# Pennhip Vs OFA



## JessicaR (Oct 25, 2016)

Any opinions on which is better/more accurate? I know I can do pennhip any time after 16 weeks and OFA is 2 years old, unless I just do prelims. I would like to get Zelda's hips checked before my daughter starts agility this spring, but I don't want to have to do OFA's twice. Is pennhip really accurate in a younger dog? 

BTW Zelda will be 1 February 26th.


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## dogbyte (Apr 5, 2002)

I like both. I like the fact that you don't have so much "opinion" with Penn Hip. I know people that have sent (as a test) the same dog's x-rays to OFA with 2 different registration numbers on them and got 2 different ratings. Many people don't know what Penn Hip is, so for breeding dogs, I would do both. Or you can send to German at 1 for A stamp at 1 year. Don't ask me how you do it...lol


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## GSDHealth (Jun 1, 2019)

Pennhip focuses on hip laxity, while OFA and the SV (Germany) focus on the development of the hip joints themselves (i.e. shallow sockets, malformations, etc.). The SV will usually accept OFA X-rays, but you may get slightly differing results from the two organizations.
This shows an approximate conversion of the ratings between the organizations https://www.ofa.org/diseases/hip-dysplasia/hip-international-ratings-matrix



Most GSD breeders (especially in Germany) don't accept the Pennhip because it can be done when the dog is only 4-6 months old. The claim here is that the dog's hips will continue to tighten up as it matures. 



There have been many documented cases of dogs that passed OFA or SV with good results but still developed arthritic hips (probably due to excessive laxity IMO). However, there are some claims of dogs with poor PennHip scores at 4-6 months, but good OFA/SV scores, not developing arthritic hips. 



There is not much research or documentation on the long term hip health of dogs that scored poorly with PennHip, but good on OFA/SV. I'm actually conducting a study on this so GSD owners can be more informed on both methods - see link for more details https://www.gofundme.com/research-t...67712336-67c1c65188394e47&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w


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## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

Pennhip has shown to decrease laxity when breeding partners with tight hips are breed, but it hasn't done anything to reduce the rate of hip dysplasia.


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## bantam7 (Jul 6, 2019)

Chip Blasiole said:


> Pennhip has shown to decrease laxity when breeding partners with tight hips are breed, but it hasn't done anything to reduce the rate of hip dysplasia.


I would like to see the source on the latter claim. It is generally accepted that hip laxity is the cause of hip dysplasia. The OFA puts a lot of effort towards discrediting PennHIP, however, despite it undoubtedly being the more accurate predictive method. I can provide a half dozen studies indicating this, but this Fred Lanting (who wrote the book on canine hip dysplasia, literally) article sums it up quickly.

Utility and Reliability: PennHIP vs. SV and OFA Hip-Extended Views | SIRIUS DOG


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## Kazel (Nov 29, 2016)

GSDHealth said:


> Pennhip focuses on hip laxity, while OFA and the SV (Germany) focus on the development of the hip joints themselves (i.e. shallow sockets, malformations, etc.). The SV will usually accept OFA X-rays, but you may get slightly differing results from the two organizations.
> This shows an approximate conversion of the ratings between the organizations https://www.ofa.org/diseases/hip-dysplasia/hip-international-ratings-matrix
> 
> 
> There have been many documented cases of dogs that passed OFA or SV with good results but still developed arthritic hips (probably due to excessive laxity IMO). However, there are some claims of dogs with poor PennHip scores at 4-6 months, but good OFA/SV scores, not developing arthritic hips.



That's interesting. Based on that it kind of sounds like you'd want to do both to get the actual big picture of the dog. If both contribute to hip health then they should both be evaluated not just a focus on one.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

One thing about PennHip is that they don't do elbows. And if you plan to do agility, you want to check those as well. Unless you plan to breed, you don't need more than pre-lims. Even then, many people will do 2 sets of xrays before they invest the money in a breeding prospect only to have the dog wash out at 2 years old


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## Katsugsd (Jul 7, 2018)

I will be doing both at 2 years. Steel's prelims for OFA came back good/normal. His dad and mother had good scores with PennHIP so we'll do it as well for giggles. I may submit to SV for the experience, but part of me feels adding a 3rd that does the same as OFA is a waste of money. I know SV is looking for TV now which might be of interest to breeders, but I was told OFA would add a comment if they saw suspected TV on the films.


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## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

bantam7,
I can't find the study and read it several years ago. The bottom line is that the cause of HD is unknown and there is no hip evaluation that tells you if the dog being evaluated is a carrier of HD. The SV claims HD is 75% environmental. How do they know and they tend to do almost everything wrong IMO.


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