Elbow Scoring In Labradors

[iluvlabs]

Hi

I just wanted to confirm that elbow scoring is mandatory in Labrador retrievers as well as hip scoring.

A friend of mine who has just registered with the CCCQ has had his dog hip scored, but not elbows...he told the vets that he needed the scores done for breeding purposes, but the vet only did the hips.

I told him to ring the CCCQ but they're closed after 4pm so I said I'd check on here.

Thanks in advance

[MissMonaro]

Hi

I just wanted to confirm that elbow scoring is mandatory in Labrador retrievers as well as hip scoring.

A friend of mine who has just registered with the CCCQ has had his dog hip scored, but not elbows...he told the vets that he needed the scores done for breeding purposes, but the vet only did the hips.

I told him to ring the CCCQ but they're closed after 4pm so I said I'd check on here.

Thanks in advance

Yes it is mandatory in Qld to have hips and elbows done prior to registering a litter.

[blacklabrador]

Yep! His vet sucks because now the dog will have to undergo two lots of sedation.

Actually on second thoughts, vets aren't responsible for knowing the health testing requirements of individual breeds, but their owners sure are. He should have found out before he had the x rays done. That's an expensive mistake to make.

Elbows are fast becoming a much bigger problem in Labs than hips have ever been (as Miss Monaro and I both have sadly found out).

[shellbyville]

Definitely an expensive & unnecessary mistake for the owner to make, and I would have thought a vet would know. Now the dog has to undertake another GA. I also agree with Blacklabrador that elbows are definitely proving to be more of a problem in labs from my experience as well!

[centitout]

I think elbows in a lot of breeds are more of a worry than hips,especially giant/large breeds.

The vet is the idiot-the owner did tell him that he needed them done for breeding according to the OP.

[blacklabrador]

I think elbows in a lot of breeds are more of a worry than hips,especially giant/large breeds.

The vet is the idiot-the owner did tell him that he needed them done for breeding according to the OP.

If that's the case then one would hope that the vet would cover costs. Shame the dog has to undergo two GAs though.

[Dogsfevr]

I dont think the vet is an idiot at all.

If you want to be a breeder then you should now what requirements are for the breed not the vet.If they didnt have the knowledge to now that then its time to read up,it would be clearly stated on the lab club of QLD or the likes websites,its on the ANKC site & would be on the CCCQ site

Expensive mistake for the owner & a lesson learnt about becoming a breeder & finding at things first.

[Kostalot]

Definitely an expensive & unnecessary mistake for the owner to make, and I would have thought a vet would know. Now the dog has to undertake another GA. I also agree with Blacklabrador that elbows are definitely proving to be more of a problem in labs from my experience as well!

Most vets do not do GAs anymore for hips and elbows, well those that know what they are doing don't. Most are just gassed down, xray'd and then reversed, takes no more than 20 mins for them to come out of it again. Obviously this person is not an experienced breeder and the vet is not experienced in dealing with ANKC (not just Dogs Qld) requirements, this is an Australia-wide requirement and has been since about 2002 from memory. Hopefully the vet has some idea how to place the hips and elbows for the xrays otherwise they may all just have to be redone again, an expensive error all around I think.

[Kostalot]

p.s. I hope they did have the dog microchipped prior to, or at the same time as, the xrays.

[shellbyville]

I have had a difficult time finding a good vet to do the Xrays for hip/elbow scoring (I live in a small country town). So have tried 3 different vets until I found one I was happy with for Xrays for this purpose and each of them gave GA's.

The last one is very experienced in xraying for scoring and they also recommend GA to get the dog in the correct position. Just my experience!

[iluvlabs]

Thanks everyone. Yep, the elbows are now getting done. Although its not their responsilibity, I think that vets should have a fair idea which dogs require hip and elbow scoring for breeding purposes or have some sort of file they can look up for breeders. Since they are actually doing the x-rays for a reason.

Edited April 19, 2010 by iluvlabs

[iluvlabs]

p.s. I hope they did have the dog microchipped prior to, or at the same time as, the xrays.

Yes, the dog was microchipped quite a while ago.

[centitout]

1 of mine wasnt under a GA to do XRAYS for elbows only(wasnt for scoring though) he was lightly sedated-the rest have all been done together under GA.

[mikelli]

Mine are all done under GA for hips and elbows. The vet I use has had lots of experience so I guess he thinks that this is the best way to get a good xray....

[Kostalot]

I have had about 6 dogs done in the past 12 months, none have been given a GA, all sedated only, recovery is much better, less risk to the dog and you are in and out of the surgery generally within an hour. Placements have all been great, good scores back on the majority, but no issues with any of the xrays. Also the xrays I get done are now digital so all you have is a disc, I store the xrays on my computer and email them to friends to have a look if they want and then post down the disc and then when the disc returns it is there as a backup. oh and the cost is wayyy less than a GA.