Hip Dysplasia

What is hip dysplasia?

The hip, or coxofemoral joint, is a ball-and socket joint comprising a cup-shaped socket and the head of the thigh bone or femur, which is roughly spherical. These are held in place by soft tissues and, to some extent, the surrounding muscles. The term ‘hip dysplasia’ is used to describe hip joints which are loose and/or ill-fitting, many of which will develop osteoarthritis as the dog ages. In the young puppy, the skeleton is fairly soft and any laxity or incongruity of the hip joint will result in an abnormal conformation. As the animal matures, this abnormality becomes permanent as the skeleton hardens. Even following skeletal maturity (at about one year of age) abnormal stresses on the bones and soft tissues can
continue to cause bony remodelling and the production of arthritic new bone.


How can hip dysplasia be diagnosed?

Hip dysplasia is confirmed with an X-ray. However, many dogs with hip dysplasia show no clinical signs until later in life, when arthritis has developed. If they have been used for breeding, hip dysplasia genes will have been passed to their offspring. The condition is a disease which is governed partly by genetic features and partly by environmental factors such as nutrition, bodyweight and exercise. Therefore, the radiograph simply records the physical end-result of a variety of causes and, at present, this is the best tool for screening dogs for hip dysplasia.


How are hip radiographs taken?

Radiographs are taken when the dog is lying on its back with its hind legs extended and rotated inwards so that the thigh bones are parallel. The advantage of this position is that it can be reproduced consistently on different occasions. Sedation or general anaesthesia are necessary to allow accurate positioning without the need for the animal to be held. The radiographs must be identified accurately with the dog’s Kennel Club registration, microchip or tattoo number, the date and a right/left marker.


What is the Kennel Club Hip Dysplasia Scoring Scheme?

In the UK the assessment scheme is run under the joint auspices of the Kennel Club and the British Veterinary Association (BVA). Radiographs are submitted to the BVA where each film is examined by two veterinary surgeons from its panel of expert scrutineers. Nine anatomical parameters are examined from each hip joint and allocated a score, ranging from 0 (perfect) to 6 (worst) except that relating to the caudal acetabular edge, for which the maximum score is 5. The scoring scheme allows dogs within a breed to be compared with each other and to assess the breed’s progress in reducing the severity of HD. It is also helpful to consider the hip scores of the parents, grandparents and siblings when selecting a dog or bitch for breeding.

We are very fortunate that with the active support of breeders and the British breed clubs Hip Dysplasia has not become a serious problem in Bearded Collies. Both the breed mean score and breed average score have remained more or less constant at around 11 for the last 20 years and are likely to do so as long as breeders take into account hip scores when planning their breeding programme. The average for the 5 years to 2008 is 9.66. To aid breeders we have established a database of all U.K. plus some American, Australian and European Bearded Collies who have had an X-ray of their hips submitted to one of the BVA HD schemes and the results published. Also included are the dog’s sex, year of birth, sire and dam and their hip status.

The full list (85 A4 pages) containing hip details of over 3100 registered Bearded Collies is available by sending a sterling cheque made payable to Steve Appleby for £6.50 (UK), £10 (Europe) and £12.50 (Rest of the World). If you would like your list sent to an address in North America it can be ordered by sending US$20 payable to Brenda Wantland, 201 Stetler Road, New Cumberland, PA 17070, USA. Prices include postage and all overseas lists are sent airmail.

Special listings by kennel/affix, sire(s) or dam(s) as well as by year or any number of years are also available. These special lists, if they are not too big and can be delivered by hand, are usually free.

To order your 85 page copy send a cheque, with your name, address and telephone number to:-

Steve Appleby,
Diotima Bearded Collies,
10 Bradley Drive, Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 1JS U.K.
Tel. +44 (0) 1684 561294 e-mail.diotimabeardies@aol.com