Can someone more knowledgeable than me un-confuse me, please? Regarding hip-scoring, I was always under the impression that, in an ideal world, you only bred from animals whose hipscores were well under the BMS, in reality closer to the median (or less if possible). In labradors, for example, the BMS is 15, and the median is 10, so any score round about 10 is perfectly acceptable. All other things being equal (which of course they never are!) a dog with a score of 10/11/12 would be okay to mate with a bitch of similar score.

However I've recently seen it mentioned a couple of times that it's the combined score of sire and dam that should be less than the BMS - so if you have a labrador bitch scoring 10 she shouldn't be mated to a dog scoring more than 5 in total. The previous example would give a total of 20+ which would be well over the BMS.

Have people got the combination factor muddled, thinking it's the combined score of two animals, not the combined score of left and right in the same animal?

Which is right?

I think what they mean by combined total, if you are going to use a parent that is scoring a bit above the average to choose a partner who is a lot less so that their combined scores didvided by two come to under the average. 

In other words as with My Lexi who is 3 points over the Median I would always aim to mate her with a dog that scored say up to 9 giving me 24 for both parents and didvided by two equalling the Median.

I would generally actually combine the parents and grandparents scores and divide by 6 and would hope that is where pups were likely to average though expecting anything within the range that these ancestors have so never using unacceptably high (clinical range as discussed when comparing with OFA classes).

Yes, that makes sense - combine the two scores then halve the total, and if it's under the BMS then all is hunky dory.

Thanks! :)

I don't claim to be more knowledgable but I can give my opinion :-)

I've seen lots of different advice on what should and shouldn't be bred from and I think a lot depends on who the advice has come from.  I would think someone saying that the combined score should be less than BMS has either gone OTT about HD or, as you say has got it muddled.

What could be meant is that the mean of the combined scores should be less than BMS which would then allow for top quality dogs, of scores higher than BMS to be bred to low scoring mates and so not lost to the breed.

Julie

Snap!

:-D

I just find this a total mindfield!!  I have a really nice dog, his eyes are clear, absolutely brilliant character (and I can't spell today) but his hips are just above the breed average.  I would love for him to be used some day though, but if he ever is I would insist on a bitch with a low score.  His mum, grandad and two of his grandparents all scored below the average, so hopefully he'll be ok.  Just waiting for his litter sister and brother to be scored and see what there's is.