Your opinions on these hips, please? - Page 2

You're welcome!

Ya might want to think some good thoughts my way today. At 1:30, I'm taking my 2 year old female to get her hips and elbows x-rayed for OFA!

I'm going to ask to see the x-rays before the vet sends them off, and take a photo if I can!

Okay, back with one very groggy girl!

No photos, but elbows look okay, to my eye, anyway. 

Hips, on the other hand, are much looser than I'd hoped for. I think she'll still pass, but it may be only a 'fair' rather than a 'good'!  They certainly are a LOT looser than Ranger's (see above x-ray).

Just my luck: the non-pedigreed dog has the good hips, while the pedigreed dog's hips aren't that great! 

{Sigh!} Them's the breaks! 

as hd worsens, the femoral head thin kens and the ball become less round and eventually rough.

http://www.offa.org/hipinfo.html

If read all of this stuff and you'll find all the basic information to again an good understanding. The more you know the better!

Aw, hate to hear that Sunsilver.  How old is she?  Are you near a lake where you can take her swimming to maybe tighten those up? Good luck with her.

Oh, and thanks, SitasMom.  I'll check that website too.

 

Sunsilver:   Don't forget, "Fair" hips are still passing, normal  and not dysplastic.  A dog with fair  hips should be able to handle any sort of sport or athletic activity, so take heart and continue to have a lot of fun with her!

Yeah, I know, Sue, and I will continue to have fun with her. I've even heard of dogs with mild dysplasia getting schutzhund titles, so I've no worries about her soundness. But as far a breeding goes, if the hips are only fair, I'm getting her spayed for sure.  She's got too many other niggly ittle things wrong with her.  Minor things, to be sure, but they all add up: weak ear set, poor pigment, front feet turn in a little, and she's a little close behind in the hocks. No, not cow-hocked, but  she's narrow bodied, and the hocks are set close together.

Too bad. I bought her as a show and breeding prospect, and I'm starting to realize she's neither. A lot of people would breed her just based on her pedigree, but a pedigree does not make the pup!

Feeling a bit down right now. Both dogs failed their TD on the weekend. I was especially disappointed in Star. She started okay, then decided she had to poop between the two start flags, despite being given THREE opportunities to relieve herself before starting. She restarted poorly, and just upped and quit on me at the first corner!

I KNOW she can do better than that...she's been doing SO well in practise!

I had an interesting chat with an older lady who used to breed GSD's. She got out of the breed when they started having all sorts of physical problems and dying on her. One dog broke its leg running down a hill!

I asked her when she noticed things starting to go bad. She said, 'around the mid-sixties.'

Uhuh, no surprise there! That was then the Great Divide began (German/American split).

I didn't ask if she'd ever considered going into German lines. She no longer breeds.

I'm sorry tracking didn't go well, I know how disappointing it is when we as a team (dog and handler) do not perform as well as we expected, when we don't perform to the level we have trained,  on trial day, of all days.  it's very frustrating and a real let down.   You know in schutzhund there is a very famous saying:  "My dog never did that before".  I know it sounds trite, but it's really very true, and sometimes that's just all you can say. 

I know you know all about what I am about to say:  Get back up on that horse.  Get out, go practice tracking, as soon as you see her doing it like you know she can, your spirits will lift. 
 

This is Dana Von Ryans hip x-rays, she is OFA Good...



These are Dana's half sister Bonnie Von Ryan , she is OFA Good....



These are Virgo Von Ryan, she is OFA pre-limbed Good....


Below:  These are Tessie Von Ryan, I am having them redone, she was close to her heat cycle, so they did not pass.....
If you saw Tessie jump a seven foot fence, and also spring upwards 6 feet straight up from the ground, you would be impressed, she is by far the fastest GSD I have ever owned, (other than her grand-ma Mira)....

Get out, go practice tracking, as soon as you see her doing it like you know she can, your spirits will lift.


Well, that's part of the problem....

I had been working them pretty hard to prepare for the test, so, needless to say, I gave them Sunday off. Today, we've got pissawful weather: cold, wet, pouring rain. Guaranteed to dampen the spirits at the best of times.

The rain had decreased to a light drizzle by sunset, so we went for a nice long walk anyway, as all 3 of us were going a little stir crazy. Gave me a lift seeing them tear through the mud puddles, body-checking each other and acting silly.

And no, I did not work them hard enough before the test to sour them on tracking. The last tracks we did on Friday went very well even though it started to rain as we were doing them.

I got the official results today. Out of 6 dogs and handlers attempting the TD, only one passed. That makes me feel a bit better!

P.S. Welcome back! How was your 'vacation'?

hahahah You funny girl!

Don't you wish it were so simple as to say "oh I know I worked them too hard".  Oh no, nothing is that simple, huh?  I guess that's part of the reason we like doing it anyways, if it were easy, it wouldn't mean as much.