Understanding Your Dog’s BVA Hip & Elbow Score Results

What the scoring process involves

If you are thinking about breeding from your dog, or you have been asked to provide a hip or elbow score as part of a health scheme, you might find yourself wondering what those numbers really mean. At Rock House Vets, we carry out BVA hip and elbow scoring for dogs travelling to us from across the Midlands and beyond, and it is a question we hear regularly. This article aims to give you a clear, honest picture of what the scoring process involves, why it exists, and what your dog’s results can tell you about their joint health.

Why Hip and Elbow Problems Exist in Dogs

The dog as we know it today is very different from its wild ancestors. Centuries of selective breeding have produced enormous variety in size, shape and temperament, but that same process has also created vulnerability. Hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia are among the most widespread inherited conditions in domestic dogs, affecting everything from working Labradors to family German Shepherds.

Both are developmental conditions, meaning the joints do not form as they should during growth. In a healthy hip, the rounded head of the femur sits snugly within a deep, well-shaped socket in the pelvis, allowing smooth, pain-free movement. Where dysplasia is present, the socket is often too shallow or poorly angled, and the femoral head sits loosely or unevenly within it. Over time, that abnormal movement causes wear, inflammation, and ultimately the degenerative joint changes associated with arthritis.

The difficulty is that many dogs show no obvious discomfort until they are several years old, sometimes well after they have already been used for breeding. Because both conditions are strongly heritable, this means affected dogs can pass the problem on to their offspring without anyone realising there was ever an issue.

Elbow dysplasia is a related but distinct set of conditions. The elbow is a complex joint involving three bones, and problems can arise from abnormal cartilage development (osteochondrosis), fragmentation of a small bony process within the joint (fragmented coronoid process), or failure of a bony projection to fuse correctly during growth (ununited anconeal process). Each of these conditions tends to appear early in life, though symptoms may not become apparent until later.

The purpose of the BVA and Kennel Club Schemes

The purpose is straightforward. By screening breeding animals and recording their results, breeders can make informed decisions about which dogs to pair. Over time, if breeders consistently select animals with better scores, the average joint health of a breed improves across generations.

At Rock House Vets, we submit X-rays directly to the BVA panel on your behalf and communicate your dog’s results to you once they are returned.

How Hip Scoring Works

To receive a hip score, your dog will need a carefully positioned X-ray of both hips, taken under general anaesthetic at a BVA-approved practice. The anaesthetic ensures your dog is relaxed and still enough to achieve the precise positioning the scheme requires, which is essential for results to be consistent and comparable across all dogs submitted to the panel.

Your dog must be at least twelve months old and permanently identified by microchip or tattoo. The Kennel Club registration certificate should also be available on the day, so the correct details can be recorded on the radiograph before submission.

Once submitted, the X-ray is assessed by two independent veterinary scrutineers, both holding specialist qualifications in veterinary radiology or orthopaedic surgery. Each hip receives a score, and the two scores are combined to give a total that can range from 0 to 106. A lower score indicates healthier joints. The results are returned as a left and right hip score, reported separately.

What matters most is not the number itself but how it sits relative to your breed. Each result should be read against the breed median published by the Kennel Club, and breeders are strongly advised to select only from dogs scoring below that median. If you would like a full explanation of exactly what the panel assesses and how each element is graded. Visit our our BVA Hip and Elbow Scoring page to check pricing and book your dog’s appointment.

How Elbow Scoring Works

Elbow scoring uses the same submission process but a different grading scale. Each elbow is assessed on a 0 to 3 basis, where 0 indicates a normal joint with no sign of primary lesions or early arthritic change, and grade 3 reflects significant disease.

The key distinction from hip scoring is that the breeding threshold for elbows is absolute rather than relative. While hip scores are compared against a breed median, elbow scoring has a clear line: both elbows must grade 0 for a dog to be considered suitable for breeding. Any grade above 0, however modest it may appear, places that dog outside the recommended breeding programme.

