Canine Quarterly - ADBA CQ OCT 18 | Page 27

code for those near you. We cannot state too often that PH accuracy, efficacy, and dependability in early identification of the prime aspect of HD (joint laxity) is your best assurance. Even evaluated at 4 months of age, PH is more than 90% as accurate as the old- standard AVMA/OFA/SV diagnosis at 24 months, and those 5 or 6 months old have repeatability statistics approaching 100%. Indeed, one day the PennHIP method will be the “standard.” The biggest problem with the old- fashioned ventro-dorsal position still used by SV, OFA, and others, is that at the ages most dogs are sold to new homes, about half of the hip radiograph evaluations will be erroneous… we call these “false negatives” and as such, they represent great economic risks to the buyer. The DI (distraction index) numbers reported by PennHIP evaluations help you avoid the loss of time and money in the purchase and upbringing of your pups, and any dissatisfaction by your customers. OFA’s published reliability figures have been erroneously high; the percentages of false negatives as well as false positives were not valid, and one can extrapolate those inaccurate results to apply to SV, FCI, and any other old- style v-d-position registries. Then, too, most of their radiographs of bad hips are never sent in, which avoidance technique is not allowed by PennHIP. If breed clubs and registries would adopt the PH compression-distraction method as a far better revealer of probable hip genotype in the individual and its progeny, it will represent a quantum leap in genetic hip-disease control. The very best and fastest improvement would be had by using this stress radiography for early and accurate diagnosis, plus Zuchtwert or Breed Value assessment with its use of progeny information and an open database on relatives. Simply put, PennHIP and its DI rating represent a more rigorous, demanding, safety-satisfying look at laxity and risk. It allows a clearer picture of the genotype by offering, at younger ages, identification of the most likely carriers of bad or good genes, a more quantitative evaluation (numerical index), and faster progress in reducing the incidence of HD. By Fred Lanting Breeder/Judge/Organic Chemist TheDogPlace.org h t t p : / / w w w. t h e d o g p l a c e . o r g / GENETICS/X-ray-Accuracy_Lanting- 1312.asp Find us on Endangered Breed Assoc. 4600 SW Hickory Lane Blue Springs, MO 64015 T he Facebook.com/endangeredbreedsassociation join the e.b.a. today! annual membership fee is only $15 or $20 for couples T his includes the 3 eba newsletters and M embership card www . endangeredbreedsassociation . org L egistlative alerts updated monthly on website Please Join and Donate Using 27