What are your opinions on which is better and why in regards to hip exams for the OFFA and the PennHip procedure. From what I understand, the PH is more detailed and accurate.

Would anyone care to advise or give an opinion?

Thanks!

Penn Hip measures hip laxity not dysplasia. Young dogs are x-rayed under sedation, same as OFA, and pressure is applied to attempt to move the head of the femur out of the pelvic joint socket that is held in place by the central round ligament, not like OFA. Then the hips are graded on a numerical scale 0-1 which correlates to other dogs tested in the same breed. So the lower the number the better, a dog in the 90% has very good hips where as a dog in the 10% has poor hips when compared to dogs in the same breed. PennHip will certify hips at any age.

Canine hip dsyplasia, which is what OFA looks for, is a bone change that starts in the womb, so its a look at that dogs hips not a comparative to other dogs of the same breed, and may not be detected for years, but according to studies up to 95% of CHD cases are detected by 2 years of age- thus why an OFA certification is not issued to dogs younger than 2 years of age. This is, of course, not to say that hips can't fall apart after 2 years. The one thing I prefer over PH is the grading system is a bit easier for the 'lay person' to understand.

I wouldn't say that one is better than the other, though there seems to be more 'wiggle' room in what receives a good standing by PennHip vs what passes OFA. They are both very different in methods and interpretation. Nothing says you couldn't have an OFA reading performed in conjunction with the PennHip evaluation since they both use x-ray views of the hips.

Ok so how did I miss that about PH not testing fir HD?? Thank you fir rgat detailed explanation!

According to PennHip the 'acceptable' Distraction Index for the Siberian Husky is 0.46 or lower. That to me reads there is still close to a 50% margin of error where our breed is concerned. By OFA we are one of the lowest affected breeds in CHD.


This is an example of what a PennHip Score would look like-


This is an example of an OFA Certification would look like-