I wonder sometimes, if I had known about Hip scores etc BEFORE I got Leo, would we still have got him? Honest answer is that I don't know. Leo came through a "friend of a friend" and if the "breeder" did not get rid of the pups that weekend they were going to be "disposed of" (whatever that may mean ). So somebody I knew bought the entire litter (for a token amount) and hence we got Leo. We were not looking for another pup at the time at all, and I did not have a clue about hip-scoring etc at the time.
So, if history repeated itself, would I do the same again? I don't know.
I can categorically say that if I was going to buy another puppy, then I would definately only buy from a reputable breeder who has hipscored and eye tested etc, without question. But life isn't always as straightforward as that. Life doesn't just come in black and white, but varying shades of grey too!
Also, we are hoping to take on a rescue pup at some point in the near future. I know we will be taking a chance on the pup's health, but the pup will already be in the world and in a rescue centre anyway, and I am looking forward to giving home to a needy pup. And what will be, will be - all I can be certain of is that we will give the pup the best possible chance in life.
Can I say as a complete novice to owning a dog, until these past few days I did not realise the importance of healthchecks?
Having never owned a dog or even really been around them before, we started our search on the internet for a chocolate labrador on Sunday. Whilst looking at various ads etc.. we kept seeing hip/eye scores and read further into it.
It was only after doing this that we realised the importance of buying from a litter who parents had these checks.
Before we knew all this we had contacted a few free ads type adverts but they had already sold out, with hindsight this was good as we would have no doubt gone for a look.
Luckily we emailed the owner of Deeds for info on litters that he was the stud for (have only just cottoned on that this is in fact Diana!) and as a result have a deposit down on a lovely girl who is 2 weeks old!
We are in the process of looking for a puppy and I have talked to two breeders close by. I went to meet one of them today and had a very informative time. I feel that she is someone who would give great "after-sales" support (even offering to take the puppy back for a long weekend in July that we had booked already) and the puppies that she had were, of course, gorgeous.
The question that I have is, should we be concerned that the mother's hip scores are 9/14? The father's are much lower (I think 3/4).
" The question that I have is, should we be concerned that the mother's hip scores are 9/14? The father's are much lower (I think 3/4). "
Its a very good question to which there is no definitive yes or no answer as I bet you have already guessed...
Of course, in an ideal world you take the mothers hip score as read and think 'ohhh thats rather high'. I would never say to ignore a hip score but there are some thoughts. One being that it is very uneven so it could be environmental.... IE an accident to one hip before she was scored to be uneven like that.
Can you be told who her sire and dam are and so you can look up their hip scores? Thats very influential to see if it is a 'blip' or something inheriant and common in the line.... you can then also check any siblings that have been scored too for their scores (which i can do for you if you give me the parents registered names....)
Then you have to look at the whole picture. Hip scoring is undertaken to give the breeder info and not to be flailing around in the dark with fingers crossed. the info is that - info. It means you KNOW that the bitch needs a low Sire to ensure if there is an element of inherited problem that certainly the Sire is the best hips that the breeder can find. She has done that.
A low hip score is one tick box in a number of boxes when searching for a breeder. A shoddy breeder would not then use that info and mate her to any old dog with a average or high score, she patently has not.
An even shoddier breeder wouldn't even hip score in the first place.
the breed average is around a total of 16, so she is only a little over the breed average. Remember she COULD at worst have a hip score of 106! So 24 in the scheme of things is really not so terrible coupled with a low low sire score.
At least you have the info.
Obviously if you had two litters one with a sire and dam you liked equally and a breeder you liked exactly the same, and one bitch had a hipscore of under ten and one had a hip score of 24 you would be daft not to buy from the bitch scoring the lower score, but all is not always equal and as long as they HAVE scored and used that info wisely, and she is not massively over the breed average, you can still responsibly consider this litter, yes.
It would be useful to look around the sire and dam at scores to reassure you that this is a one off in that line.... I'd be happy to do so for you privately.
Thank you for that reply and the offer to help research this. I did see the dam's pedigree sheet with hipscores of all parents, grandparents etc and they were all low 6/6 type numbers, making me think that this is maybe an anomoly.
Also her scores were done when the dam was 18 months old - would that have any effect on the numbers??
This is all putting my mind at rest, because that was the only "con" with this litter & breeder!
Kira, 18 months would be a very normal age to have scores done. Some rush the dogs there the day after they are 12 months of age but most stall a bit, have busy lives and then have a week or three wait till they can get in a clinic, and time ticks on!
Best of luck!
Di
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There should be no problem - in the US hips cannot be scored until 2 years old anyway.
In fact, it does concern me that such importance is placed on early scoring. A good pair of hips will deteriorate only marginally over the years. If they deteriorate as the dog grows older to such an extent that they score poorly when older, I would question breeding from the dog / bitch. Of course, that is hypothetical, because you can only score once.
The earliest I have ever had a dog scored was 18 months and have just had Amy scored at 25 months. Personally I prefer to score at nearer to two years old when the bones have really hardened off.
Well, now is probably as good a time as any to "confess" Maisy's mum is not a purebred lab, her Mum (Maisys gran) who was kc reg had an illicit affair with a flatcoat retriever. However, This was all explained to me at the time, and After meeting the breeders, the mum and dad (a chocolate lab, also not reg) and of course the pups, I did let my heart rule my head, and found this forum shortly after. HOWEVER, I spoke to the vet who cared for the pups before they came home, he says he'd been Shadows (maisy's mum) vet since she was a small pup, and had no concerns over her hips/eyes etc, and also had rolo (dad) taken to him and was more than happy with him also. And the breeders have done everything they can to make sure their puppies were taken by responsible owners. I know that some people on here believe that its irresponsible to breed dogs who aren't purebred/kc registered etc but the fact remains that people do. THe breeders loved Shadow regardless of her parentage, and you can tell that just by spending time with them(which I did, rather a lot!!) and they had all her pups fully vaccinated and microchipped before allowing them home. Shadow is being spayed asap now to ensure that she's never caught again, but I'm glad they allowed her to have her litter, otherwise i'd have never got maisy! But i would always advise others to buy pups from kc registered parents with hip and eye scores, because I know that I'll never be completely relaxed about Maisy even though I love her dearly!
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). So somebody I knew bought the entire litter (for a token amount) and hence we got Leo. We were not looking for another pup at the time at all, and I did not have a clue about hip-scoring etc at the time.
