Code of Legends

At Hilltop Kennels

The following are explanations of certain titles that may follow a dog's name. Many are types of health testing and some are temperament testing.


OFAE- Excellent This classification is assigned for superior conformation in comparison to other animals of the same age and breed. There is a deep seated ball (femoral head) which fits tightly into a well-formed socket (acetabulum) with minimal joint space. There is almost complete coverage of the socket over the ball. There are under 35 Amstaff's in the country with this rating, and we are proud to have bred one of them! Hilltop's Dreambaby of Skyhaven.

OFAG- Good slightly less than superior but a well-formed congruent hip joint is visualized. The ball fits well into the socket and good coverage is present.

OFAF- Fair Assigned where minor irregularities in the hip joint exist. The hip joint is wider than a good hip phenotype. This is due to the ball slightly slipping out of the socket causing a minor degree of joint incongruence. There may also be slight inward deviation of the weight-bearing surface of the socket (dorsal ace tabular rim) causing the socket to appear slightly shallow.

OFAcardi- Heart health testing completed, certified and cleared to be free of any inherited, developmental cardiac diseases. We clear all of our breeding stock by a certified cardiologist.
OFAel- Elbows- Elbows have been x-rayed, cleared and certified against any elbow dysplasia. Although we have not routinely done this testing, we plan on it in the future.

From now on, our breeding program will consist of OFA preliminaries scores and Pennhip scores. We will no longer going to OFA at two years of age or after due to concerns on reanestizing our dogs. With the knowledge OFA has given us concerning the reliability of OFA prelims, we are comfortable in the fact of solely using prelims to score our breeding stock. When you see OFAf/g/e* beside any of our dog's names, this might constitute a prelim score.
***** A recent publication* compared the reliability of the preliminary evaluation hip grade phenotype with the 2 year old evaluation in dogs and there was 100% reliability for a preliminary grade of excellent being normal at 2 years of age (excellent, good, or fair). There was 97.9% reliability for a preliminary grade of good being normal at 2 years of age, and 76.9% reliability for a preliminary grade of fair being normal at 2 years of age. Reliability of preliminary evaluations increased as age at the time of preliminary evaluation increased, regardless of whether dogs received a preliminary evaluation of normal hip conformation or HD. For normal hip conformations, the reliability was 89.6% at 3-6 months, 93.8% at 7-12 months, and 95.2% at 13-18 months. These results suggest that preliminary evaluations of hip joint status in dogs are generally reliable. However, dogs that receive a preliminary evaluation of fair or mild hip joint conformation should be reevaluated at an older age (24 months).*****

Pennhip-PennHIP stands for the University of Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Program. PennHIP is a multifaceted radiographic technology (x-ray) for hip evaluation. The technique assesses the quality of the canine hip and quantitatively measures canine hip joint laxity. The PennHIP method of evaluation is more accurate than the current standard in its ability to predict the onset of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease (DJD), is the hallmark of canine hip dysplasia (CHD).
PennHIP is more than just a radiographic technique. It is also a network of veterinarians trained to perform the PennHIP methodology properly and, perhaps most importantly, it is a large scientific database that houses the PennHIP data. The radiographs are made by certified PennHIP members worldwide and are sent to the PennHIP analysis center for evaluation. The resulting data is stored in the database, which is continually monitored as it expands. As more information becomes available, the PennHIP laboratory is able to obtain more precise answers to questions about the etiology (cause), prediction and genetic basis of CHD. In a nut shell, Pennhip rates hips on a numbered scale. The LOWER the hips scores are the BETTER. The higher the hip scores are the WORSE. Example. Ch. Hilltop's The Secrets Out! is .43/.38. These are some of the top Pennhip scores, low numbers. This is something we are very proud of! The Pennhip median is .59 for Amstaffs right now. Anything about .59 would be considered a less than desirable Pennhip score. A word of warning to all breeders, we strictly recommend Pennhip only be performed on Amstaffs or APBT's over a year old.

CERF-The C.E.R.F. Registry not only registers those dog's certified free of heritable eye disease by members of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (A.C.V.O. ), but also collects data on all dogs examined by A.C.V.O. Diplomats. This data is used to form the C.E.R.F. data base which is useful in researching trends in eye disease and breed susceptibility. Not only is this data useful to clinicians and students of ophthalmology, but to interested breed clubs and individual breeders and owners of specific breeds.

Microchip-Our kennel routinely microchips all dogs with the Avid microchip system. The microchip is a tiny computer chip which has an identification number programmed into it and is encapsulated within a biocompatible material. The whole device is small enough to fit inside a hypodermic needle and can be simply injected under the skin of our pets, where it will stay for the life of the animal. This provides a permanent, positive identification which cannot be lost, altered or intentionally removed - a safe, simple and inexpensive way to protect your pet against loss or theft.

Tattooed-Merely meaning what it states. We tattoo most of our kennels so we can visually identify a dog if it becomes lost or stolen.

DNA-This test assures lineage is true and unbroken. All of OUR breeding stock is DNA profiled and we prefer to use studs that are the same.

TT-Temperament testing via ATTS- The American Temperament Test Society, Inc. (ATTS) is a national not-for-profit organization (registered in the state of Missouri) for the promotion of uniform temperament evaluation of purebred and spayed/neutered mixed-breed dogs Provides for a uniform national program of temperament testing of purebred and spayed/neutered mixed-breed dogs. Conduct seminars to disseminate information to dog owners, dog breeders and evaluators (testers) concerning dog psychology, motivation, reaction and other aspects of temperament testing. Recognize and award certificates to dogs that pass the requirements of the temperament evaluation. Work for the betterment of all breeds of dogs. Select, train, prepare and register temperament evaluators. Although not all of our dogs are TT, we do plan on continuing to do more. We also combine this with a CGC.

CGC-AKC's Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Program. Started in 1989, CGC is a certification program that is designed to reward dogs who have good manners at home and in the community. The Canine Good Citizen Program is a two-part program that stresses responsible pet ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs. All dogs who pass the 10-step CGC test may receive a certificate from the American Kennel Club. We plan on having everyone in our kennel CGC before 2005.