The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, Inc. (OFA), is a private, not-for-profit foundation that formed a voluntary hip dysplasia control database in 1966 with the following objectives:
1. To collate and disseminate information concerning orthopedic and genetic disease of animals
2. To advise, encourage and establish control programs to lower the incidence of orthopedic and genetic diseases
3. To encourage and finance research in orthopedic and genetic disease in animals
4. To receive funds and make grants to carry out these objectives
The OFA's voluntary database serves all breeds of dogs and has the world's largest all-breed hip databank on radiographic evaluations of the hip.
Due to breed variation by size, shape and pelvic conformation, the OFA hip evaluation is based on comparison among individuals of the same breed and approximate age. Like most hip schemes, the OFA employs the hip-extended ventrodorsal view of the pelvis. Hip phenotypes are categorized as normal (excellent - 1, good - 2, and fair - 3), borderline - 4, and dysplastic (mild - 5, moderate - 6, and severe - 7). Unlike most hip schemes, the dog must be at least 24 months of age and the consensus evaluation is derived from three independent evaluations by board-certified radiologists.1 Breed improvement, the reduction in hip dysplasia, is dependent on the degree of genetic variation within the breed, the accuracy of identifying a superior phenotype, and the selection of pressure exerted upon the trait by individual and/or the breed club. There are numerous reports of dramatic reduction in hip dysplasia in closed populations.2-4 The OFA database - even though the submissions are voluntary - has seen a similar improvement in most breeds.5 There is a strong correlation between the hip phenotype of the sire, dam, and grandparents, with a reduction in the prevalence for hip dysplasia in the progeny.6 Figure 1 represents hip phenotype data on 490,966 progeny where the hip phenotype is also known on sire and dam.
It is assumed that radiographs submitted to OFA are generally prescreened by the veterinarian and the more obvious cases of hip dysplasia are probably not submitted. Therefore, the actual frequency of hip dysplasia in the general population is unknown but has been approximated by Corley and Rettenmaier to be higher than reported by OFA.7,8 However, the main objective of the OFA is to identify phenotypically normal animals as potential breeding candidates in order to reduce the frequency of hip dysplasia. A review of the OFA hip database using a minimum of 5,000 evaluations yielded 44 breeds (see Table). Regardless of the breed, the general trend is for an increase in the percent excellent phenotype and a reduction in the percent dysplastic. Breed differences in the trend rate could be due to initial breed variations in hip dysplasia, the size of the gene pool, and the selection pressure exerted by individuals and/or breed clubs.
OFA is approaching 1.6 million individual hip records, and the real power in this data is the ability for the public to access data through the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) www.caninehealthinfo.org and primarily from the OFA website (www.offa.org).
