Hi everyone, I am looking to put my name down for a pup mid next year. Most of you know we have just been through surgery for Millys elbow. I am trying to do my research very thoroughly this time. Even though I thought I did last time. I guess my question is what are appropriate scores to be looking for when purchasing a pup. Is there such a thing as finding a bitch and dog that both have perfect scores?? It's all a little confusing. They say there are no numbers to say they are acceptable to breed from just that they have to have the numbers. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks
Re: Hip and elbow scoring advise Well obviously 0/0 on both is the best score you can get, but it may be unlikely that you will find a score like that. I read somewhere that 9 and under is an acceptable score, however one article said a combined score of less of than 9 (for example 4/4 or 6/3) but another said that it's 9 per hip so 9/9 or under... It was all very confusing :s Penny's parents were 3/3 and 2/3 I think... Not exactly sure without looking which I thought was average but not great, but then someone told me that was really good. :-\ it's a total minefield! You want to try and steer away from scores that are wildly uneven (like 2/6) because this means that one side is worse than the other an can put extra strain on the good side meaning that it's not actually going to be so good. I'm sorry I don't know much about elbow scoring, but I would imagine the advise would be similar! I'm sure someone more knowledgable will be along shortly!
Re: Hip and elbow scoring advise That's that's pretty much what I had read too. So I think I'm on the right track. Have found a breeding pair that the bitch has 1/1 hips and 2/0 elbow (had puppy injury next to the hip 2 number) and the dog had 2/2 hips and 0/0 elbow. So hopefully that's a good combination?
Re: Hip and elbow scoring advise Definitely go for 0:0 elbows for both the dog and the bitch. Elbows are scored either 0 (great), 1, 2, or 3 (appalling) for each elbow. As the range is so small a score of 1 is actually quite undesirable. You should have no problem finding parents with 0:0. I really would walk away from anything else. Hips are scored on a totally different scale. For hips you're looking for numbers under the breed average. For Labradors in Australia the average is said to be around 12, for both hips added together. So you want a combined total hip score of under 12. Also highly desirable are hips that are roughly even in number. So, a score of 1:8 and a score of 4:4 are both under 12, but I'd prefer the 4:4 as that means the hips are equal, whereas the dog with the 1:8, one hip is great (score of 1) and the other not as good (score of 8 ). Generally I'd be aiming for numbers under 5 for each hip (total of 10 or less which is better than the average). 0:0 hips do exist but you'd be lucky to get them. You should easily find pretty low scores though - for example Obi's Dad is 2:2 for hips (with 0:0 elbows). There are enough breeders in Australia who have paid attention to this for long enough so that you should be able to find great scores. Hope that makes sense Annette, I would steer clear of that bitch with the 2:0. There is no way of knowing if the score of 2 was due to the injury or is genetic. They get their x-rays at 1 year of age, long after any puppy injury. Otherwise those scores look really good.
Re: Hip and elbow scoring advise Thanks Rachael. I will keep looking I'm looking for breeders in QLD as that where we will be and I want to go look at them this time.
Re: Hip and elbow scoring advise I thought you'd be looking in Qld Southbank have been breeding for yonks and would be worth a look. I guess you're intimately familiar with the Dogzonline website?
Re: Hip and elbow scoring advise Can only agree with the advice so far 0/0 elbows and even, reasonably low hips. Good luck!! If it's a reasonably prolific breeder you may also find them doing a repeat mating where they know the original offspring were good so they're putting the same dogs together again.
Re: Hip and elbow scoring advise Hi Annette. Good luck in your search. How is Millie doing? Been thinking about her lots x
Re: Hip and elbow scoring advise Thanks everyone. I will keep searching. Have heaps of time on my side Thanks ternaya, Milly is doing great. We are up to 10min daily walks now. Very slow process but she is doing great. She has no limp whatsoever which is awesome. She is getting pretty frustrated now with the confinement but it's all for her benifit so she will just have to deal with it lol. On the whole though she is coping pretty well. Hardest thing for her is when the kids are outside playing. As we have had some beautiful warm weather lately that is pretty much a daily thing the hair is growing back well so it's not so noticeable now. Her skin has all healed up really well too. So all in all she is great.
