Elbow dysplasia and obedience training

[Stella2019]

Hi

 

ive been offered a lively German shepherd but he has grade two elbow dysplasia in one elbow. It doesn’t appear to affect him at all and he has lovely straight big stride.

 

however I’d like to compete in obedience tracking and rallyo and I’m not sure if that grading would be causing him issues for open and ud with jumping.

 

can anyone fill me in more of elbow dysplasia at that level and how much it affects a dog

[Two Best Dogs!]

I think it would be best to take him to your vet to assess him with your intended activities in mind - even with gradings the capability of each dog would be individual and depend on the rest of his confo as to how drilling position changes and jumping may affect him. 
 

 sounds handsome tho. 

[ish]

How old is the dog currently? It’s really hard to say, it may never cause him an issue if he’s sound now - or it may. I have a 3 year old bitch with UAP in one elbow, who’s sound as a bell and my vet talked me out of surgery for her until/unless it becomes a problem. She does all the usual dog things. Jumping in the higher obedience levels would be the only thing I’d be iffy about, but there’s loads of supplements you could try too

[Papillon Kisses]

Have you considered K9 Nose Work? That’s low impact.

 

You could also see a sports medicine vet and get a prehab/rehab plan and assess suitability for different sports.

Edited May 14, 2020 by Papillon Kisses

[sandgrubber]

On 5/12/2020 at 7:56 PM, Stella2019 said:

Hi

 

ive been offered a lively German shepherd but he has grade two elbow dysplasia in one elbow. It doesn’t appear to affect him at all and he has lovely straight big stride.

 

however I’d like to compete in obedience tracking and rallyo and I’m not sure if that grading would be causing him issues for open and ud with jumping.

 

can anyone fill me in more of elbow dysplasia at that level and how much it affects a dog

I knew a GCh Lab with a grade 2 elbow who did quite a bit of retrieving and never had any symptoms of elbow trouble.  Radiometric scores aren't reliable predictors of actual outcomes. 

[Cosmolo]

Having had two dogs with elbow dysplasia I would NEVER knowingly take it on. In both my cases (2 different breeds, one medium pedigree and one large cross breed) it seriously affected many aspects of their life, most noticeably from about age 5 onwards. 
 

I wouldn’t do it.