This stricter standard reflects how quickly elbow conditions can compound across generations if affected dogs are bred from, and it is one of the reasons the BVA considers this scheme so important for certain breeds.

Which Breeds Are Most Commonly Affected?

Larger and heavier breeds have historically shown the greatest prevalence of hip dysplasia. German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, Bernese Mountain Dogs, and Newfoundlands are among the most frequently screened. Other breeds such as Hungarian Vizslas, Border Collies, Goldendoodles, and Labradoodles are also commonly tested, reflecting how widely awareness has grown beyond the traditional high-risk groups.

Working dogs such as Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and German Shepherds used in police work, search and rescue, or as assistance dogs face particularly high physical demands throughout their lives. For these dogs, healthy joints are not simply a welfare consideration but a matter of capability and longevity in their role, which makes pre-breeding screening all the more important.

It is worth noting that hip and elbow dysplasia can occur in any breed, and even crossbreeds can carry inherited predispositions depending on their parentage. If you are unsure whether screening is relevant for your dog, the team at Rock House Vets is happy to discuss this with you.

What Happens After Scoring?

Once your dog’s results have been returned by the BVA panel, the scores are published on the Kennel Club’s online health test results database, where they can be viewed by other breeders and prospective puppy buyers. This transparency is part of what makes the scheme valuable: it creates accountability and enables informed decision-making across the breeding community.

The Kennel Club also uses the data to calculate Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for the most commonly scored breeds. An EBV looks beyond your individual dog’s score and draws on information from relatives across the pedigree to estimate the genetic contribution your dog is likely to make to their offspring’s joint health. It is a more sophisticated tool than a simple score comparison, and Rock House Vets can explain how to access and interpret EBVs for your breed if that would be helpful.

If your dog’s score comes back higher than you had hoped, it is understandably disappointing. What it does not mean is that your dog is in immediate pain or facing a poor quality of life. Many dogs with moderately elevated hip or elbow scores go on to live comfortable lives with appropriate management. What it does indicate is that they are not suitable candidates for breeding within a responsible programme.

Does a Dysplasia Diagnosis Mean My Dog Will Suffer?

Not necessarily, and it is important not to conflate a scoring result with a clinical diagnosis of active joint disease. Screening is a predictive and preventive tool, not a verdict on your dog’s current comfort.

That said, if a dog does develop clinical signs of hip or elbow dysplasia, the condition is progressive and cannot be reversed. Management depends on how the condition presents and how severely the joints are affected. For some dogs, weight control, low-impact exercise, joint supplements, and appropriate pain relief are sufficient to maintain a good quality of life. In more advanced cases, surgical intervention may be considered, including procedures to address primary lesions in the elbow, or, for the hips, femoral head ostectomy or total hip replacement in eligible patients.

The Rock House Vets team will always take time to discuss what a result or a clinical finding means for your individual dog, and to help you understand what options are available.

A Note on Pet Insurance and Dysplasia

One question that comes up fairly often is whether pet insurance will cover dysplasia-related costs. As a general rule, insurers treat hip and elbow dysplasia as pre-existing or hereditary conditions, which means cover for costs directly related to the condition may be excluded, particularly if signs were present before the policy began. Taking out insurance while your dog is young and healthy, before any symptoms arise, gives you the best chance of having meaningful cover in place if problems develop later. If you are unsure about the terms of your existing policy, it is worth speaking directly to your insurer for clarity.

Not sure what to expect? Give the team a ring

Every dog is different, and every scoring appointment is a little different, too. If you have a BVA hip or elbow scoring appointment coming up and would like to talk through what the day involves beforehand, or if a question comes up once you have received your results, the team at Rock House Vets is always here to help.

Call us on 01902 271 757, or head to our BVA Hip and Elbow Scoring page to check pricing and book your dog’s appointment.

We know waiting on results is never just an admin exercise for you. Your dog’s health matters to you, and that matters to us. We will do everything we can to make sure you both feel looked after.