{"id":1109,"date":"2023-08-14T13:23:47","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T18:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/?p=1109"},"modified":"2023-08-14T14:14:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T19:14:29","slug":"why-ofa-certification-is-important-when-buying-a-puppy-from-a-breeder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/why-ofa-certification-is-important-when-buying-a-puppy-from-a-breeder\/","title":{"rendered":"Why OFA Certification is Important When Buying a Puppy from a Breeder!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Buying a puppy from a reputable dog breeder (like <a href=\"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">us<\/a>) ensures the best <\/strong><strong>breed-specific characteristics and overall health. That\u2019s why <\/strong><strong>OFA Certification is so important!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>OFA: What is It?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Founded in 1966 by The Canine Health Information Center (CHIC), <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OFA<\/a><\/strong><\/span> stands for The <strong>O<\/strong>rthopedic <strong>F<\/strong>oundation for <strong>A<\/strong>nimals. It is a private, non-profit foundation created by John M. Olin, an inventor, industrialist, philanthropist, conservationist and sportsman. When his own working dogs began to be challenged by hip dysplasia, John began to investigate and create specific ways to limit this debilitating canine disease through OFA Certification.<\/p>\n<p>Initially, the OFA focused on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Radiographic (x-ray) Evaluation.<\/li>\n<li>Data Management.<\/li>\n<li>Genetic Counseling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the beginning, OFA specifically addressed K9 hip dysplasia. Today, the organization has expanded into other inherited diseases including cancers, heart and thyroid disease and also includes felines.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The OFA Certification and Mission<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The OFA was established to <em>\u201cpromote the health and welfare of companion animals through a reduction in the incidence of genetic disease.\u201d<\/em> Their mission includes the following four <a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">objectives<\/a>:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1120\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1120\" style=\"width: 203px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1120 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/MaddieCaneCorsoFemalePuppy-min.jpeg?resize=203%2C184&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Maddie, a female Cane Corso Puppy comes from a dam and sire with OFA Certification\" width=\"203\" height=\"184\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 203px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 203\/184;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1120\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maddie is one of our Female Cane Corso Puppies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">The collation and dissemination of information regarding orthopedic and genetic canine\/feline diseases.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Advises, encourages and establishes control programs to limit\/lower the prevalence of diseases.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Encourages and finances companion animal disease research involving various breeds and diseases at leading universities and institutions.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Raises funds and bestows financial grants to advance their objectives. Recipient organizations have included the <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.akcchf.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AKC Canine Health Foundation<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (AKC CHF), the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.morrisanimalfoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Morris Animal Foundatio<\/span><\/strong>n<\/a> (MAF) and occasional direct grants.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Until now, &#8220;OFA has funded over $3 million in research for the purpose of reducing the incidence and prevalence of inherited companion animal disease.&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>The OFA Databases<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1121\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1121\" style=\"width: 202px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1121 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/GracieAndMaddieCaneCorsoPuppies-min.jpg?resize=202%2C159&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Gracie and Maddie, female Cane Corso Puppies Playing outside come from a dam and sire with OFA Certification\" width=\"202\" height=\"159\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/GracieAndMaddieCaneCorsoPuppies-min.jpg?resize=300%2C236&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/GracieAndMaddieCaneCorsoPuppies-min.jpg?w=698&amp;ssl=1 698w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 202px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 202\/159;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1121\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The female Cane Corso Puppies, Gracie and Maddie, explore outside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Today, OFA maintains the world\u2019s largest public databases of health-screening results. These databases are central to their mission of lowering the prevalence of inherited diseases in all dog and cat breeds through better breeding practices. As more tests become available, the OFA databases are expanded with additional, invaluable information.<\/p>\n<p>The OFA databases include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/chic-programs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) Database<\/a><\/span><\/strong> is responsible for collecting breed-specific <em>\u201chealth information on <strong>individual animals<\/strong> from <strong>multiple sources<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em> All dogs included in this database must be <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/chic-programs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CHIC-Certified<\/a><\/span><\/strong> with a unique CHIC number and certification.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\">The CHIC Program helps:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Breeders<\/strong> make better-informed breeding choices.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Buyers<\/strong> with accurate health testing information.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Parent\/Breed Clubs<\/strong> create health databases of their own.<\/li>\n<li><b>Anyone <\/b>interested in canine health issues.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Scientists<\/strong> conduct new research, particularly at the molecular level (now possible with the recent completion of mapping the canine genome.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">The <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/about\/dna-repository\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>CHIC DNA Repository<\/strong><\/a><\/span> collects and stores:\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Canine DNA samples.