Condition Affects

The condition affects many breeds, mostly the larger ones, including the German Shepherd. Largely due to the efforts of German Shepherd breeders, control schemes have been operating in several countries for many years now.

Progress has been real but is slow, and sometimes heartbreaking for breeders, who may have used a dog and a bitch that both have excellent "hip scores", only to find that the offspring are seriously affected.

The second problem is that the disease may not show itself until the affected animal is mature. The dog or bitch may well have been used in a breeding programme before any signs that it has the condition are seen.

To some extent this may be overcome by control schemes that do not give certificates of freedom from the disease until the dogs in the scheme are old enough for the particular disease to have shown itself.

Hip dysplasia is again an example: hip scoring is by an expert panel who examine X-rays of submitted dogs. These X-rays may not be taken until the dog is twelve months old.
There are several diseases that are known to be inherited in a straightforward way and are present at birth.

These diseases can be controlled, depending for the success of the control scheme on the cooperation of the breeders, and their recognition that animals that show signs of the disease are actually afflicted, rather than the subject of mysterious accidents that merely mimic the condition.