im not breeding but i just wondered how much does it cost roughly for the health checks for your bitch when you do breed??and how does the vet do these test (hips and eyes etc.) sorry for being thick but im just interested and learning??
                                              thanks jo

Your not being thick at all
if you dont ask you wont know :-)
The costs vary from area to area
in the midlands for an average size rottie is 110 to 120 pounds
just for hips,eyes Im not 100% sure as it can be done at dog shows
for roughly 18 to 20 pound.

Hips are done after 12 months of age and you take your KC papers
to your vet who takes some x-rays of the hips and then sends the plates off to the BVA
(Bristish Veterinary Ass) in London whose panel of experts sit and take measurements and angles
and award a score,each hip is done and is awarded a scre from 0 to 53 (I think its 53)
and the LOWER the score the better,each breed has a differant acceptable score.
Hope this helps :-)

thanks . and you would just go to your vet for that??i thought it would cost alot more then that??does anyone know what the acceptable score is for staffordshire bull terrier? as thats the breed im learning about so trying to get all info. i can.also if you wasnt going to breed would you still have these test done ??
                                               thanks jo

Jo
average hip score for Staffy is 13
look here

thanks for that was really interesting not that i fully understood it lol . but saved it so i can have another read later it explains everything about hips etc really good web page to learn from.
                                                thanks jo

If you don't want to breed then you don't have to have hips and eyes tested, but personally I think its nice for the breed if you can colect every dogs details just to see if there is a pattern with bad hipsor eyes in particular breeding lines.

Rox

I don't breed my dog, but really it's important to get them tested.  I have a cocker spaniel, I want to know if he is likely to suffer from PRA etc instead of waiting until he's suffering

i paid £28 for eye test recently at another veterinary surgery than my norm as they dont do eye testing, although at shows i have paid about £16.
hipscoring cost me about £120

we are in devon, and i use a small vet practice,

chel

My dog is having an eye test on Thursday, it's costing £21, not sure on hips

It cost me £75 for the hip x'rays and £28.30 (ish?) to the BVA/KC for the scoring= £103.30.  According to the 2004 figures '12' is the average for a SBT.

Stacey x x x

hi stacey,
            thanks so your bitch would be no good to breed from if she scored 13 - 14 ?is that the right way or is it below 12??
                                                        thanks again jo

We had Britneys hips and elbows done at the same time and it cost £192 all in, her eye's we had done at an arranged section at a local kennels and that cost £12, but ask about and try and find out how many hip xrays your vet has done as you only get one chance and there is no appeal, if your vet is not experienced and the xrays are not done right it can effect the scoring by the BVA

I think you might consider it if the bitch was 13 to 14 but to a dog with a low score but not if the score was much higher.  The lower the score the better.  Perfect hips (if there are such things) would be 0 - 0 giving a combined score of 0.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

There are perfect hips Joan I had a GSD with perfect hips & luckily he was an improver for hips too(his scored off spring always scored lower than their dam)& he was a german import(as a puppy)too.

The BVA asked to be able to have a copy of his X rays as they were totally faultless, They are still used for teaching for student vets & training for the BVA panelists

I would always want the bitch to have an even score ie 6:6 would be better than 9:3

thats a good price i paid £30 a few weeks ago for the eye test :rolleyes:
Em

Vets x-rays cost around £30.00 Is cost another £75.00 to have vet send these for hip scoring, so depending on vets prices could cost you between £100 to £120. It worth doing even if you are not planning to breed, I breed labs but one of my bitches is just a pet (not good enough for showing) but I had her tested anyway, her hip score came back high, but x-ray also showed that she had beginings of arthritis, because I had her tested I have been able to put her on supplements to ease her joints. If this had gone unnoticed because I was not going to breed with her, she could have been in a lot of pain without me knowing. Its a small price to pay for there wellfare

Kay

There is a Tibetan Mastiff that has achieved a 0:0 hip score

Kassie's Mum had 0:2 :-)  And I'm sure a bitch further back had a perfect score :-)

Stacey x x x

Our Gordon's Sister (different Litter same breeding) has a perfect hip score

Alli's OH

I was given a price today for eye testing from a vet in Edinburgh they take £31.25,

violet-anne