I have a 5 month old puppy that I took to the vet because he was limping and dragging his right paw from time to time. He was x rayed and marked elbow dysplasia  and an united anconeal process was found in the right side and elbow dysplasia in left too. I was in complete shock as I brought him from what I believed to be a reputable breeder. I paid loads of money for him anyway because I wanted a show and possible stud dog and since then realized this isnt really appropriate practice. I suspect you all thing I am wearing a dunce hat.  I contacted the breeder about the pup and she said she wasn't in a position to give me my money back but could offer me another pup at pet price. Bearing in mind I hadnt even asked for my money back it was just to let her know and the vet told me to tell her not breed from the same dogs again . I did ask the vet if it is genetic and she said it is of a congenital disposition. My pup is going to have to almost certainly go through very expensive surgery and possibly suffer lifelong. My question is do you feel the breeder is liable should she not take some responsibility for breeding a dog with this condition

I doubt it, unless her dogs have high elbow scores and she bred from them anyway. You pays your money you takes your chances. Just unfortunate for you all really. Is it a breed which is usually elbow scored, and have the parents been scored if so? Sorry about your pup, it seems a nasty condition and I hope it's sorted and managed effectively and he can enjoy a full life.

It would depend if the breed is predisposed to it and people are elbow scoring in the breed. If they are were both parents scored and what were the scores? If not, why were they not scored?
However it's congenital which means a percentage would be genetic and other factors could cause this like diet and exercise as two examples.

What breed is this and were the parents Elbow scored ? Should be if it is one of the susceptible breeds, most retrievers and most large and  heavier breeds.  It's a developmental issue and those breeds of course grow quickly and have more weight to carry on immature bones.

Like Hip dysplasia it has a complex hereditary basis, but also will be affected by environmental factors such as nutrition and especially exercise.

If it is not a breed that is considered to have an issue or the parents had scores of 0, then it's just rather unfortunate and not something the breeder could have forseen, this is why breeders give Puppy Insurance with pups and encourage new owners to continue, as of course when buying a pup your not buying the 'finished article' so to speak.

As your vet told you it would be most unwise for the breeder to repeat the same pairing (though few breeders do repeat matings, as they don't add to genetic diversity, and rarely produce similar hoped for results), and a wise breeder would avoid putting similar pedigrees together in future.

> However it's congenital

Actually it's developmental, so would not be obvious from birth (congenital), and 5 - 10 months does seem to be the age at which symptoms most often appear.

My breed is not predisposed, (adult weight approximately 20kg bitches,  and 23kg dogs) but since the relatively new scheme came out, many 100's of dogs in Scandinavia have been scored and over 150 in USA, and all scores have been 0 (perfect), or just less than a handful of 1's (still breedable) in Scandinavia where more have been scored.

I sold a pup who was allowed to get grossly overweight by 6 months (30kg where it would normally take an adult several years to reach around 23kg), needless to say pup went lame and had investigations with specialists, and during arthroscopy some loose cartilage was removed.  Now a pup at that age should only have weighed about 15 - 18kg, and of course bones are not fully calcified so a knock can cause this.

As a result I had the litter sister Elbow scored with the expected result of perfect 0/0 score.  All her preceding 6 generations of bitches I have owned have never had orthopaedic issues and my 15 1/2 year old was sound until the day before her death.

It does seem though that some vets have latched onto any front end lameness as potential 'Elbow Dysplasia' in the same way as they used to assume Hip Dysplasia when presented with a rear lameness.  So I have decided to Elbow score all mien from now on (though of course I can't demand this from stud dog owners as the breed does not have an issue).

He is a Basset hound 14kg not over weight. Elbow scoring is only a reccomendation for the breed. I really don't believe he has been over excerised 5 minutes a day until I noticed his foot. But he has always had a reluctance to walk on the lead and I haven't wanted to frighten him so very slowly. His sire has paws very similar  to my pup and they sit up at the front and he walks on the heel of his paw just as my pup does but I was told its because his paws are so big. I have definitely fed him correctly too . So reading through the answers it is almost definitely not the breeders fault. Luckily he is insured.
..