|
|
To 1980
|
1981 to 1985
|
1986 to 1990
|
1991 to 1995
|
1996 to 2000
|
2001 to 2005
|
2006 to 2010
|
Total
|
|
Afghan hound
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
24.4
5.4
2703
|
27.6
5.6
695
|
31.9
6.4
787
|
37.0
4.6
736
|
34.5
6.6
714
|
35.5
5.2
620
|
38.1
3.8
452
|
30.0
5.4
6720
|
|
Airedale terrier
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
4.6
13.8
484
|
5.8
17.4
604
|
7.3
15.0
923
|
8.7
10.5
1056
|
8.6
6.8
1115
|
6.2
8.4
1057
|
8.8
8.5
624
|
7.4
10.9
5886
|
|
Akita
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
7.5
17.2
2047
|
11.3
17.2
2529
|
15.5
14.4
3366
|
20.7
9.8
3464
|
29.3
8.9
2219
|
31.8
5.6
1412
|
33.2
6.1
964
|
19.3
12.2
16047
|
|
Alaskan Malamute
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
10.7
13.7
3547
|
15.2
12.3
2012
|
17.9
11.4
2263
|
17.9
9.9
2068
|
24.1
7.4
1686
|
21.3
8.8
1292
|
23.9
8.1
869
|
17.1
10.9
13777
|
|
Australian shepherd
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
10.6
7.8
2028
|
10.6
7.3
1992
|
13.1
5.9
3523
|
14.7
5.2
5573
|
19.3
4.6
6711
|
17.8
5.0
6552
|
21.4
4.6
5311
|
16.8
5.3
31885
|
|
Belgian Tervuren
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
14.3
5.1
610
|
16.5
4.8
559
|
21.7
3.5
807
|
26.2
3.0
981
|
32.6
2.3
1040
|
31.6
2.3
1069
|
32.9
2.9
763
|
26.5
3.2
5859
|
|
Bernese Mountain Dog
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
2.9
31.2
554
|
4.1
25.0
929
|
7.1
19.7
1708
|
10.5
14.4
2557
|
15.2
12.5
2918
|
15.8
13.7
4519
|
20.3
12.5
4092
|
14.1
15.0
17525
|
|
Border collie
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
21.2
99
|
8.0
14.3
426
|
9.5
13.1
957
|
10.7
11.4
1750
|
14.1
9.7
2420
|
13.7
9.7
2843
|
16.9
8.2
2499
|
13.4
10.2
11137
|
|
Bouvier des Flandres
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
3.1
19.1
768
|
3.8
19.0
1119
|
5.3
17.0
1428
|
6.7
11.4
1648
|
7.3
10.9
1312
|
6.7
12.0
976
|
12.4
10.1
742
|
6.4
14.1
8033
|
|
Boxer
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
1.2
16.9
242
|
0.9
16.1
217
|
3.7
13.4
536
|
3.3
8.2
1075
|
4.4
8.6
1292
|
2.7
10.6
1241
|
5.5
10.0
789
|
3.6
10.4
5411
|
|
Brittany
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
5.9
19.9
2632
|
5.7
18.6
1916
|
6.4
16.7
2667
|
8.2
11.7
3048
|
12.1
11.6
2916
|
11.0
10.9
2896
|
13.7
8.3
1950
|
9.0
13.8
18109
|
|
Bullmastiff
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
1.6
30.5
367
|
0.7
32.4
299
|
3.0
29.3
543
|
3.6
21.4
1276
|
6.1
22.3
1204
|
3.3
22.7
1043
|
5.7
20.1
716
|
4.0
23.6
5470
|
|
|
To 1980
|
1981 to 1985
|
1986 to 1990
|
1991 to 1995
|
1996 to 2000
|
2001 to 2005
|
2006 to 2010
|
Total
|
|
Cavalier King Charles spaniel
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
33.3
15
|
7.4
12.4
162
|
3.8
8.9
425
|
3.1
10.8
732
|
4.7
9.9
1277
|
4.1
11.7
1967
|
4.2
11.8
1639
|
4.2
11.2
6275
|
|
Chesapeake Bay retriever
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
6.1
24.9
1633
|
7.0
22.8
1629
|
10.3
23.0
1769
|
11.0
20.6
2196
|
16.6
17.9
2182
|
18.3
13.9
1895
|
19.9
13.1
1268
|
12.7
19.5
12622
|
|
Chinese Shar-pei
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
