TDJ: Dr Fran, Good day, and thanks for joining us for this interview. I’m very glad to have you here, and I, along with our readers, have a lot of questions we hope you can answer. Why don’t you start by giving us some history about yourself, the OFA organization, and your position within it.
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Collaboration of: Dr. Francis Olivia Smith & The Dog Journal
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Dr Fran: Alright, my name is Francis Olivia Smith, and I’m a DVM. I have a PhD. In animal reproduction, and I am board certified in the American College of Pharmacology, which is the reproduction specialty. I am the president of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, and I have been on the board of directors for the OFA, I believe, since 1990, a very long time.
The OFA is the world’s largest animal health database. It was founded in 1966, through the dollar and commitment efforts of a very, very famous sportsman who owned Winchester arms. John Olin and his interest in orthopedic disease began because he had Labrador retrievers, which is my breed of choice by the way, and he was concerned that as his dogs age, they’ll become lame.
Some of them did, so he provided the seed money to start the OFA to figure out how to diagnose hip dysplasia, and ultimately how to make inroads in controlling it. That original funding took place on the grounds of the University of Missouri, in Columbia, Missouri. So, it was his commitment to animal health that started the OFA.
When it was originally started, dogs were tested using a diagnostic technique that is a standard position of we call an extended VD Pelvic view, which means ventral to dorsal. So, the dog lies on its back, its hips are rotated in and extended, and the OFA looks at those radiographs to see the fit of the ball and socket joint. Based on that, they assess the dog as normal or not. If the dog is normal, it is assigned an OFA grade of excellent, good, or fair. Scientific evidence shows us that the valid age at which to decide on the strength of the hips is 24 months of age. Those radiographs are not read arbitrarily. There is a system, and they are all read by board certified veterinary radiologists.
Now, the right thing to do ethically is to test every dog you breed, but many people don’t. And given that the US is a free country, we have no way to force people to test their dogs. The Labrador population, which has been the largest dog population for 20 plus years, was the number one dog in the nation. Hips have improved greatly over the years from 1966 on amongst the people who X-ray their Labs. That being said, I will tell you, based on population statistics, less than 1% of the Labradors in the country are ever radiographed, and that’s because individual dog owners and many breeders are not as motivated as they should be. However, among that 1% of ones that did test, most of those people have much better dogs than previously were seen. So, it is a system that absolutely works.
TDJ: Dr Fran, just backing up a little bit. Is the OFA a privately owned entity?
FS: The OFA is a Not-for-profit corporation, also known as a 501. c3. We do not sell items. We provide a service, and our biggest service is this big database where all of these results are stored and available to view and utilize. As veterinary medicine has expanded, and at the request of breeders who cared about their dogs, we have begun to evaluate things other than just hip dysplasia. We now do elbow dysplasia, we do slipped stifles, and we do other orthopedic conditions. OFA evaluations are based on what we can see, so it doesn’t make a huge statement on what a dog genetically can produce.
But the more dogs in any individual animal’s pedigree that have normal hips, the more likely they are to produce dogs with healthy hips. Same with the knees, etc., etc.
TDJ: Ok, so who calls the shots as far as which tests each individual dog breed should have?
FS: National Breed Clubs, which are the governing body for each individual breed in the US, all under the cover of the American Kennel Unraveled Club, make recommendations to their breeders and to OFA as to what they consider the most significant health issues in the breed. Almost every breed tests for hip dysplasia. The other one that is a big issue for almost all breeds is eye disease. That is determined by having an ophthalmologist physically examine the eyes of dogs to be sure that they do not have heritable defects, and an example of that would be cataracts, or progressive retinal atrophy.
A number of years ago, probably at least 25, probably closer to 30, there was a spectacular Labrador Retriever, a field trial dog, who was very, very widely used in breeding programs. He probably will remain the all-time top producing dog in the history of the breed. He himself was very healthy, but he carried a gene for a disease called Exercise Induced Collapse. That’s a neuromuscular disorder caused by a problem with a gene called Dynamic One.
When dogs have 2 copies of that, if they get over exercised or are excited, they will start to wobble in the rear end. They can actually get very, very stumbly, and in many cases may fully collapse. Fortunately, most dogs don’t die with that, but it certainly does affect their ability to be a bench dog or a working dog of any type.
Through extensive time and efforts by breeders, and supported by OFA and Canine Health Foundation, we were able to find the gene that caused that defect. And so now, we have a blood test or cheek swab that can be used on Labradors to see if they even carry that gene.
TDJ: So, let’s say I’m a breeder just starting off, and I want to do the OFA testing. Where do I start, and what do I do?
FS: I typically say to people who are going to do OFA testing, you might as well start with the tests that are the least expensive, because if your dog fails that test, it’s kind of a no brainer. You don’t want it in your breeding program, right! For most people, the least expensive test to do is the eye exam. And I know that there have been eye clinics in many areas where the ophthalmologist comes in and can look at many, many, dogs’ eyes in a day.
The next thing that would be least expensive, at least on toy breeds, is the heart exam. Get your veterinarian to do the heart exam, which is heritable, and also have them check their patellas and their kneecaps. If their patellas pass, that’s a dog worth keeping. But if the veterinarian says “No, this dog has patella problems,” it would be a dog that you don’t necessarily want to keep in your program. And then just keep testing up from there!
TDJ: Ok, so as or after the tests are being done, do the results automatically show up on the OFA website and database, or is that something that the dog owner must do?
