Fair IS passing and I would not hesitate to use if it was the right dog for my bitch. That being said...there are pedigrees that I would not touch a Fair from...or a good for that matter. I think it is important to look at the big picture...ie the pedigree behind the dog...how that pedigree has produced from a soundness standpoint? What were the scores of this dog's littermates, etc. I would not just one individual's scores.
I feel the same as you. Just as important as the dog's rating would be the ratings within the pedigree going back as many generations as possible.
An Excellent or Good without sire and dam or grand sire and grand dam, siblings and other family member ratings is useless, to me anyway. I would rather have a Fair rating *which is a Pass* that has nice ratings within the pedigree going back many generations including a couple of siblings, than an Excellent with little behind or around it.
Consistency and soundness of health in the pedigree are the key, not one single rating of a passing Fair.
Please post a link to that chart, I couldn't find it.
Under Breeder Guidelines, OFA clearly states:
"Do not ignore the dog with a fair hip evaluation. The dog is still within normal limits. For example; a dog with fair hips but with a strong hip background and over 75% of its brothers and sisters being normal is a good breeding prospect."
I am very dismayed by the rating "snobs" who equate a passing hip as if it were defective. If you removed all of the Labs with fair ratings over the last 20 years from the gene pool, the chocolate lovers would really be upset. It means that Banner's Apple Butter would never have produced her three litters, which included EPOCH'S EDWARD OF BONAVENTURE and EPOCH'S OREO COOKIE. Without these two, we wouldn't have the lovely specialty winner EPOCHS BROWN BAGGIN and many (many) of the important chocolate producers of the last decade sired by Edward.
I hate to harp on the same subject over and over, but hip ratings are TOOLS. Tossing fair hips from the breeding pool truly fits the baby and bathwater analogy.
Lets don't start naming names. All three colors have great dogs that have had Fair in the pedigee and produced great winning get. Fair is pass. I will not over look a fair to breed if it has what I want from a dog. I do look at family history.
Point taken. If we removed the 16,725 Labs with OFA fair hips in the last 20 years from our gene pool, the breed would be the poorer for it - regardless of color or sport preference.
Your dog's hips passed. Who cares if they are fair or not?
The excellent bitch I have now came from my stud whose hips are good and his dam's hips were fair. She was bred three times and all of the pups who were tested came back good. Not a single puppy had a hip problem.
If you are enjoying your boy, don't worry about this rating (which is still passing by the way).
I would use a dog with fair hips on one of my girls in a heartbeat if he were the right match for my girl.
I had a girl with a Fair rating, bred her to a Good and out of the 3 offspring that have been xrayed, they all came back Excellent. Fair is a passing rating!!
One of my girls came back fair.
My vet assured me fair was passing.
Bred her to two studs who were good or excellent. Last litter 8 years ago.
Of those who have kept in touch, all pups are fine. Those who were x-rayed ( i think 8 ) are rated excellent hips
I support the OP about OFA Fair. Fair is not good enough for me. I do not use a male, regardless of how good his other characteristics, with an OFA Fair. There are lots of other good males who have better hips. For my taste OFA passes far too many dogs to substantially improve the hips of Labs.
