Hello everyone,
I was not sure if I should of posted this in breeding or health
but never mind.
I have an 18 month old bitch that is going to be hip scored
next Wednesday.
I add that she will not be bred until two and half.
She has just come into season and somewhere I read that
they should not be scored during a season due to poor
results. Should I cancel this appointment and make
it in a couple of months or go ahead.
Her father and mother were from good lines for scores
all under 13.
Any advice grateful.
Nutkin

Yes Nutkin I've read that too, but the results apart she will be a bit hormonal anyway I'd put it off for 2 to 3 months. Ja:)kie

Put it off, the joints are more lax when a bitch is in season, I postponed my bitch's score, she'd been X-rayed and came I the next day. A vet at my practice specialises in orthopaedics and he advised me to wait 3 months then re-do them.

I did do and her score came back at a total of 7. This compares to what the vet estimated to be about 14-16 when she was X-rayed at her season.

Christine

PS) What prices are people paying for hip scoring, I live near Dundee and I am £108 to get my bitch scored now.

I took Lacey, my 2yr old gsd yesterday & it cost me £75 but they did say the price was going up soon, we live in Lancashire.

Thank goodness I read this. When I asked my vet about hip scoring I was quoted somewhere between £250 and £300. I don't know where they got this price from. What is the average then?

I paid £109 plus the BVA charge which is in the region of £25. This is in Bristol. It works out £54 and odd pence for the plates and time and same for anasthetic. This was January 2001, and in Bristol.

The bitches hip joints will be lax during her season, wait until midway between seasons before scoring.

Thanks all I called up the vet and cancelled.
They told me that it was still all right, but to be
honest I am going on you guys here. As I have
a gut instinct not to have it done. Anyway as
I said I am not breeding her until next year so
I have plenty of time.
I had my dog done three years ago but of course
never had to come up against seasons.
Another question. How sore does it make them, as
when I had my boy scored he had no ill effects.
However I am sure I've read that some get very
sore and stiff. The reason I ask is that I show the
bitch I am talking about, of course I dont want to
book her into the vets around a show time.
Nutkin.

Hi

have read regarding hip scoring where possible, but have recently been in touch with a breeder who appears to do all the rght things KC reg, insurance etc even down to vet check prior to pick up and says that if I have a vet check and no all ok will take back the pup . Only real concern is that the breeder does not hip score, I am only looking for a pet (no intention to show) should I be concerned. Also breeder is quoting price of £500 is this reasonable?

Thought I'd better update this as I appear to have left out some rather important details such as the breed I am talking about the breed is German Shepherd.

It depends on the breed - some breeds don't have their hips checked.

Fiona
x x x

All breeds of dog can get Hip Dysplasia, but many in small breeds don't score as it is not a major problem. There are Cavaliers whose scores have been almost maximum, but I suppose these may have been xrayed because they were dysplastic, and may not reflect the breed,as so few have been checked.

Just a comment from the peanut gallery with no statistical facts behind it whatsoer ;)

From what I've been seeing on the board + reading in various articles and books, smaller breeds are much more likely to have (loose?) knee/patella difficulties than it seems the larger breeds. They are also showing up in specific popular breeds, such as poodles and CKC more and more. Perhaps this where the certain breeds are moving towards as a major health fault instead of hip dysplasia?

Perhaps small-breed breeders should be focusing on trying to correct now, now instead of 10 years down the line when it's become as much of a concern as hip dysplasia and hip scoring? If not, could there eventually be "knee scoring" as a requirement for a good ethical breeder???
toodles

I had my GSD bitch scored recently and she showed no sign of soreness after she came round from the anaesthetic. It took exactly 4 weeks from the 1st July 2002 to get her results back. She scored a 10 (6 & 4)

That is interesting as my friend had her dog hip xrayed on 27th June and up to yesterday still hadn't the results back. I rang the BVA yeasterday and they told me the panel sit weekly now, and the turn around time at the moment is 4 or 5 weeks. They told me they would only give out details to a vet!

I told her and she rang her vet, but they still had nothing back and weren't prepared to chase it up.

I am waiting with baited breath for the results as I want to use this maiden dog of nearly four on my maiden Champion bitch of nearly 3 in December (by which time they will be 4 and 3). His sister in Australia had a total score of 7 (they use our scoring scheme), but of course he is much older than she was. She is an Australian Champion, and now has a daughter with her title too!

I know patience is a virtue, but!!!

Hi,
I am a hobby breeder, it is immpossible to hip score a young pup as thier joints have not matured. If you are purchasing a pedigree pup check what the parents hip scores are. Excessive exercise on large and giant breeds as pups, ie: allowing them to jump fences, long walks can also damage thier joints regardless of the parents hip scores. Finally it does not matter how many champions are contained on a pedigree, just because the parents where champions it does not mean that the offspring will be. For a pet you must go for temprament in both parents, remember show dogs are specially schooled and not necessarily good pets.

Welcome to the forum Chris :-)

Oh I think the best show dogs are great pets, as they have that something extra in character!

I would never consider buying from a GSD breeder who does not hip score. How do they know that there is no HD in their lines if they do not score? KC reg and insurance plus a health check from the vet are all OK but a vet will not be able to pick up a potential HD problem in a very young puppy and although the breeder will take the dog back if it does have problems later in life how many of us could bear to part with a much loved dog if it develops HD 6 - 12 months down the line.

Lisa
xx

A lady bought a puppy that I know a German Shep.
She was told that her puppy had been hip scored.
I told her no way could it of been as they have to
be 12 months before a vet would do it. She was
very sure that her breeder had done her puppy.
She would not believe me at all.
Trouble is some people believe just anything when
they see that cute little pup sitting in front of them.
Nutkin

Although people are becoming more knowledgable and know that hip scoring should be done in certain breeds (esp.GSD) I think a lot of them still need to find out exactly what this means and how it works as a couple of years ago a person I knew told me they were buying a GSD from hip scored parents.When I asked what the scores were she said they were both in the 50's(can't remember exactly) and that the breeder had told her the higher the better! But then the breeder had also told her that the parents(both white ) were champ show winners and she had the trophies to prove it!!!!

You are correct, she could have misunderstood the breeder when looking at the cute puppy! She was probably told the parents were Hip Scored. If that was not the case then she was misled.

The easiest way to know for sure is to look at the KC registration document, which will have the parents results for hips and/or eyes under their names!

You say the breeder does not hip score, what exactly do you mean by that??
If you mean that the parents are not hip scored, which they can't be done untilafter 14months of age, and which would preferably be in the single figures eg: 6-7 then I would advise you to ask why and possibly look elsewhere. GSD's are prone to hip dysplasia and also elbow but elbows are not regimentally required to be scored. Apart from that you also check that the stud has been Haemophillia tested (spelling was probably wrong). Prices can range from £300 - £600 for a GSD pup.
You should also look at the temperament of the parents and make sure that the parents are there or see a picture of the stud. You can also contact the owner of the stud if not owned by the breeder to see what he is like.
Please do not accept that a breeder is doing everything if they do not hip score. No guarantees can be made that even if the parents have low hip scores that the pup will too, as outside pressures can affect the hips, as another person said , jumping, going up and down stairs, and excessive excercise before 12months of age can badly affect the joints.
I unfortunately bought a pup that wasn't hip scored etc and he had a list od problems that i wont go into but all I can say that with all the ailments he had plus hip joints that werent formed properly he wsa put to sleep at the tender age of 18 months. It destroyed me and my children and I feel so bad because of the amount of pain he was in.
Sorry to sound like boring lecturer but please bear in mind what has been said on here.

TDBlue