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Health Evaluation Organizations
- Orthopedic Foundation for
Animals (OFA)
- The OFA is a not-for-profit foundation that
was established in 1966. They are currently
the industry standard for evaluating and certifying hip health. You can
use this list to find information on the lines you are considering or
to do further research on information breeders give you.
The OFA lists all dogs with OFA passing hips in
their on-line database.
- PennHIP
- PennHIP stands for the University of
Pennsylvania
Hip
Improvement
Program.
PennHIP is a method of determining the propensity toward degenerative joint
disease (DJD) in dogs. It was developed in 1983 by Dr. Gail Smith from the
University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, who established
PennHIP in 1993. Research conducted showed this diagnostic method to be
capable of estimating the susceptibility for canine hip dysplasia (CHD)
in dogs as young as sixteen weeks of age. It uses three separate
radiographic views, taken under heavy sedation, to determine joint laxity.
The X-rays are sent to the PennHIP analysis center for evaluation, and are
maintained in a scientific database. As more information becomes available
for each breed, the PennHIP laboratory is able to obtain more precise answers
to questions about the cause of DJD, prediction, and genetic basis of CHD.
Veterinarians must be trained and certified to perform the PennHIP
radiographic procedure. The data generated by PennHIP allows breeders
to identify the members of their breeding stock with the tightest hips and
the best breeding potential. Scientific evidence appears to indicate that
PennHIP surpasses other diagnostic methods of measuring hip joint laxity
and predicting the onset of DJD.
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Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF)
- CERF is dedicated to eliminating heritable
eye disease in purebred dogs through ophthalmalogic exams,
registration and research. You can find information
on all Chinooks that have had
their eyes examined and received a "normal" certification, by
searching their database.
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