Hello I'm feeling rather anxious about my puppy's front legs. She's been limping on and off her right leg for a few weeks and then this morning, all of a sudden, it was her left leg. It comes on quite suddenly seemingly for no particular reason. I took her to the vet's 3 weeks ago. She started with a week of loxicom and rest but no change. She had X-rays on Weds and I'm now waiting to hear the results. I recall the owners of the mum telling us about the clear hip scores, but I didn't think or know to ask about elbows. I've been onto the Kennel Club site this morning and I can see an EBV of 3 for elbow for my dog with a confidence rating of 40%. What I don't know is whether this EBV score is the same as saying my dog has a grade 3 elbow which is the worst grade of ED.. ? It looks like mum's elbow score is 3 but dad's is -11. Can anyone help me to understand what these scores mean please? Thank you Maz
Hi Maz, I'm sorry your pup is struggling - that sounds a huge worry for you. Lets see if we can shed some light on those KC figures for you, and hopefully that will help a bit. Elbows are scored from 0-3, with a score for each elbow. 3 is "severe". It's recommended that breeders only breed from dogs with a score of 0, or occasionally 1 (but that's more usually for less common breeds, where limiting the breeding pool too much can be detrimental). An EBV score for elbows is a bit different - it's an estimate of how likely a dog is to have elbow problems, compared to the average for their breed. It takes into account any known elbow scores for the parents, but also for the grandparents and wider genetics in your pup's family. Your pup's initial score is an average of their parent's score. A score of 0 means their risk is the same as the population average for Labs. More than zero is an increased risk, and a negative score is a decreased risk. 3 means her risk is higher than breed average, but it's a estimated risk, on a scale that can go to much higher numbers. It's not the same as having an elbow score of 3. The -11 for her sire will be an EBV - and that's a good value, showing his risk of passing on elbow dysplasia is lower than the breed average. I'm not clear on whether her dam has an EBV of 3 (not ideal for breeding but not too scary!) or an actual x ray elbow score of 3? If Mum has an elbow score of 3, that's not great news for your pup's chance of elbow problems, I'm afraid. The confidence interval is a measure of much 'confidence' you can have in the EBV. My understanding is that this is related to how many dogs in your pup's family tree have been elbow scored. The more data is available the more reliable the EBV will be. You can read more about this here: https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/he...ting-and-screening/estimated-breeding-values/ It also sounds like you perhaps didn't ask your breeder for the paperwork showing the parents' hip scores. Hip scores are graded on a scale from 1 to 53, rather than rated as 'clear' or not. Here's the BVA page explaining more https://www.bva.co.uk/canine-health-schemes/hip-scheme/ I do hope that helps clarify things a bit for you! Sammie.
Could be panosteitis especially if it shifts from one leg to another. If you suspect elbow issues the only way to know is via x-rays.
Thanks so much Sammie for explaining that. That does make sense. My pup has been diagnosed with mild elbow dysplasia and is currently on enforced house rest for 2 weeks. I feel so sorry for her but she is coping amazingly well with her confinement (and has a new found love of all her chew toys). She also potentially has something called metaphyseal osteopathy. We'll go back to the vet's in 3 weeks' time for them to reassess. Maz
Oh poor pup - that's hard for her - and for you! It's good to hear she's coping well - I hope you're getting some breaks from keeping her entertained! Sammie
