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You've received an elbow dysplasia grade for you dog - what next?
If you haven't already done so, we always recommend discussing the result with your vet.
Understanding your results
1. Elbow Certificate
The elbow grade on your certificate is determined by the higher of the two individual grades given for each elbow. Grades for each elbow are not added together as they are for the two hips in the Hip Dysplasia Scheme.
Grading goes from 0 (‘normal’) to 3 (‘severe changes’).
The grades are:
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0 = Radiographically normal
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1 = Mild osteoarthritis
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2 = Moderate osteoarthritis or a primary lesion with no osteoarthritis
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3 = Severe osteoarthritis or primary lesion with osteoarthritis
2. What is elbow dysplasia?
Elbow dysplasia is a common inherited orthopaedic problem in dogs where the elbow doesn’t develop properly. Elbow dysplasia includes a number of specific abnormalities or problems that affect different areas of the elbow joint. These cause problems by affecting the growth of the cartilage which forms the surface of the joint or the structures around it. Even a small change in the shape of one part of the joint can have major consequences for the joint function, leading to lameness (unable to walk correctly), osteoarthritis (a common form of arthritis), pain, and serious effects on the health, behaviour, and welfare of the dog.
3. How to use elbow grades in breeding
These grades are collected together and used to create breed-specific statistics. You can find the statistics of your dog's breed here.
CHS recommends only breeding from dogs that have an elbow grade of 0. Where EBVs are available these should be used. It is also advised to take into account the elbow grades of a dog's relatives.
4. Publication of your results
If your dog is registered with the Royal Kennel Club, the results (and EBV's, if they are calculated for your breed) will also be published on the Royal Kennel Club website.
5. Robust appeals process
The schemes have a robust appeals process, which is open to any breeder or owner who dispute the grade for their dog. You have 45 days from the date of grading to request an appeal which must be lodged by the submitting practice via their online portal.
Upon appeal, the X-rays are re-evaluated by two further pairs of scrutineers who are unaware of the original grade and then reviewed by the Chief Scrutineer. The final appeal result is therefore based on the professional opinion of up to five expert scrutineers. Find out more here.
Frequently asked questions
Hip and elbow scores/grades of both individual RKC-registered dogs and their relatives are published online via the Health Test Results Finder on the RKC website. Taking into consideration the scores of an individual dog’s relatives provides greater guidance about a dog’s genotype than does its own score in isolation.
In addition, for the most affected breeds, ‘estimated breeding values’ (EBVs) are also provided for each dog. This service is unique worldwide in dog breeding and is underpinned by the close working relationship between the Royal Kennel Club and BVA.
In many other schemes one scrutineer works alone and independently, with no central body providing oversight, and no ongoing quality control or validation. This means that scores or grades may lack consistency and reliability. Some schemes accept lower quality images (e.g. JPEG files) whereas we only accept medical-grade DICOM image files.
While scores or grades from other schemes can assess the degree of hip or elbow disease, the results from other schemes are not directly comparable with the BVA/RKC scheme and so this data cannot be used to inform Estimated Breeding Values.
Explore our schemes
Need more help?
Visit our CHS help centre to see answers to frequently asked questions.
If you can't find your answer there, you can contact our expert in-house CHS team via email: [email protected]