Hip replacement/Breed health testing
Our sweet 4 YR old Golden is getting his surgery X-rays today to plan his hip replacement for next month. The diagnosis felt extra devastating because he did come from OFA health tested parents/pedigree.
However, one set of great grandparents were missing their hips in k9data and then one set of grandparents (same breeder as great grandparents) had FCI scores in k9-data, which we now wonder, were they fake?
Things I wish I knew before choosing his breeder…. The prevalence of HD in Goldens in the OFA database is 19.3% that’s nearly 1 in 5 puppies bc joint laxity is a common problem in the breed. So missing hip clearances in the pedigree are not acceptable. A parent dog who has passing hip scores but has full siblings with elbow scores in OFA and no hip scores, may bc those siblings failed hips.
There’s more but it just underscores the importance of being very scrupulous and patient when finding the right breeder and understanding what to look for.
Thank god we got pet insurance when he was a puppy. His HD is severe with significant thickening of the femoral neck and flattening of the femoral head so bilateral THR is his best option but it’s going to be a long process.