5.2
21.5
135
|
6.5
19.6
1660
|
8.8
14.2
3588
|
8.6
9.3
1885
|
13.3
8.9
1040
|
12.3
9.4
756
|
13.1
7.6
487
|
9.3
13.0
9563
|
|
Chow Chow
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
4.5
22.0
673
|
4.3
23.7
1042
|
6.3
21.7
1236
|
9.0
14.4
812
|
10.6
13.7
584
|
8.7
13.5
541
|
14.2
15.9
366
|
7.4
18.9
5266
|
|
Cocker spaniel
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
12.8
8.1
531
|
9.2
8.9
1164
|
9.5
7.0
1967
|
8.5
5.4
2328
|
12.8
4.4
2636
|
11.2
5.4
2689
|
13.4
5.4
1608
|
10.9
5.9
12991
|
|
Doberman pinscher
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
13.1
7.7
2251
|
13.7
7.6
1541
|
17.9
5.6
2263
|
19.6
4.4
2787
|
22.8
5.0
2475
|
19.0
5.0
2182
|
19.1
5.0
1856
|
18.2
5.6
15406
|
|
English Cocker spaniel
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
12.1
7.3
713
|
10.7
6.7
805
|
16.5
5.3
1124
|
17.5
4.0
1207
|
21.7
5.2
1057
|
24.4
5.0
1143
|
28.4
4.9
843
|
19.1
5.3
6916
|
|
English setter
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
3.3
28.0
1423
|
3.5
17.6
1214
|
7.9
15.7
1405
|
10.5
12.7
1668
|
14.1
12.2
1690
|
15.4
11.1
1616
|
20.1
9.7
1212
|
10.8
15.1
10272
|
|
English Springer spaniel
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
7.2
19.7
1791
|
5.2
18.0
1352
|
7.3
15.7
2029
|
9.0
10.8
2433
|
10.0
9.5
2443
|
9.9
9.1
2678
|
13.1
8.0
2007
|
9.1
12.3
14792
|
|
Flat-coated retriever
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
9.0
3.6
333
|
8.7
3.5
540
|
19.0
7.0
675
|
18.4
4.2
933
|
21.7
3.4
1029
|
24.8
3.0
1051
|
26.8
3.0
866
|
20.1
3.8
5464
|
|
German Shepherd dog
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
2.6
20.3
11723
|
1.9
22.1
11679
|
3.1
20.5
17243
|
3.7
17.2
22022
|
4.8
16.5
16766
|
5.3
17.8
14525
|
7.2
17.9
10968
|
4.1
18.7
105443
|
|
German shorthaired pointer
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
19.8
6.9
1371
|
18.4
7.6
1196
|
22.2
5.6
2059
|
24.2
3.7
2866
|
29.9
3.0
2916
|
28.3
2.8
3096
|
33.4
1.7
2126
|
26.3
3.9
15711
|
|
Golden retriever
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
1.9
23.1
16621
|
2.1
23.2
16290
|
2.8
22.5
19966
|
4.1
17.8
23139
|
5.4
16.1
22386
|
5.8
16.1
19099
|
8.9
13.2
13839
|
4.4
18.8
132110
|
|
Gordon setter
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
4.1
25.9
1051
|
4.4
20.8
923
|
8.2
20.4
1128
|
9.4
17.0
959
|
13.1
12.0
786
|
12.0
15.7
669
|
19.1
9.7
476
|
9.1
18.4
6025
|
|
Great Dane
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
6.5
13.0
2050
|
8.7
15.1
981
|
12.3
11.4
1396
|
13.5
9.7
1750
|
15.0
10.0
2108
|
11.9
11.8
2426
|
13.6
10.5
1844
|
11.8
114
12625
|
|
Great Pyrenees
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
9.2
9.3
774
|
11.7
10.5
759
|
12.9
9.9
1031
|
16.2
8.3
1134
|
16.5
8.3
920
|
16.0
6.9
756
|
18.0
7.9
494
|
14.3
8.7
5890
|
|
Irish setter
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
5.1
14.8
3740
|
6.5
11.3
1257
|
8.6
12.2
1413
|
10.3
9.9
1463
|
13.8
8.8
1295
|
14.1
7.2
1200
|
17.9
6.4
825
|
9.3
11.3
11226
|
|
Labrador retriever
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
10.8
14.2
14088
|
11.5
14.7
16564
|
15.2
13.3
28242
|
17.4
11.9
43244
|
20.3
11.0
51208
|
20.3
9.8
