[windycanyon]

Yes, do them all at the same time. If you use a vet who does a lot of OFAs, they will usually be able to give you a good idea on the hip ratings. Most admit that elbows are tougher to read and so a regular vet may miss a Grade I, so I'm never comfortable until the OFA results come back. Anne

 

[windycanyon]

I have no idea about that! Mine does the standard OFA positioning, on their back, legs stretched very straight and tight. He has beautiful quality positioning and xrays. That's what you want. If the hips are good, they'll look very good, if bad, they'll look very ugly!

 

[windycanyon]

Why would anyone x-rays hips/elbows when the dog is being de-sexed? Would that not only really matter if you were considering breeding? Not being argumentative - just don't get the rationale here.

I recommend anyone investing the time and money into training and competing (esp in agility and hunt tests) to get them done so they know their dog is sound. Nothing worse than watching someone discipline a dog that is really quitting because it hurts.

The last set of hips/elbows I did (Oct 08) was up ~$20 from the year before to about $230 if I remember right. Full sedation, reversable. The vet clinic had just done a major addition/remodel, so I know that was part of the increase but it's still darned reasonable for the quality.

Anne