I've just been pondering elbow tests (of course that means I'm trying to avoid doing something else!). I realised I don't really 'get' the scores. So 3 is the worst, but what does that mean in relation to each elbow... does each elbow have a score of 1.5? Does each elbow have a score of 3? And then if a dog has a score of 2 I have the same questions! Does a score of 1 mean there is slight problem in just one elbow?
It's a bit of a misleading scoring system IMO. A score of 3 could mean 3 in each elbow, or just one elbow. The highest number is taken as the overall score. So, a dog could have a score of 0:3, but the recorded score would be 3.
They only take the score of the worst elbow, or the score of just one elbow if both are the same. so 1/0 will be 1, 1/1 will be 1, 1/2 will be 2 and so on. Logical when you think that a dog will only be as good as it's worst elbow, probably a lot more logical than hips where we add the two sides together.
Thanks John, I don't think that's a very good way of doing things though... is it not the case that an elbow injury can cause a score of 1 or higher? At least with the hips if you see one is much worse than the other you have some idea that it may be environmental. I think it would be better if they gave you the grade of both because it gives you a better idea of what you're dealing with I agree the adding of the score for hips isn't particularly helpful, but I like to see the score for each hip.
Speaking from someone who is at the moment dealing with an elbow issue in her dog I would say test !!!!!!!!!
Edited to add: three dogs out of one litter, each on a different diet and exercise regime and all severely affected ( these are the pups that are known about !) so enviromental, personally I now am firmly in the believe it is hereditary camp
When you look at the pedigree and see generation after generation of elbow issues this litter it just makes you feel incredibly
Injuries can cause a big difference to hip scores Clare, but elbows are a different kettle of fish. The problems being looked for are a flap on the humerus or an ununited medial coronoid. Any additional damage is far more likely to dietary than accidental damage. Thats the reason I'm not happy with some of the higher growth puppy foods. OK, I accept that there has to be a problem in the first place if diet is going to have an effect, just as with exercise and hips, but what I dont accept is that I should not do the best I can to minimise that possible additional damage by not feeding puppy food for long, or in the case of hips, limiting exercise to a sensible amount
So a severe elbow injury wouldn't affect the score? I had no idea, I thought it just worked like hips really. Melvin's elbow score came back 0, so it is just idle pondering really
Totally agree that this should be an easier system to understand but also wish that dogs that were severely affected would also be recorded on the mate select so that the FULL picture was out there.
ie: My dogs stud dog has 0 elbows and 5 prod. tested and 4 are 0 and 1 scoring 1
take into account the three that have severe ED ( will not be tested but are 3's ) the the picture reads very differently . Of course you could argue that there may be lots of other zeros but I think that you could also say that the picture could infact be much much worse
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I agree the adding of the score for hips isn't particularly helpful, but I like to see the score for each hip.
