hi... are you wanting xrays because you are interested in breeding? or are you just wanting to see what's going on with his hips? If you are interested in breeding, Penn-hip is the only hip evaluation system that would be appropriate for long-term prospects of hip disease, given his age. If you are just curious about why he is unsteady, you don't need to bother with ofa/gdc or penn-hip, because really, you just want to know what's going on, and those places don't help you with that anyway. So you should probably go with your vet or if you're really concerned, have a board certified orthopedist (ACVS) either take, or look at the films. And...for what it's worth, some dogs that are 'unstable' at his age may even grow out of it, given time, despite what the xrays look like.
...ben >Subject: Where to go for preliminary X-rays? >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >Fellow L'ers: > >I have an 8 month old boy who I would like to get X-rayed since his rear >appears a bit unstable. I have an appointment on Tuesday with his regular >Vet. > >Should I keep this appointment or do you think I should make an appointment >with an Orthopedist? Should I get a recommendation for an orthopedist from >OFA? I don't know how much experience my Vet has with X-raying hips/elbows, >etc. and I would be disappointed if the X-rays indicate a problem due to >improper positioning on her part. > >Thank you for your opinion. > >Sincerely, > >Julene Stelmak >Manhattan Beach, CA > Benjamin M. Brainard VMD Resident, Anesthesia/Emergency/Critical Care Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania 3900 Delancy St. Phila, PA 19104 (215) 573-7779
