In Sweden it has been mandatory since 1984 to know the hip status of both a sire and dam if their offspring are to be registered with the Swedish Kennel Club.
Use of hip scores in selecting breeding animals:*
■■ Ensure that all potential parents (both sires and dams ) are hip scored
■■ Evaluate the hip scores of parents, grandparents, siblings and previous offspring whenever possible
■■ Consider the score of the worse hip (on a perfectly symmetrical radiograph) to be more representative of the dog’s hip status
■■ Compare the dog’s total score with the breed median score [12 is median for Goldens] (and compare the score of the worse
of the two hips with half of this value) in order to assess the dog relative to others in the breed
■■ Take the dog’s age at radiography into account
■■ Examine particularly the scores for the first three parameters (Norberg angle, subluxation, cranial
acetabular edge), as they describe any underlying hip dysplasia and are usually predictive of
subsequent osteoarthritis
■■ Do not breed from any dog that shows evidence of osteoarthritis (scores in parameters lower down in the scoring grid)
■■ Breed only from dogs with low hip scores for the breed – certainly less than the breed median score