14 Breed Notes – April 2021

As I’ve had some discussions & been asked questions recently about hip & elbow scoring, I thought that updating & repeating my notes from 2019 with my story might not go amiss!!

I started off by ringing my vet and asking how much they charged. The receptionist didn’t know, had to ask the vet on duty and gave several varying quotes – not an auspicious start. So I booked my dog in thinking I’d get it sorted on the day. To cut a very long story short, my vets was going to charge me £120 for the BVA, £395 for 5 X-rays & £210 for a General Anaesthetic making a total of £725 and all I was asked to sign before handing my dog over was the surgery’s general consent/admission form. Needless to say, I said that I wasn’t going to pay such an extortionate amount and walked out!

When I got home I spent the next few hours ringing around local vets for a quote and what an eye opener that was!! When asked what the price was for hip and elbow scoring a dog under 20k, I got either an immediate (and cheap) all-inclusive quote of £280 – £400 or they weren’t sure & had to find out and those prices ranged from £550 – £750. In fact at one of the practices I rang, the receptionist was so appalled at their price, she actually advised me to try elsewhere!

Surprisingly, the cheapest vets were also the only ones who went through the procedures & told me that the dog had to be microchipped and that I had to bring the dog’s KC registration papers (ensuring that the dog was registered in my name) with me. They obviously did scoring on a far more regular basis than the other more expensive practices; as all the information etc was to hand and they were far more thorough.

When you actually get to your chosen vet with your dog and KC papers, if your vet does postal submissions, there will be two BVA forms to be filled out on the day – a green one for hips and yellow one for elbows. It is up to you to check they’ve been completed correctly, as the BVA will reject & return forms where any information has been altered (ie corrected misspellings etc), if the owner &/or vet hasn’t signed or dated the form or if the form submitted is not the ‘latest edition’.

Much has been said about the appalling backlog and subsequent delays receiving scores back from the BVA and I know many people have sent X-rays to Australia for scoring; £56 and results back within a few days compared to £127 and a wait of several months from the BVA – it’s a bit of a no brainer really.

The British Veterinary Association and Kennel Club have now agreed to the proposal by the Labrador Health Subcommittee of a study comparing the BVA/KC scheme and Australian Canine Hip and Elbow Dysplasia Scheme.
As the first part of this study we are inviting owners of ALL BREEDS who have had both ANKC and BVA scores to send a copy of their certificates (either a scan or a clear photo but we must be able to see the dog’s details and the results) together with DICOM images to both labradorhealth@gmail.com and health@thekennelclub.org.uk with the subject line “ANKC/BVA Comparison”. Together with the KC we will then compile a database which will mean a comparison can be made. Anyone having issues with transferring large files we recommend www.wetransfer.com

We will also be looking at a linked but separate study in which we will be need a significant selection of hips and elbows that have only been scored under the Australian ANKC (CHEDS) scheme. To take part in this study pleases send DICOM images and ANKC (CHEDS) score certificates to be part of this study please mark your email ANKC (CHEDS) ONLY and forward to labradorhealth@gmail.com and health@thekennelclub.org.uk

Whilst on the subject of hips and elbows, to date there has been a total of 49 keesies scored since 2013 with more than half being in the last 2 years. Information and results can be found on the health web site – www.keeshondhealthmatters.co.uk

Finally yet another reminder that Andy Fitches is still waiting for all your contributions for the next edition of Walkee Talkees, which he would like by the end of April at the latest please.

Anji Marfleet