CHIC - Harry is in the database
What is CHIC? The Canine Health Information Center, also known as CHIC, is a centralized canine health database jointly sponsored by the AKC/Canine Health Foundation (AKC/CHF) and the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). The CHIC, working with participating parent clubs, provides a resource for breeders and owners of purebred dogs to research and maintain information on the health issues prevalent in specific breeds. The CHIC also maintains a DNA Bank, co-sponsored by the OFA and the AKC/CHF, collects and stores canine DNA samples along with corresponding genealogic and phenotypic information to facilitate future research and testing aimed at reducing the incidence of inherited disease in dogs. CHIC is not about normalcy. CHIC is meant to encourage health testing and sharing of all results, normal and abnormal, so that more informed breeding decisions can be made in an overall effort to reduce the incidence of genetic disease and improve canine health. Breed Requirements Old English Sheepdog Hip Dysplasia *OFA Evaluation - OR *OVC Evaluation - OR *PennHIP Evaluation Eye Clearance *CERF evaluation - recommend each year until 5, thereafter every 2 years Autoimmune thyroiditis *OFA evaluation from an approved laboratory It is recommended that the test be repeated annually up to 5 years of age, and every 2 years thereafter. Congenital Cardiac Database (optional) *OFA evaluation with exam by cardiologist Congenital Deafness (optional) *OFA evaluation based on BAER test Multiple Drug Sensitivity (optional) *Washington State University Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology Lab test results registered with the OFA - WSU VCPL. First Generation Offspring of tested dogs eligible for Clear By Parentage Harry has had been tested for hips, eyes and thyroid all required for a CHIC number. I also tested him for Multiple Drug Sensitivity. Here is the link to his records including the results of his tests: http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1281754#animal Remember, even if you do not plan to breed your dog any health testing and records that you share become part of the database. This database provides vital information that can be beneficial in the elimination of health issues within the breed. Your participation can help future generations. |
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| Thank you Judi. I know the breed has some serious health issues and not just in BYB lines. I hope this helps clean up some problems by identifying where there is a problem and breeding to eliminate these. We knew Harry was special and now we can show he's darn near perfect! |
Chewie says welcome to the CHIC family!  We also did MDR1 and elbows. Very nice you posted all the info required too!  |
| Judi..this is a great thread... I am so glad I got her hips/elbows tested before deciding to to agility!!!  I know I am not doing anything harmful by all the jumping .....I still need to get her eyes checked and get her pic uploaded...but here is her link..... http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1338983#animal I also think that it does help the breeder confirm the soundness of her litters.... I am constantly amazed at how many 1/2 sisters and brothers she has~~~~  Her daddy was a very busy guy!!!! |
got sheep wrote: Chewie says welcome to the CHIC family! We also did MDR1 and elbows. And his entire litter was BAER tested, though the results were never submitted to OFA since I had it done when they were 8 weeks old and none of them were registered yet. There are ways of getting around that though, so I'll do my next litter differently to make sure that information is made public as well. Harry and Chewie and the rest of Chewie's litters MDR1 results will soon be able to be submitted to the OESCA Open Health Registry. They can be submitted to OFA now, as well. The difference there is that there is a fee to the OFA (on top of the testing fees) to submit results, whereas it can be submitted for inclusion to the OHR for free. We're working on the submission procedure as we speak. The purpose of CHIC is not only to encourage testing, but to encourage the release of the results. It's important DATA. Dogs like Harry and Chewie may have passed all of the required health clearances, but a dog does not need to pass to get a CHIC number -the importance of an OPEN health registry is that (in an ideal world) all information is shared and it is a testament to the breeder and/or owner's committment to the breed when they are willing to share not just the good, but everything. A small number of breeders have already proven that level of committment. Susan, it should come as no surprise that there are health concerns throughout the breed: all living organisims carry "bad" genes, us included. Few, if any of us, would pass all human clearances (especially when you throw in things like temperament <g>) Few to probably none of our dogs would either, if we had DNA tests for EVERYTHING that could conceivably show up in the breed. Despite appearances to the contrary, even Harry and Chewie are NOT genetically perfect. We simply don't know what other genes may be lurking which could contribute to other health problems in the right (or dare I say wrong) combination. However, the purebred dog is a special case in that you (usually) have a closed registry, i.e. a limited gene pool. Whatever genes are present in the population when the gene pool is closed is what you have to work with. If no genes for, let's say, dermoid sinus, were present, you will not see that in the population no matter how you breed. (This presumes no mutations, something which really isn't well understood). You can even have a situation where, let's say, one of the foundation dogs of the breed was a carrier for a certain condition, but through breeding, and purely by chance, these particular genes were not passed on. so that disease, though the potential existed, was by chance eliminated from the gene pool. Other diseases may quietly become widespread over time simply based on chance. What we can't see is hard to select against, equally so if it is seen and the information is not shared. CHIC is not about perfection, because except in our eyes  no dog is perfect. CHIC is about sharing information so breeders can make more informed decisions to try to reduce the frequency of some of the health problems we know occur in the breed. It's not the end all. It's a start. But an important one. For those of you who went to the expense and trouble to screen and release health information for the sake of your dogs' breeders: thank you  And the same for those who have donated DNA on your dogs for the sake of research - current or future -and this includes many rescue dogs as well I was just going over a stud dog contract the other day. I found it very interesting. The breeder included things like what health clearances the bitch must have before she will consider permitting her dog to be used, what health testing she has done on her dog (pretty much all of the required and recommended testing). It goes on to require that the bitch owner disclose known health problems in the bitch's pedigree, along with the stud dog's owner's reciprocity. This isn't spelled out, but I know the stud dog owner well and so know that this does not mean that she will not consider allowing her dog to be bred to a bitch who doesn't have a "perfect" pedigree, since this is impossible and unrealistic, and, in fact, my bitch does not - there are known health risks in her pedigree - but so health issues can be compared so the breeders in question are not unwittingly doubling up on, perhaps, unacceptable risk. It ends with the provision that bitch owner must report any health problems that might occur in any resulting litter over their lifetime. This is important information also for the stud dog owner - it helps her know what genes her dog may be carrying. This is the type of stud dog owner I want to be dealing with as a breeder because this is a sensible approach to information sharing. It's not about condemnation - health issues WILL crop up, both the serious and not necessarily so serious (undesirable, but not life threatening) It's all about INFORMATION and the sharing of same. That - and research efforts when available - are the only ways we can make any real inroads in controlling health problems in the breed and the really great thing is that we don't have to be breeders to help that effort, as people like Judi and Val and Dawn and...?...have proven. Kudos and thanks.  Kristine |
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