As members know the Code of Ethics for the Southern Finnish Lapphund Society require that dogs be hip scored, and the results published, prior to mating.  The SFLS CoE specifically states:

23 (b) In addition all stock prior to mating must be examined for the control of Hip Dysplasia and a published score be available under the KC/BVA/ISDS Canine Health Scheme or comparable overseas certified scheme (Preliminary evaluations do not count).

Copies of the results must be made available to the Committee, for the Club archives, if the result is not published on the KC Health Result website at the time of mating.

We are aware that the BVA have currently suspended scoring (due to Covid limiting their activities) and a number of owners are awaiting their results, so we feel it sensible to highlight that both the Kennel Club and Southern Finnish Lapphund Society do accept certified results from other approved schemes if required.

Note: The Kennel Club do not currently publish health results from schemes other than the KC/BVA’s own schemes and this is already true of imported dogs or overseas sires etc.  Therefore, for Assured Breeder Scheme members when registering a litter, you will be required to submit the relevant certification to show that Sire/Dam meet the Scheme requirements if a result is obtained outside the KC/BVA scheme.

For the SFLS, to enable us to check that the Code of Ethics has been met – copies of the relevant Scheme certificate detailing the hip score should be submitted to the Health Coordinator prior to mating.  The results will be published by the SFLS for transparency.

Since the KC do not record the results obtained for other schemes, any results obtained will not be included in the UK published breed averages or included in Estimated Breeding Values (EBV) -though at present our breed has insufficient numbers of recorded hip scores for this to be calculated anyway.

It is not possible to submit results via the Finnish Kennel Club Scheme.

Both the US registry OFA and the Australian ANKC will accept X-rays from dogs registered outside their schemes.  Links and summary process are provided below:

Australia

The Australian scheme uses the same measurements as the UK scheme and the results are provided in the same format as UK scheme.  We are aware of anecdotal evidence that the scores received from Australian Scheme maybe a few points lower than the UK scheme, but we have no actual comparative scores for the breed to be able to substantiate this.  The ANKC publish up to date averages at http://orchid.ankc.org.au/Home/HipScores   which at the time of writing shows a 5 year mean of 11.05 compared to a UK 5 year mean at end of 2019 of 13.4 (see https://www.bva.co.uk/media/3438/chs-hips-summary-2005-2019.pdf) however it should be noted that the Australian system only went into production on 12th Sep 2016 so does not have a full record of all results in the last five years.

Submission Process

Canine Hip and Elbow Scheme – general information

List of Panellists – https://www.orchid.ankc.org.au/

To submit X-rays to the Australian scheme they need to be DICOM format (JPG are not acceptable) – for the majority of panellists you simply need to complete the form at http://ankc.org.au/media/9184/ankc-cheds-report-submission-form.pdf  and submit by email with X-rays and then arrange payment – one panellist has an online process which removes need to complete paper form and the payment can be made by card at the time of submission – see http://www.vetscoring.com/

X-rays can be submitted by owner or veterinary surgeon as required.  Copies will be sent to both.

Information for Owners

The scheme is open to all dogs at least one year of age, with no upper age limit.

The owner of the dog should;

  • Arrange for appropriate radiographs to be taken at any veterinary surgery, ensuring the dog’s identity is confirmed, either by microchip or recognised tattoo.
  • General anaesthesia/sedation must be employed.
  • Complete the ANKC Ltd CHEDS form (available from ankc.org.au).
  • Pay the veterinarian the respective fees, including CHEDS fee of $100.00 for hips and elbows, $80 for hips alone or $25 for elbows alone.
  • The veterinarian and owner will choose from the list of authorised readers on the ANKC website.
  • Results will be returned to the owner. (copies sent to vet)

United States

Orthopaedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) classifies hips into seven different categories:

Excellent, Good, Fair (all within Normal limits), Borderline, and then Mild, Moderate, or Severe (the last three considered Dysplastic).  Explanation on grades – https://www.ofa.org/diseases/hip-dysplasia/grades

They also publish an approximate comparative table of results for information at https://www.ofa.org/diseases/hip-dysplasia/hip-international-ratings-matrix  showing how the above categories map to the UK/Australian Scheme and that used by FCI countries.

Breed statistics are available at https://secure.ofa.org/regSums/FINNISH%20LAPPHUND.pdf  or https://www.ofa.org/diseases/breed-statistics#detail

Submission process

Please note that OFA only accepts submissions for dogs X-rayed after 2 years of age.

OFA accept JPG, JPEG, PNG and DICOM image file formats

Screening Procedure

To submit the x-rays either use the online option at https://www.ofa.org/application-forms  or download and complete the necessary form at https://www.ofa.org/application-forms

Reports are sent to the veterinarian and owner on completion of the evaluation.

Any queries, please contact us