Canine hip dysplasia is a very common degenerative joint disease seen in dogs. The hip joint forms the attachment of the hind leg to the body and is a ball and socket joint. The ball portion is the head of the femur while the socket (acetabulum) is located on the pelvis. In a normal joint the ball rotates freely within the socket. Hip dysplasia results from the abnormal development of the hip joint in the young dog. It may or may not be bilateral, affecting both right and left sides. It is brought about by the laxity of the muscles, connective tissue, and ligaments that should support the joint. Most dysplastic dogs are born with normal hips but due to genetic and possibly other factors, the soft tissues that surround the joint start to develop abnormally as the puppy grows.
Dogs of all ages are subject to the symptoms of hip dysplasia and the resultant osteoarthritis. In severe cases, puppies as young as five months will begin to show pain and discomfort during and after vigorous exercise. The condition will worsen until even normal daily activities are painful. Without intervention, these dogs may be unable to walk at all by a couple years of age. In most cases, however, the symptoms do not begin to show until the middle or later years in the dog's life.
Almost all researchers agree that there is a genetic link involved. If a parent has hip dysplasia, then the offspring are at greater risk for developing hip dysplasia. Some researchers feel that genetics are the only factor involved, where others feel that genetics contribute less than 25% to the development of the disease. The truth probably lies in the middle. If there are no carriers of hip dysplasia in a dog's lineage, then it will not contract the disease. If there are genetic carriers, then it may contract the disease. We can greatly reduce the incidence of hip dysplasia through selective breeding. We can also increase the incidence through selectively breeding. We cannot, however, completely reproduce the disease through selective breeding. In other words, if you breed two dysplastic dogs, the offspring are much more likely to develop the disease but will not all have the same level of symptoms or even necessarily show any symptoms. The offspring from these dogs will, however, be carriers and the disease may show up in their offspring in later generations. This is why it can be difficult to eradicate the disease from a breed or specific line.
For these reasons it is very important to use the BVA/KC Hip Scheme. It enables you to breed only from dogs which have fewer or no signs of inherited disease and thus help to reduce the incidence of these diseases.
An X-ray is taken of the dogs hip joints, the vet then submits the x-ray to a panel at the Kennel club who score each hip from 0 - 53. When the scores are combined, 0 being perfect hips (which is not common in Labradors) and 106 being chronic hip dysplacia. The breed average is 16 so look for a score of 16 or lower for each parent.
Elbow dysplasia is a common and often debilitating joint disease affecting many larger breed (usually pedigree) dogs. Affected dogs have a genetic tendency to develop the disease but the severity of the disease can be influenced by other factors. The Kennel Club (KC) introduced the elbow dysplasia scoring scheme to identify affected dogs at an early stage so that they could be prevented from breeding and passing the condition to their puppies.
What is the elbow scoring scheme?
X-rays of both elbows are examined by veterinary specialists for signs of disease. Points are awarded for changes seen in the elbows and these points are added together to produce the score. Possible results for each elbow: 0 = unaffected, 1 = mild changes, 2 =moderate changes, 3 = Severe Changes.
Ideally only dogs with grades of 0 should be used for breeding, but recognising that this may result in too few animals being available the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and Kennel Club (KC) do not disapprove of the use of dogs with grades of 1. It may be that different dogs have different predispositions for new bone formation and that a reduced tendency towards arthritis may also have a genetic component. Dogs with grades of 2 or 3 should not be used. This should reduce the risk of elbow dysplasia developing in their puppies. However it is still possible for 2 parents with very low elbow scores to produce puppies with elbow dysplasia, which is discouraging for the breeder.
As with the hips there is an environmental issue with elbows too. Over exercising a pup to young, being overweight and just plain bad luck can be other reasons for elbow dyplasia. Non of the tests have any gaurantee.
This is possibly even more essential for buyers of puppies to ensure they buy only from litters where both parents have been eye tested. GPRA is 100% genetic and so the status of the parents eyes entirely affects the puppies eyes for the future. This test is not undertaken at a regular vet but by a specialist. There are many many clinics and testing sessions around the country OR you can book a private visit to one of the dozens of test specialists. An eye test will be undertaken and a simple certificate given afterwards showing if the dog was affected or unaffected by the problems being examined for. This eye certificate should be renewed every 12 months or so before breeding.