If it is a recommendation then really it ought to be done and if I was the breeder after this I'd be sure to get all my breeding stock done.

My feelings too.

A friend wanted another Bassett Hound and wanted a breeder who elbow scores as theirs too had ED. I searched a lot for them and contacted the breed club to be told hardly any breeders elbow score because it's not seen as a problem in the breed..
So the search still continues for him

My first 2 dogs both had this condition with the worst score possible, also bought from what I thought was a good breeder when I was living in NZ. Both my boys were lame within a month of me having them, they had a good diet and little off property exercise as they were waiting to be clear from their vaccinations.

It is not a recommended test for the breed (Chow Chow) and my breeder tested his bitch after I contacted him and she had the worst score possible as well, we assumed she exhibited no lameness as being a bitch she was smaller and lighter than a dog would be.

Both my boys had arthroscopic surgery at 5 months and had to have 6 weeks of cage rest thereafter, not much fun for puppies and very stressful for me. After they were allowed to be exercised they went for very short walks which left them lame every time, they were lame on and off until around the age of 2 when I assume they had stopped growing.

After that they had no noticeable problems and were happy and pain free. I lost my Balto to stomach cancer when he was 6 but I still have Baloo now 11, he will not see another winter but only needed daily pain meds when he turned 10, he has had a happy life and I am happy that I made the right decision in giving them the surgery.

My newest Chow I got from an ABS breeder, well respected and also a judge, I asked about elbow scoring and he seemed surprised, it is not a recommended test in this country either. I had thought it was just bad luck with my first boys but Thor also started to go lame when he turned 3 years and x-rays confirm arthritic changes in his elbows and shoulders. I had been very cautious in his exercise as I was so scared of it happening again. He is too old to have the same surgery and luckily he does not seem to be as severe as my other 2.

In my experience just because a test is not recommended doesn't mean it shouldn't be done, when searching on google for information I came across many posts from people having the same problem with their Chows and I wonder if breeders are putting their heads in the sand regarding this disease as it will disrupt their breeding programs too much.

I hope my experience with this horrific disease will help you decide what path is best for you and your dog, surgery is tough but worth it in the end provided it is done before the age of 1, the earlier the better. Others have managed this disease without surgery, mastifflover on this forum is one, I hope she sees your post to give you her experience.

Good luck to your boy.

Its a hard one as the Kennel club only recommend the test I don't believe that I know enough to make a valid comment on whether it should be done. I have 3 other Bassets that were pet home brought and were one off bred.. none of these suffer with any health issues is it possible that the breeder of my poorly one  has in bred the problem who knows with in excess of 16 litters in 5 years I think its possible. I am very disappointed with her as I brought him to show and he definitely won't be going there. I have learnt a valuable lesson and hope I won't make the same mistake again.

I would have though if a test was recommended then it was recommended for a reason. It must be a problem which is cropping up with the breed.

So are eye tests and most reputable breeders do this. My pups breeder doesn't do any tests.I realise that I have made a huge mistake buying him but what's done is done and I will have to live with the consequence s of my very foolish actions I was ignorant and was taken in. But that is no excuse really is it

I have just looked on the OFA elbow stats and no listing of Bassets (they only list if over 150 have been scored).

On the Finnish database only 5 scored since Jan 2011 and 2 scored 0/1 and 1 scored 2/2 and others were 0/0

Would seem it isn't seen as an issue there either.

According to this NO Basset Hounds have been elbow scored in the UK in the past 15 years:
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media/613529/elbows.pdf

It doesn't show any for my breed and there are definitely two that I know of, bit miffed, both are 0/0 scores

I did think it seemed odd!

Welcome to the forum wendy123