience makes a big difference. She’s not dead at the end, just relaxed and being obedient:-) Second dog is an adult that is strong and fought the positioning more.In our experience puppies of this age are virtually always calm and easy to deal with. Yesterday we took three dogs in for hip x-rays and shot a video of the process so everyone can see what’s involved. It’s understandably hard to know what to think when your vet is using these arguments. There are more, but these are the most common. If a dog is not registered it will be assigned a study number that includes “NOREG” (we have over 300 reports on file that were done like this). “Dogs have to be registered in order to do an OFA”, or “They have to be registered with the AKC”.“The OFA accepts preliminary consultation radiographs on puppies as young as 4 months of age for evaluation of hip conformation.” “OFA evaluations can’t be done before 2 years of age.” From the OFA website:.“It’s painful.” Unless the dog is dysplastic this excuse is hogwash! See video below.“The dog might bite someone.” If that’s a concern the dog can be muzzled.“I won’t do it without anesthesia because I don’t want to expose my employees to more radiation.” The process is identical whether the dog is awake or under anesthesia.If the dog is awake the muscle resistance actually helps keep the body lined up. “You can’t get good positioning unless the dog is anesthetized.” Again, this may be true for dogs that are big and very strong but otherwise it is not the case, especially if the dog has a prominent spine as English setters have.If anesthesia was required there wouldn’t be an option to check “Physical restraint only”. Here is the veterinarian info from the bottom of an OFA application. “The OFA requires anesthesia.” Not true.The only exception is a very strong dog that fights the positioning, in which case they can be given a little sedation. The BIG one: “You can’t take an OFA x-ray without anesthesia.” Yes you can.Here are some of the most common roadblocks our customers run into with their veterinarian: Let’s go over some of what our buyers face, and then we’ll take a look at the x-ray procedure. Most people don’t have any idea what the process of getting an OFA hip x-ray is actually like, so they don’t know when the information they are given is false. Although a majority of vets have been supportive and helpful, our puppy buyers regularly encounter resistance when they ask for the hip x-rays we require, especially regarding the use of anesthesia which we recommend against. This is where OFA comes into play.To our amazement, and disappointment, the biggest obstacle to our hip program has been, and continues to be, veterinarians. ![]() grade 3: marked joint space narrowing, small osteophytes, some sclerosis. grade 2: definite joint space narrowing, defined osteophytes and some sclerosis, especially in the acetabular region. grade 1: possible joint space narrowing and subtle osteophytes. The goal is to have a result less than your breed average but just because you have a result less than your breed average DOES NOT MEAN your dog does not already have joint changes or predisposing indicators of dysplasia. Different grading schemes are described for plain radiographs of the hip: grade 0: normal. Each breed has an average value based on all dogs within that breed that have been tested. Laxity is how loose the hip joint is (ball in socket). The lower the DI, the more unlikely OA will form. This is broken down on the Pennhip report into Mild, Moderate or High risk categories. The higher the numerical PennHip value, the more likely the patient will develop osteoarthritis at a later date due to hip looseness/instability. It also evaluates the current presence of any osteoarthritis (OA) which would be indicative of dysplasia. One distraction view, one compression view and one extended view. Pennhip provides a Distraction Index (DI) number value based on 3 submitted radiology films.
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