I am intrigued to know how to go about having a dog hip scored, is it done at the vets?

I would like to know that my BC pup is ok but as I have never had a dog health tested before, I'm not really sure what it involves or how to go about it.
Also, is it possible to test for epilepsy?

So any advice and experience would be brilliant, thanks!

Your vet takes the x-rays for the test, then sends the plate off to the BVA/KC panel for scoring. The results are usually back in 4 to 6 weeks. The animal must be at least 12 months old before it's done.

And no, there's no test for epilepsy.

Your dog needs to have permanent ID either tattoo or Microchip.

More info here: http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/glossary/screening-all.aspx

Ah that is a brilliant link!

She is only just 3 months and is getting her chip on thursday (not looking forward to that trip to the vets!) but better to be in the know than not!

It is expensive to have the health tests done?

Thanks to both for your help :)

The most expensive part with hips is the vets fee for Anasthetic and plates.  it varies from aroudn £150 - £250 including the BVA charge depending on how pricey your vet is.

Not cheap to breed dogs properly as most breeds need Hips and eyes as a minimum, and then costly DNA tests.

I don't plan on breeding from her, but at the same time I would like to make sure she is in good health, regardless of breeding intentions.
I will have to see how she is getting on when she is of age to be tested and take it from there.

Thank you for your help!

P.s not sure I could breed, I've seen the hard work it takes and heart break when the pups leave for their new homes and I'm pretty soft! I'd be a wreck!

The main testable health issues for border collies are HD, deafness, CEA, PRA, Glaucoma, CL and TNS.  Are the parents of your pup health tested? DNA tests are available for TNS, CL (very rare fortunately in UK) and TNS (rare but some pups have suffered and died from this, one very recently).  Was your pup health tested at 8 weeks for CEA and other eye issues by a specialist if parents NOT CEA tested? Was he/she tested for deafness? (quite a few breeders test for this).  If your pup comes from CEA untested parents (no excuses these days!) then it's now too late for a visible eye test as CEA is only seen in young pups before the eye develops - you'd have to DNA eye test.  This is done either in America (Optigen) or Australia (Dr Wilton at Sydney University). For Optigen there are 'clinics' to get a discount, check their website.  TNS is only done by Dr Wilton and both do CL.  If you join a site called Anadune then you can usually (if your pup is KC/ISDS registered) check the possibilities of illness on this site and is very interesting.  Eye tests for adults (visual) are advised from a year and there's a general eye test which includes PRA (although this doesn't usually show until dog is older than a year) and also an additional eye test for propensity to narrow angled glaucoma.

There are people working on a test for epilepsy which is sadly too common in border collies - it's complex though (like HD) so unlikely to be done quickly, unfortunately

Unless you are wanting to breed there's no point in testing for TNS as you'd know by now if your pup had it.  Probably no point in testing for CEA as if your pup did have it it's unlikely to affect him/her as it's non progressive.  CL is thankfully very rare.  Probably better to check Anadune which isn't foolproof but would give you an idea.  If you're not wanting to breed again why hip score?  It would give you a good idea of hips undoubtedly and would help your breeder considerably it's true.  I would always recommend it be done, but few want the expense. 

Good luck with your pup.

>If you're not wanting to breed again why hip score?  It would give you a good idea of hips undoubtedly

It'd be sensible if the owner's interested in doing agility, for instance.

Thank you Penny for your very detailed comment - it certainly aids the understanding of all of the tests! I've not had any problems with her so far with her sight (from what I've seen) so fingers crossed she is clear of CEA... nor her hearing.

My pup hasn't been tested for anything, nor have the parents.

I do want to compete pup in agility in the future which is why I would like to have her hip scored as Jean says.
I don't want to find later down the line that she had poor hips and I've made it a whole lot worse!

I have had 4 dogs in Working Trials, none have been hip scored bar one.  My 11 year old can still scale 6ft

I would rather spend my disposable income where it matters, in any case a poor hip score does not necessarily rule out jumping and you cannot score backs where a lot of issues lie.

But if it makes you feel better and you have that amount of money to spend and do not mind putting your dog under GA or sedation then it is your choice.

