Dexter is a gorgeous dark golden male born September 22, 2018. He was born to stunning parents, both of which were quite dark, genetically clear and OFA good or better on hips and elbows. In fact his father achieved a very rare excellent rating on his hips.
Dexter lives with and is loved by our two grandsons Ethan and Carter (and of course our daughter Jennifer and her husband Scott).
Dexter is an absolutely gorgeous specimen of a very dark and healthy Golden Retriever, has parents with higher than normal (father is excellent) OFA tests and is completely clear of testable genetic defects (by parentage).
Dexter’s hips are good!!
Dexter’s PennHIP “Distraction Index” (DI) score for his hips was 45/52 (where 54 is currently breed average and lower is better) at 17 months old. This is roughly equivalent to OFA “Normal” on one hip and OFA “Good” on the other. They also note that “No Cavitation is present” and no signs of Osteoarthritis. Basically all this means is Dexter’s hips are in good shape. PennHIP states that any dog that tests with a lower DI than the breed mean (average) should be good to breed.
In the past, PennHIP used a “percentile” score where higher was better but they have since dropped that for the more accurate “Distraction Index” as it is much more accurate and objective, if confusing to some.
The advantage of PennHIP is that it is more intense scrutiny and more accurate than OFA and can be done as early as 3 months old.
As a general rule we use OFA testing since it has been around longer and as a result is more widely known and less expensive but Dexter needed to be tested before he breeds and we expect him to get started before 2 years old so we went with PennHIP. The disadvantages are: More expensive (a LOT more expensive) and the results are cryptic. OFA is a less intense test and less expensive but has been around longer and in order to be accurate, must be done after 2 years of age. OFA also just gives general ratings (fair, normal, good, excellent) that are easier to understand but less exact.
- View pedigree Online via k9data.com
- View fully clear Embark DNA Test Results
- View AKC Registration Certificate
