HIP AND EYE SCORES>>>> necessity for sibes?Well a woman in the park has these two beautiful Rhodesian Ridgebacks, she's an older woman who said she had been showing and breeding the breed for years, and she said most of her winning showing ridgebacks were still not breeding material (don't know what she meant by this??) but she said they ALL had their hip and eye scores done, even if she had no intention from breeding them, she said something about determining a problem in the eyes or hips and sorting it out early on??? i know sibes can suffer from Glaucoma, Hereditary cataracts, Corneal dystrophy and Progressive retinal atrophy, and of course all dogs can suffer from Hip Dysplasia, so my point is:
is it worth getting these tests done even though were spaying her after her 2nd season?? >>> is there any benefit to this, i called my vets and she said we could do the eye tests now at 8 months but the hips at 1years and the hips altogether would be around £300, but i don't mind paying this if it will help my girl in the long run, but i still need to ask is it a necessity...i'll call back later...so any help for now would be great ;)
so if i get the tests i'll know if she may have dodgy hips when older but i still cant help her now?? ... so it's just preparing me and her for the future...has anyone else got these tests done eventhough your not breeding??
thanks guys :D
Posted by Susan B
You don't have to get the tests done, but if you do it will help you know the health of your dog and you will be able to better care for her in the future. However, if you choose not to, and she comes up lame later, you won't know what's wrong and may have to have her tested any way.
If you get her hips checked and find that they are bad, there are supplements that you can start now that can help her as she ages, like glucosamine and chondroitin. I don't know the doses, talk to your vet if you feel a need to supplement your dog.
BTW - I have a Rottweiler that we all know are prone to bad hips, I have not had her hips checked but plan to in the future and no, I have no plans to breed her. I will have the eyes checked to. If for nothing else, it will give my breeder information on how her litters are healthwise. I'm not really sure why breeders don't require testing of the offspring so they can monitor the health of thier lines.
Posted by I..Love..Mishka
Hii, i think that its in the best interest for your dog to get these done, its best to be prepared for things in the future than to be thrown in at the deep end.
I wish i had the chance to get my GSD hip scored because he now has arthritis and its difficult getting him comfortable in cold weather, knowing sooner something could have been done. Also i know of other people in the same situation. You will feel better if this happens knowing you did what you could rather than having the opportunity to do so and not acting upon it.
I would have it done, :-)
Posted by Not Afraid to Try New Things...
I have wondered about this as well. And wondered if I should have my dogs checked when they hit 2.
I think if you have a dog of questionable origin (Shelter, rescue, poor breeder) It might not be a bad Idea to have their hips and eyes checked to let you know what you might face down the road. That way you may know if there is any way you handle the dog now, and it gives you time to start tucking away an emergency fund in the need to major vet care, surgeries, or medications for pain and discomfort.
Its seriously crossed my mind to have this done with our Mix, who is a Boxer/Greyhound mix. Just because we don't know what she had thrown into her genetically good or bad. We have hip, eye, and elbow scored on both of our Aussies parents and they all had good scores so we will watch him, and maybe have his hips checked.
We will definitely have his eyes monitored, because he had an odd shaped pupil in one eye, it has no ill effect on his sight, but its best to monitor it.
Do what you think is best. The comfort of knowing either way may be enough. It will let you know what to prepare for if need be or give you a peace of mind.
Posted by akitagrl07
I can understand her testing non-breeding dogs: it lets her keep very good track of what she is producing in her breeding program even outside the show ring, which is very commendable and shows a thorough commitment to the health of the breed. And just because a dog is a champion, does not mean it is automatically breeding quality. Dogs can, and do with a fair amount of regularity, champion before the age of 2, but hips can only be reliably scored after 2. So you could pretty easily end up with a champion with fair hips and since many breeders won't breed a dog with "fair" hips, you get a champion dog that is not of breeding quality. There are other ways a similar situation could arise, but you get the point. It really just means that she is very selective in her breeding.
If you want to get your dog's hip and eye scores, that certainly wouldn't hurt. If her hips aren't very good, it is possible to prevent or lessen problems by (gently) building muscle on the hips and supplementing with things like glucosamine and chondroiton. It would also help to know so you know how close an eye to keep on her weight. Not that you would let her get fat, but if her hips are bad, it's important that she not be allowed to carry any more weight than is necessary, even for just a little while. If she came from a good breeder, you probably don't have much to worry about really.
Posted by Loki ❆ Wolfchild
My opinion...
The incidence of hip dysplasia in the breed is about 2% (in the USA...I would expect similar results elsewhere). If you have no plans to breed your girl, I really don't see the point in doing it. It is unlikely that she will have HD, so this would be for your peace of mind only...and not worth the cost, IMO, since it won't change anything if she is affected down the road. It will just give you a heads-up.
I have done eyes on dogs I've sold as pets, and dogs I've never bred. Eye disease is more significant in the breed, and I like to know that *every* dog in the litter I bred is clear...not just the parents and the puppy I kept. This is something I ask my pet owners to do, especially if I know of a risk in the bloodlines.
So it might matter to your breeder, even if it isn't particularly significant to you.
In order to be useful, eye clearances really need to be done annually until the dog is 5 years old...a dog may be clear at 8 months, but when re-checked at 2 years or 3 years old, the same dog may have developed juvenile cataracts.
So, again, it's up to you...however, if you do check her eyes, I'd plan to do it annually.
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