BVA Hip scoring

The lower a hip score, the better.  

Ideally, results should be at or below average, for the breed.  

There are different ways to calculate an 'average', and it's the median which is most useful.  

The median for Labradors:   

• Labradors = 9

A hip score will usually be expressed as two numbers with a "/" in between.  That gives you the score for each hip.  For example, 4/5 means one hip was 4, the other was 5, giving a total of the median = 9.

It's not just about meeting the average, though.  Preferably, the hips are both roughly the same score.  4/5 is more desirable than 0/9, for example.  Even though the total in both cases, is 9.  For this reason, you want to know the score of each hip and not just the total.

A dog with a slightly above average hip score, can still be responsibly bred from - especially if s/he has other desirable qualities and is bred to a dog with a good score.

Using Mate Select, you can also see the hip-scores of existing progeny from the same dog - as well as siblings' scores.  

This is important:  If there are many dogs with high scores which are siblings or progeny, then this dog might carry some undesirable genes when it comes to hip dysplasia.  Regardless of his or her own scores.

How are hips tested?

The dog is either sedated or receives a general anaesthetic and an xray is taken of the hips.  This xray is then sent off to the BVA panel which meet regularly to review xrays and determine hip-scores.

The xray needs to be scored by the official BVA panel, and not just looked at by a regular vet.

We have always used Marilyn at Southern Canine Imaging outside Portsmouth, for all our hip and elbow-scoring and we can really recommend her for accurate positioning of dogs whilst the x-ray is taken - enabling the best score achievable for your dog.

How does hip dysplasia affect dogs?

Dogs can be effectively crippled with pain, at a young age.  Sometimes their pain can be managed with pain medication, hydrotherapy and other supportive measures but often very expensive and extreme surgery is needed.

In short, what hip results do I look for?

A hip-score at or below the median (see above), perhaps a point or two above that - but no more.