# "A" Stamp Database?



## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

Is there a place online to check the hip/elbow ratings of dogs that are "a" stamp? For example, if we want to check ofa we go to the ofa website, is there a similar thing for "a" stamp? Is it checked on the SV site, sadly I can't navigate anything there since I don't know German.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

not that i know of, just the sv database that gives zw numbers.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

Not online no. You can check a dog's ZW # on the SV website, but can't get his A stamp rating. For A stamp ratings you can purchase the quarterly genetics CDs from the SV and it has this information as well as ZW #s etc...


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## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

Oh, ok. Seems silly that they wouldn't have a database to check like the OFA. Leaves a lot of room for people to be dishonest about hip ratings









I was just curious. Thanks for the info.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Is there any specific dog you want to know about?


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## Guardyan (Aug 29, 2005)

You can get some hip and elbow information here:

WinSis Database 

Hope this helps!


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## 24kgsd (Aug 26, 2005)

You could ask to see the dogs registration papers. The A-Stamp will be on the paperwork.


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## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

No, no specific dog in question. A friend of mine just imported a dog from Germany, everything went smoothly and the dog is great, but it got me thinking. I'd be so afraid to import a dog without going to get it myself, seeing it in person and seeing the proof of hips/elbows etc.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

Lindsay,

That is normal. Most people that "import" per their web-site do not go over on a consistent basis, eval the dogs themselves. Some do not even have the experience to do so, but use connections and base the dogs on their contacts over there.


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

Not worldwide that I know, but when I impoted Diabla from Argentina, they do have a list with the hip rate of every dog.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

You can usually get an idea of their hip rating from their ZW. If the parents' ZW's are fairly low but the dog is 90+ I think the rating is likely to be fast normal. If it's a rating over 100 it's probably a3.
Not a guarantee but can help somewhat.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

“You can usually get an idea of their hip rating from their ZW. If the parents' ZW's are fairly low but the dog is 90+ I think the rating is likely to be fast normal. If it's a rating over 100 it's probably a3.
Not a guarantee but can help somewhat.”

It is not that black and white. That is a common misunderstanding of the ZW system. It is like the statement of “a” normal = OFA excellent, etc.

Just because a dog is 90+ does not equate to fast normal or OFA fair/borderline. Or an a3 = dysplasia. Gabor’s troll gs was a3 in Hungary – more strict in the “a” stamps. Everyone here automatically assumed he was dysplastic. When we OFA’d him at 5.5 (and years of consistent and hard work, at that point 2 x WUSV) he was OFA excellent. Keller stated that they were gorgeous hips.

The ZW rating of the parents will be adversely or positively affected by their progeny and how they are producing as well as the other relatives. Each dog is assigned a ZW at birth. If the parents were 93 and 78, the rating would be 173/2= 87. After the dog is x-rayed, it’s own hip rating is adjusted, based on the hip rating. The ZW number will change, as additional x-rays are factored in. That is the critical part. Not only what the hips are, but what they produce as exemplified by the actual x-rays submitted.

We look at the ZW of what both parents are producing with different partners and what the siblings are.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Black and white? No...
I didn't say that just because a dog's ZW was 90 means they are a2. But like I said - if the parents ZW's were low (say 70) and the dog is 90+, it's more likely the dog is not a1 unless it's had a lot of progeny with bad hips.
Also if a dog's score is drastically higher than its littermates, it's a good sign its hip score is not as good.
As I said, no guarantee of the dog's real hip score but you can infer certain things from the data.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

"Also if a dog's score is drastically higher than its littermates, it's a good sign its hip score is not as good."

That is why I mentioned that. A lot of people do not look ouside the dog itself and sometimes the litter itself. That is why we also look at 1/2 siblings.

Part of the issue is that people will see some of the statements as blanket and not the inference: the zw of 90 will equal fast normal etc.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Something else I look at (getting a bit off topic) is how many offspring a dog has produced for that rating. A dog who has a very low ZW yet only 15% of his offsrping are 'a' stamped isn't as good of a producer, in my eyes, as a dog with say a 90 ZW and 65% of his offspring 'a' stamped.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

Good point. I needed coffee this afternoon. Too many meetings about internet security tools and tracking.......


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