Hey everyone. 

So last month my 2 Year old GSD passed away due to a health issue
He was the most amazing dog i ever had and miss him a lot.  He left me a scratch scar on my arm accidentally when we was playing so I guess I will always have something to remember him :')

Anyways, I found his sire (dad)  and he kept the sister of my male dog which he will breed in the next couple weeks.
Since I loved my dog a lot i decided to wait and get something from the same DNA (his sister).

My only issue now, is that i checked the sires hip score and is a total of 20..

MY GSD's parents where both 10 and under, total which is why i originally got my GSD.

So now i am wondering, is it worth waiting those months, for a sire that has above average hip score? (20) or should i just move on, and find something else?..
I just dont want to risk of my new GSD having any kind of high risk issue of developing anything in the future.. only reason im worried and skeptical of this now..

This is the website the person has.  Erica is my GSDs sister.
https://www.belladiable-german-shepherds.co.uk/belladiable-litters

Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Well a score of 20 would be as high as I'd go for a functionally normal hip, in my breed.

have you asked why they are using a dog with a higher score?  it could be that al his littermates and dogs in his pedigree all score really well, and his good points outweigh the  higher than ideal score.

In my square medium size breed of 20kg, my best mover and the bitch that kept up normal exercise at normal pace to the day before she died at 15 and 5 months had a score of 15.

I believe the police and Guide dogs will work dogs up to a 20 score.

I am concerned that the details of the sire are not given other than his pet name.  I would want to research the health status behind him on MYKC.  See what his relatives scores are and those of his and their offspring.

TBH there is no reason to use a stud dog with an above median for the breed(median is 11) & is not the way to improve the hip status of the litter.

There a wide range of GSD stud dogs with far better hip status & that are known hip improvers than the dog you have given a link to.

Personally I wouldn't consider a puppy from this breeding, the breeder doesn't appear to have an understanding of how to improve the hip status of their litters.

Ask them why they went for that stud - they must have a reason.

Brainless, that's very interesting about guide dogs etc. The dam's name is on another page and she seems to have a pedigree of decent hip scores, bar one unscored dog, and she had a litter a year ago to a different dog with a score of 12. But the new stud dog I could not find a name for.

They state they are "KC home visited breeders" and the top of their website (the description in the browser, not the website itself) says they are Assured Breeders. They are not listed, so I assume that they no longer are. There can be any number of reasons for that but it's a bit odd that they make a point out of saying they have been visited by the KC.

But I'd simply ask their reason. The highest score I have ever used is 14 (in a breed with 9 as average) and I certainly had particular reasons for that and would happily explain those to anyone who asked.

Have a look at police & guide dog hip scores.

Easy to look up the Met dogs for example Metpol + a letter most dogs IF scored are 10 or lower

GDBA dogs have Guidewell in their names & surprisingly some breeding dogs have no hip/elbow scores, so I wouldn't use them as an example of using hip scores in breeding good practice

These breeders certainly do breed a lot & their stud dogs used frequently.

BTW Erica is 5 years old not 2 years old & has already had a litter in 2018 & her mother's hip score is 8

I am sorry u lost your dog and so young .I assume that u have considered if his lllness could be genetic in any way ?

Given the problems re back-ends with the breed, that would be too high for me to be interested and I too would need to know why a dog with a high score is being used at all.

I know you loved your previous dog very much, but you've also said that he died very young (2yo) from a health problem.

In which case, I would already be asking - is it a good idea to return to the same lines to get another dog?? 

And that's before the hip issue you mention.

GSDs are a breed which it is very tricky to find a well-bred puppy from parents with good temperaments and the market is flooded with substandard litters.  I think you really need to do extra research and work to find a good breeder in this breed.

Honestly, I wouldn't touch them.  With such a numerous breed, there is simply no reason these days to breed from a higher than average score and with a breed prone to hip and joint problems, the breeders should be actively looking for the lowest possible scores to breed from.

From your particular POV, I would also avoid because you've lost a young one already - the last thing you need after that experience is to take a risk on dealing with hip trouble for life in a new one.  Of course there's no guarantee with any of them, but that would be my take on it.  And then as onetwothreefour has pointed out, I'd be extremely wary of returning to the same lines after losing one so young.

I agree with Nikita. I had a Lab with bad hips and it was heartbreaking watching her go from fit and bouncy and energetic to being unable to get off her bed without help in cold mornings, still excited for walks but unable to go even to the corner of the street. We gave her the best life we could and she was always happy, but she was definitely in pain.

And you have that horrible decision - when do you euthanise an otherwise happy dog because of pain?

Save yourself the trauma. I’m still experiencing guilt about whether I made the right decision with Summer, and she’s been gone four years now.