Welcome to PennHIP
PennHIP is a not-for-profit program wholly owned and operated by the University of Pennsylvania. Our mission is to develop and apply evidence-based technology to direct appropriate breeding strategies aimed at reducing in frequency and severity the osteoarthritis of canine hip dysplasia.
PennHIP incorporates a new method for evaluating the integrity of the canine hip. It is accurate in puppies as young as 16 weeks of age. It has great potential to lower the frequency of CHD when used as a selection criterion.
2012 Training Courses in Hong Kong and Germany
We are excited to announce that we are planning for PennHIP training courses for Hong Kong (March 21, 2012), Berlin (April 28, 2012) and Frankfurt (April 29, 2012). Dates are tentative, details will be posted as they become available. Click here to learn about our upcoming training dates.
New Breed Laxity Update!
The breed laxity statistics have been generated for October 2011. The statistics are available to all certified PennHIP members. Remember to login to gain access.
New Blog Topic about PennHIP vs OFA
Click here to visit the Animal Insides website where Dr. Matt Wright blogs about the recent PennHIP manuscript (PennHIP vs OFA) and the superiority of the PennHIP method.
PennHIP vs OFA
A new scientific paper has just been published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association entitled "Evaluation of the relationship between Orthopedic Foundation for Animals' hip joint scores and PennHIP distraction index values in dogs" (pg 532-541). This study shows that dogs judged as "normal" by the OFA can have clinically important passive hip joint laxity as determined by the PennHIP method. The results suggest that OFA scoring can underestimate susceptibility to osteoarthritis in dogs, which may impede progress in reducing or eliminating hip dysplasia through breeding.
Article: Click to here to read the abstract and to gain access to the full article.
Press Release: Click here to read the press release.
Video: Click here to view a short video featuring Dr. Smith explaining the results and their significance.
Bibliography: JAVMA, September 1, 2010, Vol. 237, No. 5, Pages 532-541
PennHIP Article
Jemima Harrison has written a non-technical article about the PennHIP technique. Ms. Harrison is a journalist and TV producer best known for making Pedigree Dogs Exposed, a British television documentary highlighting health and welfare problems in purebred dogs in the UK. Click here to read the article.
PennHIP Podcast
Dr. Smith was interviewed by Lisa Stahr, host of Special Pets, Special Needs. Gail talks about the PennHIP method and how it can predict the likelihood of getting Degenerative Joint Disease/Osteoarthritis later in life. To listen to the entire interview, click here to visit the Special Pets, Special Needs website or go on iTunes and search "Scouts House".
Submitting Digital Images
Digital radiographic images can be sent to PennHIP electronically. Click here for more information.
As a reminder, our new address is:
PennHIP
University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
3800 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
USA
Please send all correspondence, radiographs, CD's to this address.