On the subject of using PennHip to shorten the time frame for evaluating progeny:
Personally, I will not use Penn Hip as I have had dogs injured by it as have others. When I sell a puppy, it is against my sales contract to use PennHip before the age of 12 months. This is my opinion and I'm not trying to debate Penn Hip here as I will not change my mind. However, this is a mute point as Penn Hip doesn't give you elbows anyway which puts you right back to the same time frame used by OFA. I feel that currently elbows are a worse problem in this breed than hips. I'd be more inclined to use OVC (Canadian Registry that certifiies at 18 months) than Penn Hip. I can tell you for a fact that many reputable and honorable BMDCA breeders are now using OFA prelims since we have lost GDC. Personally, I see no problem with this as all the registries are one tool in a very large picture. I like to see the x-rays myself in the presense of a skilled radiologist/vet and make my decision based on that along with the results of a registry. I don't use any registry as a Bible on which dog to breed. Flames happily deleted, Dawn Gabig, Classique Berners, Kansas City USA Our Website: http://ClassiqueBMD.homestead.com FREE Graphics: http://ClassiqueBMDs.homestead.com/graphics.html Heartland Club Website: http://www.hbmdc.org/
