Health scores are in...

[Beanwood]

That's interesting, quite like the fact its part of the sales agreement. Does that mean you pay for the Xrays? I guess A/A is a really good score, I wonder how that compares to the UK BVA scoring system.
Really good news and peace of mind for you though!

 

[Snowy]

@Beanwood Yes we pay for the x-rays (160€) and then again for them to be assessed by a Finnish Kennel Club vet to give their verdict & scores (45€).

It sure brings some piece of mind and as all these are publicly listed on an internet database, it reflects well on the breeder.

Not sure how the scores compare, I could only find this thread on the internet european hip scoring

Someone's vet had listed a comparison as (Finnish score first, BVA second):

A = 0-4
B = 5-10
C = 11-18
D = 19-25
E = 26-35

 

[Beanwood]

Really interesting @Snowy, thank you!

I wonder if the mean hip scores (from the UK) varies from Finland, due to the degree of monitoring.

 

[Oberon]

All good there then. Good girlie Squidge. I hope this isn't a silly question, but are hip/elbow scores different for each breed? x

Hip and elbow scores are measured on two different scales. Elbow scores are measured on a very small scale of 0 to 3, where 0 is the best and 3 is the worst. On such a scale a 3 is a terrible score, and even a score of 1 is highly undesirable, because it’s a quarter of the way to being as bad as the score can be (edit: actually it’s potentially even more than a quarter of the way as it’s the second notch along a four point scale..). People buying puppies should insist on parent dogs with 0/0 elbows and nothing less.

 

[Snowy]

@Beanwood

Here are some Stats for Finnish labs:

https://jalostus.kennelliitto.fi/frmTerveystilastot.aspx?R=122&Lang=en

e.g. from 2144 pups born in 2017, the scores for the 390 pups so far tested were:

A - 218
B - 112
C - 44
D - 15
E - 1

 

[Beanwood]

I had a look at their website and roughly 2,000 pups are tested each year, ( lower stats for 2017/18 due to age of dog at of testing)

So roughly 50% of all these dogs are tested.

Is it usual in Finland to have a breeders contract requiring Xrays of hips/elbows? Very good system and great if it could be adopted in the UK. I know with some breeders they are dead against their pups being hip/elbow scored unless for breeding purposes.

 

[Mabel’smummy]

Brilliant new Fiona

 

[Snowy]

Is it usual in Finland to have a breeders contract requiring Xrays of hips/elbows?

I think it's normal practice to require this (at least from the "professional" breeders, probably not required for mongrels).

 

[MellowYellow]

Excellent Fiona, so happy for you and Squidge!

 

[MellowYellow]

We have much the same system here in Germany as in Finnland.

Poor Merlin's hips are EE. Terrible, could barely be worse.

 

[Snowy]

We have much the same system here in Germany as in Finnland.

Poor Merlin's hips are EE. Terrible, could barely be worse.

Would be interesting to see the grading structure