How To read an OFA Certificate

FIRST: Make sure the names of the dogs on the certificates are the same as the sire and dam of the litter and that the AKC numbers match.

OFA HIP REGISTRY

Example: BF-3685G32F-T

BF = the breed
3685= the certificate number
G = the result (E=excellent, G=good, F=fair)
32 = age in months at exam (should be at least 24)
F = gender of dog
T = dog has permanent ID (tattoo or microchip)

Find out hip status for 3 generations, and for as many siblings, cousins, etc. as possible. It's not enough to know only about the parents of the litter because of the polygenecity of dysplasia.

OFA ELBOWS REGISTRY

Example: BF-EL277-T

BF-EL = Breed and Elbow Registry
277 = certificate #
T = permanent ID on dog

OFA CARDIAC REGISTRY

Example: BF-CA71/28F/C-T

BF-CA = Breed and Cardiac Registry
71 = certificate #
28= age in months at exam time (at least 12 months)
F = gender
C = exam was done by a cardiologist. S = specialist (an internist with cardiology training); P = practioner
T = permanent ID on dog

Note: There have been SAS-affected puppies born even where both parents had OFA Cardiac certificates. This happens because either the dogs are carriers, or affected without showing physical evidence yet (no murmur), or the veterinarian who examined the dog was not sufficiently skilled to appreciate the murmur. It is helpful to check as many relatives, littermates, offspring of littermates as possible since this is not a straight dominant gene issue.

Verify i nformation on the OFA web page ( Database Queries).

OFA Thyroid REGISTRY

Example: BF-TH25/31F-T

BF-TH = Breed and Thyroid Registry
25 = certificate #
31 = age in months
F = gender
T = permanent ID on dog

CERF (eyes) REGISTRY

Example: BF-301/97-32

BF= breed
301 = certificate #
97 = year of exam (should be an annual exam and within past year for breeding dogs)
32 = age of dog in months at last exam