# Puppy with A3 hips in pedigree



## Pippy01 (Mar 3, 2019)

Hello,

I am considering a puppy from a breeding where the sire has A1 normal hips, the mother simply 'a' normal, while several of the dogs on the dam's side have a3 hips. I tried to post a link to the PDB mating, but cannot as I am a new member. I can give the names of the dogs through private message, if that helps. I would not want to disrespect the breeder in any way, as they appear to be a well respected and reputable one. 

On her (the dam of the puppy) dam's side, there are 4 dogs in three generations with the A3 hips. This is somewhat concerning for me, as from my understanding this means mildly dysplastic by OFA standards? I do not want to chance getting a dysplastic pup if I can help it. Have wanted a GSD for years, and would also like to potentially show this pup. My question is, and I know things are really down to chance in the genetics department, how comfortable others might be with a puppy with this pedigree. Would very much appreciate any input!

Thanks


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## BigOzzy2018 (Jan 27, 2018)

Nope I would pass. Why even breed with those hip scores yikes. I just don’t get it


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

A3 is fair. That is passing. My males grandmother was fair. All his siblings are good or excellent. How many offspring or siblings are failing?


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

A3 is "Noch Zugelassen" which translates to "still allowed" . So I would defer to the actual pedigree and also look at progeny of the A3 dogs to see what they are passing down. I remember reading an article that not breeding A3 dogs would have left a lot of the greats out of the gene pool. If it were me I would be at the very least PMing the people who seem to know pedigrees, researching outher progeny etc and making a decision from there.

A for the dam- she would either be A1 normal, A2 fast normal. 

Also you mentioned OFA- the A stamps are not OFA, they are the grade given by the SV in Germany. Most notable difference is A stamps can be done and dusted at age 1, while OFA you can do "prelims" but not the official until age 2. It's been said if you take a borderline normal A stamp grade and look at it after age 2, you may see some femoral remodeling that you would not see in a much tighter socket, which would affect a passing score at that later age. 

What do you plan on doing with your dog? Plenty of not so perfect hips yield dogs that are unaffected. I'd do much more mental gymnastics on this if I were you if I was going to title and stud him, or even in the absence of studding plan to do high level sports of some sort. 

Also, important- is the breeder offering a hip health guarantee? I don't remember my 1st dog's contract terms, but I di know there was a guarantee. Current puppy arriving has 2 year guarantee with required OFA prelims or A Stamp done at age 1.


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## Pippy01 (Mar 3, 2019)

Thank you for all your input. Because, despite all the research I have done, I am still a newbie I feel like this may be a little over my head. I have chosen to go with another litter. Thanks again!


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

Stick around, and congrats on getting a puppy. We love puppy pics. Just sayin"!!


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## Pippy01 (Mar 3, 2019)

Thanks! The litter I am going with is pretty far out—the mating hasn’t occurred yet (so fingers super crossed lol) and puppies won’t be going home until August/September. Gives us lots of time to fully prepare. Lots of puppy pics to come—eventually!


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