FS: No, the results do not automatically appear in the database. There are forms online that you can download, and you and your veterinarian can fill them out, and send the paperwork to OFA. Not every vet will automatically send in the required paperwork, so make sure to double check with them on that. If you did not pay an additional fee to the OFA to have the paperwork submitted, they probably have not done it.
Once the results are entered into the database, anyone can go on to the OFA website, and enter the dog’s registration number or name, and all of the health tests will show up. No personal information will show up, though, like your name, address, etc., so you never have to worry about any personal information getting out there.
TDJ: Is every vet out there licensed or capable of doing OFA testing?
FS: Any licensed veterinarian can take OFA hip and elbow X-rays. However, that doesn’t mean that all of them are equally as good at it. If you have someone that is experienced with OFA do the X-rays, your chances of getting a passing test is much higher. The reason for that is simply that they understand what OFA is looking for. You can call OFA and ask who in your area does a lot of OFA X-rays.
As far as the other tests, any veterinarian can do the basic heart and patella exam. The eye exams all have to be done by a board-certified ophthalmologist. There are eye clinics all over the place all the time, at different dog shows and events. The ophthalmologists come to one place, and test as many dogs as possible while they’re there, and that way it’s much more cost effective for dog owners.
TDJ: Very educational so far, Dr Fran! Now, let’s talk about the CHIC program. What is it and how does it work?
FS: Okay, so CHIC stands for Canine Health Information Center. The goal of CHIC is to share all of the health information gathered by OFA. The whole reason to do this health testing in the first place, other than to make sure your own dog is healthy, is to help others make the right decision when they go to choose a breeding pair. So, we’re going to pretend that you have 2 dogs. And we’re going to say, both them have normal hearts, and they both have normal patellas. But it turns out that the one’s mother did not have normal patellas. So, which of those 2 dogs, if you had that information, do you think is more likely to produce normal patellas? Obviously, the dog that has normal patellas within the depth of the pedigree.
So, when you do health testing for CHIC, the same rules apply as do for the OFA, but you must agree to share the information, even if it’s abnormal. Now, if you go to your vet with your dog and he says his or her hips aren’t going to pass, you’re not required to do anything. But in order to get a CHIC number, you would have to agree to share results, even if they weren’t normal.
Having a CHIC certified dog doesn’t necessarily mean it’s got a perfect health clearance, it just means all the testing has been done, and publicly disclosed.
TDJ: Okay, so do I automatically get a CHIC certification number if I do and report all of the health testing recommended for my dog?
FS: Yes! If all of the tests get done, and everything gets sent to OFA, then your dog will automatically get a CHIC number at no additional paperwork or cost to you.
TDJ: Very nice! Dr Fran, what’s the difference between Penn Hip versus OFA, and does OFA recognize Penn Hip?
FS: No, OFA does not recognize Penn Hip. Some national breed clubs do accept Penn Hip, others do not. There are a few major differences between the two, and one of the main ones is that Penn Hip is a totally closed database. Only the owner of the dog and Penn Hip know the results. Which means that anyone interested in your dog or puppies cannot find any publicly available information regarding the health of your dogs. Also, Penn Hip only does hips, and they recommend surgical plane anesthesia to take the X rays.
Another big difference is in the reports. They only provide to the owner of the dog a piece of paper that tells them what the distraction index is of that dog, and it tells the owner of the dog how much better or worse it is than the average of that breed of dog. There is no grading, which just isn’t as easy for the customers and the owners to understand.
TDJ: How old does a dog need to be in order for it to have its hips tested by OFA?
FS: OFA will read hip X-rays on dogs any time after they are 4 months of age. However, OFA does not give you an OFA certification until a dog is 24 months of age. It has been scientifically proven that the hips and elbows change at a fairly significant percentage up till the age of 2. At the age of 2, which is 24 months, they are 95% scientifically accurate.
TDJ: Does that mean, then, that if I had a female that was bred before she was two, and then wanted to do the hip tests after that, that I ruined my chances of a good score?
FS: Not at all! If the female has good hips, they should be good after she has had her first litter. Likewise, if the dog has never had an OFA, and it’s 8 years old, and you test it then, it’s hips should still be just fine, granted they were fine as a young dog.
TDJ: Can mixed breed dogs be tested as well, or just purebreds?
FS: Absolutely you can test mixed breeds. They go into the OFA database as a hybrid, which is a combination of breeds. That’s where most of the doodles end up, which is fine, it’s much better than no testing at all. By the way, a lot of people don’t realize that a Golden Doodle is prone to all of the health issues associated with both Golden Retrievers and Poodles. You don’t avoid any of the risks just by crossing the breeds, and in some cases you might even increase the risks, depending upon the disease issue.
TDJ: Oh, well I think we should maybe have a future article about that, but that’s good to know. Dr Fran, I’ve taken enough of your time. Before we end this, is there anything else you would like to say to today’s dog breeders?
FS: I would say, take big advantage on the OFA website of the tab that is labeled “Vertical Pedigree.” This tab allows you to see the health status of the mother and the father, the grandparents, brothers, sisters, and cousins of the dog you are searching. If any OFA information has ever been submitted from any of the dogs in the pedigree, that’s where you will find it.
TDJ: Dr Fran, thanks again for your time. This has been one of the most educational interviews I have ever done, and I’m sure our readers will love it! Look forward to working together in the future.
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