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
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