I wouldn't have her hip scored in order to do agility - if she has poor hips then keeping as fit as possible will help and knowing wouldn't help you at all.  Plenty of agility dogs have long careers with terrible hips!  If you're not going to breed and parents haven't been tested then I would leave well alone and just enjoy your dog! 

> Plenty of agility dogs have long careers with terrible hips!

I have one such dog! He only started showing problems at 9 and my vet said he probably would have shown problems earlier had he not been so fit and lean by doing agility.

Sorry to hear, but not uncommon.  I think the worst thing you can do is know about such a problem as you then treat the dog differently and can adversely affect.Well done for keeping him fit and active!

I wasn't sure initially of the cost and how it is conducted etc, hence asking here before taking any action.

If it will make very little difference in competing her in agility anyway then I won't have it conducted. I do not have a never ending income nor does anyone I know in this day and age! Although she is a bit spoilt, in all the right places though, haha! I don't know anyone who would put their animal under sedation unnnecessarily and I definately wouldn't either, I just wanted to be sure that I would not be making a problem worse if she had one and I had not known.

Thank you for all your advice, it is why I come here!

As I said you'd be unlikely to notice a problem with CEA as it rarely adversely affects collies and is non-progressive.  The only thing would be if the eyes were severely affected or there are columbomas which may bleed in later years. You may be very lucky with your dog - lucky because buying from untested parents requires luck to avoid the issues that collies can get.  I'd always advise buying from reputable breeder who tests.  I did have a lucky dog - my first border collie, from a rescue organisation at 8 weeks, bought without any health tests or even seeing the parents.  However, I wouldn't advise buying off a 'breeder' who hasn't tested.

I didn't get her from a breeder, she is a WSD rather than a registered BC.
I appreciate I have been lucky with her health and her especially... She has the puppy hiccups as we speak, bless her!

It's not something I'd make a habit of, buying without parent testing and not a registered breeder, but I didn't purchase her on a whim and asked as many questions until I was satisfied.
I have a lovely pup as a result who I wouldn't swop now for the world!

Sorry what do you mean you didn't buy her from a breeder?  A WSD is merely a dog who isn't eligible for the KC breed register, people breed them and are breeders, so unless you got via rescue which it doesn't sound like you did then you bought from a 'breeder'!  WSD are just as eligible for tests as registered BCs  I'm glad you're happy with your pup, but it's a shame the breeder hasn't done the relevant tests to give you peace of mind :-(

Ok, I should've said I didn't buy from a 'registered' breeder. I know she is eligible for testing, which is why I am enquiring about it.

I agree it's a shame, though that's not the term I would choose, irresponsible would be my prime choice, but regardless of who has and hasn't done the tests previously, I wasn't sure if competing her in agility in the future would develop a hip problem if there was one, or how to go about having her tested in case it did.

Hence I have asked and am making sure I am 'in the know' before deciding what to do. :)

Sorry I'm still not sure what you mean by a 'registered' breeder - do you mean with the Council?  The majority of responsible breeders aren't registered with the council - that's for people who have 5 or more litters per year.  Breeders have responsibilities whether they breed one litter in their lives or 20 in a year, they're the same responsibilities and they're all breeders.  It is as you say better to buy from a responsible breeder, but most hobby breeders aren't council registered, nor are they necessarily accredited with the KC.

Having got your pup I'm sure you'll enjoy her and also enjoy agility - it's a great hobby.  It's not so good that you're admitting buying from an irresponsible person but I'm sure you've made the decision for good reasons.

I would forget any tests and have fun!

Registered/Accredited with the KC.

I'm not encouraging it but I'm hardly going to lie about buying from an irresponsible source as it was my choice, like you suggest. Irresponsible regarding health testing, yes. Not necessarily irresponsible regarding the other factors, such as rearing and management etc. As said though, I ensured I exhausted the question cards before purchasing her and wouldn't trade her for the world. Don't get me wrong, I did look into a few accredited KC breeders litters/potential litters before hand and then I chose this particular pup instead. Edit - mostly on temperament, general health, build and condition etc.

I haven't competed agility before so hoping we can learn together. And thanks! :)

I certainly wouldn't recommend buying from an accredited breeder necessarily - plenty of puppy farmers are so you would need to be careful!  As for agility - join a good club and enjoy!