I'm just wondering what scores are acceptable as a friends 13mth has been advised to have his xrayed due to an "odd" gait. I don't think her vet is sending the xrays off, I assume he is just going to xray them himself and take a look but I'm just doing a bit of background research for her.

I wouldn't really want a vet deciding who isn't a specialist in hips.  As she's having them done she might as well send them off but to be truthful I'd wait a bit longer especially if the dogs not in pain just has a funny gait.

> I wouldn't really want a vet deciding who isn't a specialist in hips.

Very good point!

Buster had hips & elbows xrayed as a pup (the limping that appeared to effect all 4 legs turned out to be ELBOW displasia in only 1 elbow!), the vet said the hips were poor and showing signs of displasia, yet the specialist said the hips were good, nothing worry about atall.

The DDB mean score is 22, with the median (most common score) being 15. But it's highly unlikely that the vet will know how they're scored, so will just look for signs of malformation.

Thanks everyone. Her vet will just be looking for changes or malformed hips but she was just curious what the typical scores were.

IMO 13 months is to young for a DDB to be hip scored and if you are paying for the x-ray you may as well have them scored by the experts, a vet will be able to see a very bad hip but will not be able to score so your friends will be wasting money. Different matter if the pup is in pain but most DDBs have 'odd gait' at 13 months.

That's exactly what I said Nova but apparently the breeder rang her on Thursday to say that his sister who also had an odd gait has been to the vets and they are xraying her on the 15th September. Being a novice owner she is panicking but I said to relax and at least wait to see what his sisters xrays show. And if he starts to show any specific lameness/stiffness or reluctance to stride out then have him done after that.

The score of the sibling is totally irrelevant.  Siblings can range from 0:0 to >50.

Personally, if it were mine I'd send the scores off as the information is useful for the breed plus the plates will be reiviewed by specialists, but also have the plates taken by a vet who is recommended and experienced in doing this. They could also see what scores the parents produce on the KC Health checker.

> apparently the breeder rang her on Thursday to say that his sister who also had an odd gait has been to the vets and they are xraying her on the 15th September

Is it an experienced breeder?  If he/she is worried enough abut the one they've kept to override the usual timings for hip xray and scoring then they must be seriously concerned.  Before your friend takes any action I'd be inclined to take the boy back to the breeder for their assessment.

If however the breeder is a novice too then perhaps your friend could talk to the stud owner.  I'd say this is an instance where breed (or line) specific advice is important and, even if an xray proves necessary, than a short delay to explore options and ask more questions will do little harm.

I attended a talk by Dr Malcolm Willis in which he said that all plates should really be submitted for scoring otherwise you do not get a realistic picture of the breed values if only 'good' plates are sent. Vets are not always right. I rescued a collie at one year old who was underexercised and would swagger a bit after his runs when we first got him. In hindsight he just needed time to strengthen and develop his muscles but I decided to have him x-rayed in case there was a problem. The vet who did the x-rays said 'They don't look good'. They came back as 7-8. The breed score was 14, so only just over and balanced too.

I have heard vets say the hips are terrible I wouldn't even send them in. But you really must not Only as you say For records to improve the breed but they are the experts your vet maybe not .When had my own girl done the vet said they weren't good and they came back excellent, she's a very fit and agile dog and comes from a line of low scorers. We had her scored at 22 months. You will get a more accurate representative of the health of the hips once the dog is fully mature getting them scored at 12 they could deteriorate considerably over time. Make sure he's on a high quality large breed specific food or raw diet with supplements chondroitin msm complex and glucosamine.