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DOES EMERALD PARK HIP/ELBOW SCORE THEIR DOGS?

At Emerald Park Border Collies, I have made the considered decision not to routinely hip and elbow score my breeding dogs.

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This is not because I disregard hip or elbow health. Quite the opposite. Joint health is an important part of responsible breeding, and I have carefully considered the available evidence, veterinary advice, and both the benefits and limitations of radiographic screening.

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Hip and elbow dysplasia are complex conditions. Genetics play an important role, but they are not the only influence. Growth, nutrition, body condition, exercise and other environmental factors can also influence musculoskeletal development and the way joint disease develops and presents.

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Radiographic screening provides information about an individual dog and can be a useful tool within breeding programmes. However, a favourable score cannot guarantee that a dog's puppies will have completely normal hips or elbows, nor can it predict with certainty how an individual puppy will develop throughout its life.

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My decision also takes into consideration that obtaining radiographs requires sedation or general anaesthesia. Although anaesthesia is routinely performed and is generally very safe in healthy dogs, no anaesthetic procedure is completely without risk. I am not prepared to expose my dogs to a procedure unless I believe the information gained provides sufficient value within my overall breeding program.

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Instead, I take a broader approach when assessing the dogs I choose to breed from. I consider family history, longevity, observed soundness and movement, physical structure, veterinary assessments, temperament, overall health and, where available, the health and development of previous offspring. I also consider the environmental factors that influence healthy musculoskeletal development.

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My responsibility doesn't end when a puppy leaves Emerald Park

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I believe protecting a puppy's developing musculoskeletal system is a shared responsibility.

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I educate every Emerald Park family about the factors they can influence during growth, including appropriate nutrition, maintaining a healthy body condition, sensible exercise, avoiding excessive repetitive or high-impact activity during development, providing appropriate surfaces and allowing strength, coordination and physical capacity to develop progressively.

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No breeding programme or management approach can guarantee that a puppy will never develop hip or elbow disease. However, I believe that informed breeding decisions combined with appropriate care throughout growth give my puppies the best opportunity to develop into strong, healthy and functional adult dogs.

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I recognise that responsible breeders may make different decisions about hip and elbow screening. Some consider formal scoring an essential part of their breeding program, while others take a broader approach.

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At Emerald Park, this is my considered approach.

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My goal is not to claim that hip or elbow disease can be eliminated. It is to reduce avoidable risk, make informed breeding decisions and give every Emerald Park puppy the best possible foundation for lifelong musculoskeletal health.

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