Hips. - Page 1

Some of us seem to be getting a little tetchy with each other ... so much for CoronaVirus lockdowns and worry.

I have been meaning to put up a topic on some recent HD 'news'; now seems as good as any to offer something at least a little "reasons to be cheerful" !

Not long ago on PDB I referred in one post to the fact that Fred Lanting had mentioned a bit of research on Hip Dysplasia that had showed there was in fact some slow improvement going on in the GSD breed. This was shortly after a slew of other posters had been banging the "It never gets any better, so why should we do anything about breeding away from it ?" drum. Nobody queried that at the time; and I don't know if this is what Fred was referring to or whether he was talking about some (different, American) research ... but:

 

[From Hannah James, Health Research Manager, the Kennel Club. UK]

"The Health Team would like to make (Breed Health Coordinators) aware that a new paper has been published by the Frontiers team regarding investigation into progress of hip and elbow dysplasia in 6 breeds (Labrador Retriever,Golden Retriever, Rotttweiler, German Shepherd Dog, Bernese Mounttain Dog, & Newfoundland). The paper looked at data from the BVA/KC Hip and Elbow Dysplasia Schemes and incorporated phenotypic data of hips and elbows, and also Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs).

The key findings from the paper are as follows:

a) Notable decline in severity of hip scores in these breeds over time.

b) More modest but notable decline in severe elbow scores.

c) Proportion of dams and sires tested over time has increased, but is beginning to plateau - implying that fewer puppies are   being born from untested parents. This was the case for all hips, and five out of six elbows.

d) Scores of tested parents are generally improving (sires more so than dams), implying that breeders are choosing stock with better scores - this was the case for both hips and elbows, but more consistent in hips.

e) Breeds with poorer hip and elbow scores at the beginning of the time period studied showed the greatest imrovement.

f) Genetic trend in EBVs also reduced over time for both hips and elbows, showing that dogs are genetically at a lower risk than dogs bred 30 years ago.

Therefore it can be concluded that the BVA/KC Dysplasia Schemes are beneficial tools for breeders to implement into their breeding decisions, and progress can be expected to be evident should the current trends continue."

 

https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00490

 

Published January '20. Period researched = 1990 to 2018.

Of 194 breeds listed in the OFA hip displaysia stats table for 2019, the GSD is ranked 40th, right behind the Mastiff at #39...the Mastiff. This is progress?

I don't know that OFA has commissioned any similar studies. They may not get an exactly similar improvement. There are differences between numbers and breeding practices between the USA and UK. But if 40th on the USA's current list is better than it ranked 30 years ago, yes this is progress. It may be slow, but onwards and upwards ! I'll see if I can find out if the UK has similar all-breed ratings, one against another. Preferably also comparing then and now.