Hi Guys,

Just wondering how i would go about getting Deon my 12 month old rottweiler hip scored? and how much it costs?

Unfortunatly because he was a rescue dog i dont think this has been done :(

John

They have to be 2 years old to be really certified and scored , but the vet can take some x-rays for you and give you an analysis. My insurance covers x-rays.

What insurance are you with?

correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was 12m or is this breed different to mine.
you can have it done by your vet .I dont think its covered by insurance either .I cost around £100-£130

In the UK a dog only has to be 12 months old to be scored by the KC, where as in the US a dog has to be 24 months old to be officially scored by OFA. MannyG is in Canada :)

HTH :)

12 months in the UK, Manny. :)

John, contact your vet for the cost; I doubt it's covered by insurance because it's an optional procedure.

I didn't realise that it was 2 years, sure that some people in my breed have them done before that in America.  There is also the choice of PennHipp in Canada and the USA, where dogs can be done from, I think, 16 weeks of age.

OFA will not certify a dog where by the plates have been taken before two years of age. They will do a Prelim on plates taken prior to this but this is not an official score :)

Unlike the UK where you only have one crack at scoring they can do preliminary scoring at a year, but have to have it done again over 12 motnhs for it to count.  You cna imagin that a lot of the bad ones never get made official a year later.

OFA accept plates from dogs as young as four months of age for their Prelim scoring :)

That is not correct for the UK over 12 montsh is fine.

OFA has high reliability on early prelims the pass rate at two on dogs that prelim EX is 99.9 percent ,,with Rottweilers you need to be very concerned about the elbows they are plagued with elbow dysplasia

Reliability of early radiographic evaluations for canine hip dysplasia obtained from the standard ventrodorsal radiographic projection.

Corley EA, Keller GG, Lattimer JC, Ellersieck MR.

Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, Columbia, MO 65201, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To determine reliability of preliminary evaluations for canine hip dysplasia (CHD) performed by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals on dogs between 3 and 18 months of age. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of data from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals database. ANIMALS: 2,332 Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherd Dogs, and Rottweilers for which preliminary evaluation had been performed between 3 and 18 months of age and for which results of a definitive evaluation performed after 24 months of age were available. PROCEDURE: Each radiograph was evaluated, and hip joint status was graded as excellent, good, fair, or borderline phenotype or mild, moderate, or severe dysplasia. Preliminary evaluations were performed by 1 radiologist; definitive evaluations were the consensus of 3 radiologists. Reliability of preliminary evaluations was calculated as the percentage of definitive evaluations (normal vs dysplastic) that were unchanged from preliminary evaluations. RESULTS: Reliability of a preliminary evaluation of normal hip joint phenotype decreased significantly as the preliminary evaluation changed from excellent (100%) to good (97.9%) to fair (76.9%) phenotype. Reliability of a preliminary evaluation of CHD increased significantly as the preliminary evaluation changed from mild (84.4%) to moderate (97.4%) CHD. Reliability of preliminary evaluations increased significantly as age at the time of preliminary evaluation increased, regardless of whether dogs received a preliminary evaluation of normal phenotype or CHD. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Results suggest that preliminary evaluations of hip joint status in dogs are generally reliable. However, dogs that receive a preliminary evaluation of fair phenotype of mild CHD should be reevaluated after 24 months of age.

PMID: 9364228 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Relationship between physical signs of elbow dysplasia and radiographic score in growing Rottweilers.

Read RA, Armstrong SJ, Black AP, Macpherson GC, Yovich JC, Davey T.

School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University, Western Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between physical signs of elbow dysplasia and radiographic appearance of the elbow joints in growing dogs. DESIGN: Prospective study. ANIMALS: 55 Rottweiler pups. PROCEDURE: Owners of clinically normal Rottweiler pups were contacted through breed clubs in 3 Australian states and asked to participate in the study. All those offering to participate were included. PROCEDURE: The first physical examination was performed when pups were 3 months old and included a lameness evaluation and palpation of the elbow joints. Physical examinations were repeated when pups were 5, 6, 9, and 12 months old. Radiographs of the elbows were obtained at 6 and 12 months. Relationships among lameness, decreased range of movement, signs of pain, and radiographic data related to elbow dysplasia were examined. RESULTS: Elbow dysplasia caused clinical lameness in only 3 dogs but 57% of dogs developed radiographic signs of elbow dysplasia by 12 months of age. A grade-2 radiographic score at 12 months of age was significantly associated with clinical elbow dysplasia. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Elbow dysplasia has a prevalence of > 50% in certain breed populations. This study supports radiographic screening at 12 months of age, accompanied by physical examination to detect clinical elbow dysplasia.

PMID: 8870739 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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The reliability also depends on the age of the dog being scored.

Taken from the OFA site:

A recent publication compared the reliability of the preliminary evaluation hip grade phenotype with the 2 year old evaluation in dogs and there was 100% reliability for a preliminary grade of excellent being normal at 2 years of age (excellent, good, or fair). There was 97.9% reliability for a preliminary grade of good being normal at 2 years of age, and 76.9% reliability for a preliminary grade of fair being normal at 2 years of age. Reliability of preliminary evaluations increased as age at the time of preliminary evaluation increased, regardless of whether dogs received a preliminary evaluation of normal hip conformation or HD. For normal hip conformations, the reliability was 89.6% at 3-6 months, 93.8% at 7-12 months, and 95.2% at 13-18 months. These results suggest that preliminary evaluations of hip joint status in dogs are generally reliable. However, dogs that receive a preliminary evaluation of fair or mild hip joint conformation should be reevaluated at an older age (24 months).

Unless I am much mistaken though, Ice-Cosmos, over here in the UK, the KC hip registration requires UK dogs to be hip-scored after the age of 12 months.   Although European & US scoring is accepted on dogs registered in these domains, for dogs registered in the UK, the hip scores are assessed by the BVA hip-scoring panel.  

Margot

Yes - the information I posted was in regards to OFA scoring (as they do Prelims) not KC scoring. The KC will not score a dog under 12 months of age.

My post was in reply to Kelly's where by she mentioned the study that had been done outlining the reliability of the prelims, but that particular study did not mention that the age of the dog when scored was also a factor.

Hi John, you have said he is a rescue, do you have the KC reg papers for him and also both parents KC reg names? As far as I am aware, these must be poduced to the vet who does the plates to be typed on the form to be sent to BVA along with the plates.

kayc,
youre right you do need the kennel club papers for the registration no's of the dog to be scanned and the dam and sire reg no's as well.  Just had mine done.

also xray will be covered only if it is relative to a health problem, by insurance, not for the purpose of hip scoring

Can I just say that a dog does NOT need to be registered with the Kennel Club to be hip scored by the BVA. They will score any dog, pure bred or cross breed, and give it a score. The only thing is, that pure bred dogs cannot have their scores added to the KC records.

I used to argue this point and came up against somebody that was absolutely adamant that non registered dogs could be scored, so I e-mailed the BVA direct and they said they could, would and did score unregistered dogs.

Dawn R.

Hi Dawn, yes I do remember this conversation a little while back, which is why I was sort of hesitant with my question ;)  I have always had pedigree's and have simply handed over relevant paperwork as a matter of course. Just couldnt remember the outcome of your chat with BVA :)

'''''Reliability of preliminary evaluations increased significantly as age at the time of preliminary evaluation increased, regardless of whether dogs received a preliminary evaluation of normal phenotype or CHD. CLINICAL''''  it did mention age..you can read the complete article in issue three of the advocate...according to OFA the average age of prelims is 12months