Summer 2017 Saber Tails 65
Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America
the hunting fields, know firsthand the effects of age on
their own degenerating joints. No one in the club, or on
the Board, wants our stoic little hounds to suffer from ar-
thritis. I firmly believe that the Club should be working to
increase the health consciousness of our breeders. Evalu-
ation of hips should be one of our recommended pre-
breeding health screens.
I am happy to supply these articles to any Club mem-
ber who wishes to read further on the subject:
Bell (2017) AKC Bearded Collie Stud Book & Genetic Diver-
sity Analysis. Website accessed May 15, 2017. http://www.
beaconforhealth.org/Final_Stud_Book_Analysis%20
with%20edit%20restrictions.pdf
Keller, Dziuk, and Bell (2011). How the Orthopedic Foun-
dation for Animals (OFA) is tackling inherited disorders in
the USA: Using hip and elbow dysplasia as examples. The
Veterinary Journal 189: 197.
Malm, Fikse, Egenvall, Bonnett, Gunnarsson, Hedhammar,
and Strandberg (2010). Association between radiograph-
ic assessment of hip status and subsequent incidence of
veterinary care and mortality related to hip dysplasia in
insured Swedish dogs. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 93:
222.
Wilson, Nicholas, and Thomson (2011). Selection against
canine hip dysplasia: Success or failure? The Veterinary
Journal 189: 160.
Response to Laura Liscum’s Article
“Response to PBGVCA Withdraws from CHIC”
by Tiffany Cannon – Past President, PBGVCA
This response was written by me when I was still serv-
ing as President of the club. This was presented to and
reviewed by the Officers and Board of Directors. Let me
explain that I am firmly against anything (conversations,
opinions, arguments, disagreements, etc.) that would
drive a wedge between our club members. I do not be-
lieve we, on the board or the committees, should ever do
anything to risk alienating members or causing members
to be concerned that we represent differing interests
rather than the best interest of the breed. I belong to
other breed clubs with extreme division in the ranks and
I would have done anything to avoid those divides while
still doing what I believed to be in the best interest of our
breed. The topic of whether or not the PBGVCA requires
hip testing for PBGVs in order for them to obtain a CHIC
number has apparently escalated into a back-and-forth
of which I strongly disapprove. However, in the interest
of transparency to the club members, Laura Liscum’s ar-
ticle and this response are being published here.
Related to Laura Liscum’s response to the article “PBGVCA
Withdraws from CHIC” published in the April 2017 Saber
Tails, I do not agree on many levels! Mostly, I do not agree
that hip dysplasia testing is appropriate or warranted for
our breed. However, I do still plan to test my dogs for hip
dysplasia. I do not agree that hip dysplasia is a prevalent
problem in our breed. I really do not agree that OFA hip
x-ray evaluation is an appropriate predictor of that poten-
tiality in our breed, and I do not believe the health survey
can be used as a support to a possibility that hip dyspla-
sia is an issue. As a breeder, I will most likely continue to
have a very expensive hip test conducted and recorded
on my breeding males and females simply because it
makes puppy buyers feel more comfortable. I’m not sure
yet how I’ll handle the inevitable situation that one of my
dogs fails to pass the test. That hasn’t happened to me
yet, but when it does, I must admit, I will NOT believe the
results.
I also would like to point out that a CHIC number has
nothing to do with the actual testing or publishing of test
results. Anyone who wants to may continue to have hip
x-rays taken and may continue to have those x-rays re-
viewed and results recorded by OFA. Those results will al-
ways be available on the www.offa.org website as stated
in my April 2017 Saber Tails article. I also believe there
is a big difference between a dog that is declared to be
dysplastic via x-ray review and a dog that is symptomatic.
A question to the health committee must be asked. Jo
Quintenz (Director – West Region) solicited feedback
from the health committee in advance of any decision
being made by the Officers and BOD. Jo’s research was
extensive and thorough, but we were very interested in
the health committee’s position on the subject. We were
told that the committee was against removing the OFA
hip test from the list of CHIC required tests, but no one
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