I posted earlier re: looking for a new vet. One of the places I called, I asked about whether their vet would take x-rays and read them, or refer somewhere else. They said their vet would do the x-rays, then send them to Columbia, MO to be read. She asked me if I was interested in getting hips done only, or hips and elbows. I told her I hadn't decided yet, so I will talk to them about that when I meet the Dr. there.

Anyway, as I'm sure you all know , Kodee is a pet, not a working dog. Hopefully he will be a therapy dog eventually, but right now, I don't plan on him doing any strenuous sports (although agility looks fun, and I may look into it later). My question is: At 8 mos, I think I am about ready to get prelim x-rays done for hips, at least. We lost a great GSD to severe hip dysplasia when I was a kid, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that if Kodee has HD, it is diagnosed early so we can treat it before symptoms develop. But, what about elbows? Should I get the elbows x-rayed too? I have no idea how prevalent elbow dysplasia is in GSDs. Is the rate about the same as HD? Higher or lower?

If anyone can give me some advice or provide some links that will help me decide which way to go, I would appreciate it. Also, is 8-9 mos a good age to get prelim x-rays done? If not, when?

Thanks in advance!

Over here in Belgium they say no earlier than 12 months old for offical ratings
But an owner can get them done unoffical any time and at any age they want to. I know a couple of breeders who have there vet X-ray hips and elbows of there pups at a reasonable price, but not offical this will give that breeder a good idea of how things will go for the pup or if anything is picked up at that age they will of course know before they sell them or not
If you are not going into Schutzund or such then you can get Kodee done now, and say at 18 months or so get them done again, it will give you peace of mind, and you will not really need offical ratings except if you breed with it

But should I do hips AND elbows? Or just hips?

I'd do both, then you know for sure what condition your dog is in. Better to be informed and tailor your dogs exercise to his physical ability than to not do it and screw him up.

until a dog is over 8 or 9 months, don't bother doing elbows. the growth plates are not closed yet.

Once again I am going to jump in with my own, related question. Is it a good idea to get ANY dog's hips/elbows X-Rayed to gauge physical ability?

I have a mixed breed about the same size and shape as a GSD (but no GSD in him) that I am hoping to use for competitive agility and obedience. He is now 6 months old, so we haven't started training yet (other than socializing around equipment).

So basically my question is, can it help to determine if my dog will be able to do the work? I always thought it was just for breeding but Kori brings up a good point.

I have never intended to breed so my knowledge of OFA etc. is extremely limited. Will they even test mix breeds? (I hope I didn't hijack!)

I would do both. Hips and Elbows are evaluated the same for mixes as they are for purebreds so no worries there Angela :-) I would wait a bit to pre-lim though. I usually pre-lim around 12-15 months old. While it is hard to wait, the reality is that you really should not be doing anything that would put undue stress on your pup's joints before that time anyways.

I agree. Wait. I have seen dogs diagnosed with HD at 9 months old who were fine when they were redone at 14 months.

Clear hip x-rays and orthopedic soundness are not mutually exclusive. The working GSD has been x-raying there dogs for 40 years without a substantial improvement in the percentage of dogs evidencing degrees of HD. Schutzhund, the breed specific test for the GSD, used to have a vertical wall that the dogs had to climb over as a part of the test. When that wall was removed at the behest of the show folks the orthopedic soundness of the GSD began to lessen. The Malinois breeders who by in large vet there dogs in French Ring do not x-ray, but the incidence of HD in the Malinois is negligible. Why? Because they do have a vertical wall (palisade) that can be as high as 7.5 feet. For them that wall is there x-ray. If a dog can hold up to the training necessary to climb that wall and then do it that dog is orthopedically sound. Therefore hard work and or testing is the only path to orthopedic soundness. E-ray’s to vet hips IMO should only be used as one tool but not the only tool.

 Quote: Norman Epstein

the incidence of HD in the Malinois is negligible.

I didn't know this about Mals but off-hand I can't think of any Mal owners on this forum mentioning HD in their dogs. That's very interesting and very good to hear.