- The Club
- OFA Numbering
Deciphering OFA Numbersby Caroline Cox I wonder how many of you, like me, anxiously open your OFA results, glance at the grading and either breathe a huge sigh of relief (or shed a few tears into the coffee cup). Then we file the piece of paper away and only look at it again if we plan on breeding our dog. Once in a while we may look at the certificate and wonder, in passing, what all the letters and numbers mean, but we don’t really think too much about it. Well, it turns out that those letters and numbers have real significance, and the OFA website in fact has a section called OFA Number Key that details each code for each database. For example, the first two letters in the number for Hip Dysplasia are the code for the breed; in the case of the Ridgeback, it is RR. The next three numbers are a numerical identifier given to each animal evaluated as normal within the breed. The next letter is the OFA evaluation–E = Excellent, G = Good and F = Fair (curiously, there doesn’t seem to be a letter for Borderline, Mild, Moderate and Severe – all failing grades). The next two numbers are the age in months at which the test was done. Then comes the sex, and finally, letters indicating the animal has some form of permanent identification. So you can obtain at a glance quite a lot of information on, in this case, a dog’s hip X-ray. OFA runs a database for Hip Dysplasia, Elbow Dysplasia, Cardiac, Thyroid, Deafness, Patellar Luxation, Sebaceous Adenitis, Legg-Calve-Perthes and DNA. The following table (source: www.offa.org/numberkey.html) lists the codes for each database: |
|
|
Code |
Explanation |
|
HIP DYSPLASIA (E.g.: RR-100E24M-PI) |
RR (Rhodesian Ridgeback) |
Breed code |
|
100 |
Numerical identification given to each dog evaluated as normal within the breed |
|
|
E |
OFA phenotypic evaluation E= Excellent G = Good F = Fair |
|
|
24 |
Age in months when X-ray was done |
|
|
M (Male); F (Female) |
Sex of the dog |
|
|
PI |
Indicates that the animal has been permanently identified by tattoo or microchip |
|
|
NOPI |
Indicates that the animal lacks permanent identification |
|
|
ELBOW DYSPLASIA (E.g., RR-EL100F24-PI) |
RR (Rhodesian Ridgeback) |
Breed |
|
EL |
OFA elbow dysplasia database |
|
|
100 |
Numerical identification given to each animal evaluated as normal with the breed |
|
|
M (Male); F (Female) |
Sex |
|
|
24 |
Age in months when X-rays were taken |
|
|
PI |
Indicates permanently identified by tattoo or microchip |
|
|
NOPI |
Indicates no permanent identification |
|
|
CARDIAC (E.g.: RR-CA100/12M/C-PI) |
RR (Rhodesian Ridgeback) |
Breed |
|
CA |
OFA cardiac database |
|
|
100 |
Numerical identification given to each animal evaluated as normal within the breed |
|
|
12 |
Age in months when testing was done |
|
|
M (Male); F (Female) |
Sex |
|
|
C |
Suffix indicating the area of specialty of the attending veterinarian: P = General Practitioner S = Specialist C = Board Certified Cardiologist |
|
|
PI |
Indicates permanently identified by tattoo or microchip |
|
|
NOPI |
Indicates no permanent identification |
|
|
THYROID (E.g.: RR-TH100/24M-PI) |
RR (Rhodesian Ridgeback) |
Breed |
|
TH |
OFA database for thyroid |
|
|
100
|
Numerical identification given to each animal evaluated as normal within the breed |
|
|
24
|
Age in months when testing was done |
|
|
M (Male); F (Female) |
Sex |
|
|
PI |
Indicates permanently identified by tattoo or microchip |
|
|
NOPI |
Indicates no permanent identification |
|
|
DEAFNESS (Eg.: RR-BR100/12M-PI) |
RR (Rhodesian Ridgeback) |
Breed |
|
BR |
OFA database for Deafness (BR - BAER Test) |
|
|
100 |
Numerical identification given to each animal evaluated as normal within the breed |
|
|
12 |
Age in months when test was done |
|
|
M (Male); F (Female) |
Sex |
|
|
PI |
Indicates permanently identified by tattoo or microchip |
|
|
NOPI |
Indicates no permanent identification |
|
|
PATELLAR LUXATION |
PO (Poodle) |
Breed |
|
PA |
OFA database for Patellar Luxation |
|
|
100 |
Numerical identification given to each animal evaluated as normal within the breed |
|
|
18 |
Age in months at which testing was done |
|
|
M (Male; F (Female) |
Sex |
|
|
S |
Suffix indicating the area of specialty of the attending veterinarian: P = General Practitioner S = Specialist C = Board Certified Surgeon |
|
|
PI |
Indicates that the animal has been permanently identified |
|
|
NOPI |
Indicates no permanent identification |