[hotel4dogs]

As I look in pedigrees, it seems like about 10 years ago nothing but hips were done.
When did they start doing the other clearances?
Would it be a concern if, for example, a dog born in 1995 had nothing but hip clearances done (moving up the pedigree)?? Does that mean it was a bad breeder, or was it not real common to do the others yet?

 

[DNL2448]

When Brandy had her litter in 1995 all that was done was hips and elbows. They may have had other clearances available but nothing was really said about it. Good question though.

 

[rappwizard]

The Golden Retriever Club of America's Code of Ethics is, I guess, kinda new--if you look at the very bottom, you'll see when it was adopted--I've copied and pasted it for you--4/20/1997, so it's not yet 13 years old. I was just getting involved in the breed, so I'm going to defer to those on this forum who have been in the breed longer; I think I'm pretty safe in saying that prior to '97, it was rather common to have hips done, but I don't believe there was universal agreement on the other clearances.

The COE was revised in May, 2001, and that revision I recall very well--that change included the elbow clearance. You'll find that some breeders did them prior to 2001, and others didn't. But after that date, it became an accepted practice (for those breeders who wanted to abide by the COE).

I wish I could tell you what change occurred with the February, 2008 revision--in looking at the COE, I see wording that addresses clearances that are acceptable if they are from a foreign country/registry--perhaps that was the change?

Anyway, here is the wording below on the COE so you can see. Hope this helps somewhat.

Adopted: April 20, 1997, by GRCA Board of Directors.(Rev. 5-01, 2-08)

 

[Pointgold]

No, breeders were doing hips, CERF eyes, and hearts, but the OFA was not yet a repository for all those clearances yet. We were doing hearts in the 80's, often at clinics held at breeders homes and kennels, having a board certified cardiologist come in if we got enough people together to make it worth his while. Many were also doing random thyoid testing, which again, was not listed in any database.

 

[hotel4dogs]

ok, so if I look up a dog in OFA that was born in 1995 or prior, and the only clearances listed are hips, I shouldn't flip out, right?