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Their respective <strong>genealogical<\/strong> (ancestry or family history) and <strong>phenotypic<\/strong> (traits and\/or characteristics) information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Learn more about the OFA&#8217;s extensive <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/about\/funded-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Research History<\/a> <\/span>here.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The OFA DNA-Based Tests: Genetic Diseases<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dog owners can safely and non-invasively collect DNA at home without a vet appointment. All samples are processed at the University of Missouri. The final results are first sent to the OFA and afterward, both the results and OFA Certificate are electronically sent to the dog\u2019s owner.<\/p>\n<p>The OFA Certification offers testing for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/diseases\/hip-dysplasia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hip Dysplasia<\/a><\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/diseases\/elbow-dysplasia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Elbow Dysplasia<\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/diseases\/eye-disease\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eye Disease<\/a><\/span>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/diseases\/cardiac-disease\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Cardiac Disease<\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/diseases\/rfgs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Respiratory Function<\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/diseases\/patellar-luxation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Patellar Luxation<\/span><\/a>. (The popping out of place of the kneecap.)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/diseases\/thyroid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Thyroid or hypothyroidism<\/span><\/a>. (The lack of the hormone that controls the metabolism.)<\/li>\n<li>An additional nine <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/diseases\/other-phenotypic-evaluations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Phenotypic Evaluations<\/a><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Search all DNA-Based Disease Tests here by <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ofa.org\/diseases\/dna-based-disease-tests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Breed<\/a><\/span>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1111\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1111\" style=\"width: 603px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1111 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TwoFullGrownCaneCorsoDogs-min.jpg?resize=603%2C470&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Two Full-Grown Cane Corso Dogs, Harley and Bubba\" width=\"603\" height=\"470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TwoFullGrownCaneCorsoDogs-min.jpg?w=603&amp;ssl=1 603w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/TwoFullGrownCaneCorsoDogs-min.jpg?resize=300%2C234&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 603px) 100vw, 603px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1111\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Harley and Bubba, Full-Grown Cane Corsi at the Da Boyz Cane Corso Farm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><strong><br \/>\nThe Final Word<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The OFA can offer <strong>peace of mind<\/strong> for the dog or cat parent about diseases related to the breed of their new pup or kitten with OFA Certification.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><br \/>\nShare our love for the Cane Corso K9 breed; sign up for our future blogs!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_181\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-181\" style=\"width: 152px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-181 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/DaBoyzCaneCorsoLogo-min.jpeg?resize=152%2C152&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Da Boyz Cane Corso Logo\" width=\"152\" height=\"152\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/DaBoyzCaneCorsoLogo-min.jpeg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/DaBoyzCaneCorsoLogo-min.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/DaBoyzCaneCorsoLogo-min.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/DaBoyzCaneCorsoLogo-min.jpeg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/DaBoyzCaneCorsoLogo-min.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/DaBoyzCaneCorsoLogo-min.jpeg?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/DaBoyzCaneCorsoLogo-min.jpeg?w=1600&amp;ssl=1 1600w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 152px) 100vw, 152px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 152px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 152\/152;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-181\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Da Boyz Cane Corso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Welcome to the Home of the Da Boyz Cane Corso!<\/b><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">If you\u2019re thinking about adding a Cane Corso to your home and life, you\u2019ve come to the right place!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>ALL<\/strong> our breeding <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/our-dogs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dams and sires<\/a><\/span><\/strong> have OFA Certification.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Get on Our Waiting List Now by reaching out<\/strong><\/em><em><strong>\u00a0to us at <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"mailto:Info@DaBoyzCaneCorso.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Info@DaBoyzCaneCorso.com<\/a><\/span>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Buying a puppy from a reputable dog breeder (like us) ensures the best breed-specific characteristics and overall health. That\u2019s why OFA Certification is so important! &nbsp; &nbsp; OFA: What is It? Founded in 1966 by The Canine Health Information Center (CHIC), OFA stands for The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. It is a private, non-profit foundation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1112,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[55],"tags":[63,61,62,56,60,59,57,58],"class_list":["post-1109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ofa-certification","tag-dna","tag-dna-based-testing","tag-genetic-diseases","tag-ofa","tag-ofa-databases","tag-ofa-mission","tag-ofa-certified","tag-orthopedic-foundation-for-animals"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/CaneCorsoPuppies-min.jpg?fit=764%2C609&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1109"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1189,"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1109\/revisions\/1189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daboyzcanecorso.com\/Staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}