#labralove

So for those of you who don’t know what the OFA is, its the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. In short the OFA is like a giant database that tests for genetic diseases and helps promote healthier dogs in the future. 

This means with a dog such as a labrador incidents of Hip Dysplasia can be highly reduced if a knowledgable breeder is testing their dogs and ensuring that each generation of dogs is aiming for better hips. Sooo what about Hip Dysplasia--can this be something that is not genetic? Actually not! Hip Dysplasia is a genetic disorder that is passed down through the bloodline of each puppies parents. This means that their genetics play a huge role in the hips and wellbeing of your dog. This however doesn’t mean that environment can’t cause a dog with bad hips to get Hip Dysplasia, it just means that if you have a dog that is highly predisposed to bad hips due to his or her genetics because a breeder didn’t take OFA results into account your dog has a higher chance of possibly needing surgery to deal with their hips. 

Your breeder should be taking care to ensure that they are breeding to the golden standard of (any dog breed) the Labrador, and that means that they are breeding a dog with OFA results. You should be able to ask your breeder about these results, ask about how the sockets are formed if the dogs only have fair hips. Knowing if its rounded or flat will help you determine if you want to risk a puppy from a litter, flatter sockets will erode quicker over time, while rounded sockets will last much longer. :) 

To get more information about the OFA and their mission please visit their site: http://www.offa.org/faqs.html 

If you have any questions about finding a responsible breeder, understanding genetic issues or figuring out what tests you should be looking for in any dog breed shoot me a message!

xx