45458
|
25.3
8.0
27973
|
18.5
11.3
228094
|
|
Mastiff
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
2.5
19.9
322
|
5.4
22.7
503
|
5.1
23.2
986
|
6.3
17.2
2249
|
9.7
16.5
2778
|
9.2
18.1
2350
|
10.2
18.0
1398
|
8.1
18.2
10626
|
|
Newfoundland
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
3.5
31.6
1696
|
2.9
31.4
1709
|
6.7
25.8
2338
|
8.4
21.4
2514
|
10.6
23.1
2420
|
11.8
21.3
2561
|
15.1
20.3
1780
|
8.7
24.4
15094
|
|
Old English Sheepdog
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
7.8
22.9
4434
|
9.4
18.8
1438
|
13.8
18.0
1299
|
15.5
12.9
1091
|
17.7
11.3
947
|
17.2
10.3
816
|
21.8
10.0
578
|
11.9
18.0
10637
|
| |
To 1980
|
1981 to 1985
|
1986 to 1990
|
1991 to 1995
|
1996 to 2000
|
2001 to 2005
|
2006 to 2010
|
Total
|
|
Pembroke Welsh corgi
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
19.2
99
|
1.1
20.7
787
|
1.9
18.1
1583
|
2.4
14.3
2056
|
5.5
13.7
2257
|
3.7
17.3
2275
|
3.1
18.1
1598
|
3.3
16.5
10733
|
|
Poodle
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
8.0
17.4
2273
|
7.2
14.1
1821
|
9.1
14.2
2442
|
11.0
9.9
3401
|
14.1
9.9
4058
|
13.1
9.6
4945
|
16.6
8.7
3799
|
12.1
11.2
22908
|
|
Portuguese Water Dog
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
1.0
26.2
103
|
5.0
22.8
303
|
9.6
16.1
795
|
11.7
11.3
1271
|
16.2
10.1
1539
|
14.6
9.5
1955
|
20.6
8.7
1739
|
14.8
11.1
7790
|
|
Rhodesian Ridgeback
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
13.9
11.8
1123
|
19.1
8.5
993
|
19.2
5.9
1450
|
23.4
2.9
1879
|
24.7
2.9
1968
|
23.3
2.9
2064
|
27.2
2.5
1575
|
22.3
4.6
11130
|
|
Rottweiler
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
4.3
23.4
5901
|
5.2
22.8
16624
|
7.4
22.0
27339
|
9.2
17.6
22597
|
13.0
15.8
8973
|
11.9
15.8
6123
|
14.2
15.1
4921
|
8.4
19.8
92692
|
|
Samoyed
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
8.3
13.4
3767
|
7.4
12.2
2460
|
9.1
10.8
2593
|
10.9
8.8
2090
|
13.1
7.1
1787
|
14.4
8.7
1671
|
19.1
6.9
1416
|
10.8
10.4
15862
|
|
Shetland Sheepdog
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
26.0
5.6
515
|
29.7
9.8
549
|
25.8
6.2
2676
|
27.6
3.8
4254
|
28.7
4.0
4640
|
25.3
3.5
4225
|
32.5
2.9
2876
|
27.9
4.2
19842
|
|
Siberian Husky
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
24.6
2.7
4453
|
28.7
2.2
2495
|
37.6
1.9
2588
|
38.0
1.2
2616
|
41.6
1.2
2102
|
39.1
1.5
1759
|
41.4
1.2
1396
|
34.0
1.8
17470
|
|
Soft-coated Wheaten terrier
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
12.1
6.9
504
|
12.1
4.5
877
|
16.1
4.5
964
|
16.6
2.5
1030
|
22.2
4.0
1072
|
16.9
4.9
892
|
23.1
5.0
624
|
17.3
4.4
5992
|
|
Vizsla
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
12.7
10.4
1527
|
12.2
8.0
1068
|
14.0
7.4
1407
|
16.5
4.7
2004
|
19.6
6.0
2468
|
17.9
5.9
2865
|
21.0
4.4
2098
|
17.1
6.3
13547
|
|
Weimaraner
|
Ex %
Dys %
Total dogs
|
13.1
11.8
1586
|
12.6
11.1
1040
|
19.8
8.5
1514
|
22.4
7.2
2252
|
25.8
5.9
2410
|
24.7
7.7
1959
|
28.1
5.5
1138
|
21.6
7.9
11946
|
References
1. Keller GG, et al. The Use of Health Databases and Selective Breeding: A Guide for Dog and Cat Breeders and Owners. www.offa.org/pdf/monograph2006web.pdf
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