Hip Dysplasia (HD) is caused by the abnormal formation of the hip ball and socket joint.  Normally the ball should fit snugly into the hip socket, forming a pivot point.  some dogs are born with a genetic predisposition for hip dysplasia;  at birth their hips are normal but as they grow the hip joint becomes a malformed structure so that the ball no longer fits snugly into the socket and cannot rotate smoothly.

HD is a relatively common problem in most breeds of dogs and can be very painful and terribly debilitating, in bad cases requiring surgery and in the worst, euthanasia.

The Kennel Club and BVA have a testing scheme in an attempt to avoid having puppies born with this genetic predisposition.  This scheme involves dogs over 12 months of age having their hips x-rayed and sent to the BVA panel of experts for ‘scoring’;  they produce a score for the joints and angles on each hip to give a score for left and right.  The higher the score, the worse the dogs hips are, the lowest possible score is 0:0 = 0 and the highest is 53:53 = 106.

The BVA publish an annual list of all KC breeds with the average score although in many people’s opinion this average is artificially low as many people will not sent off poor X-rays and dogs diagnosed with HD will also not be scored.  In most other European countries, the breed clubs make it obligatory that a dog be hip scored before it is bred from and only those with acceptable hips are allowed.  The current UK average for border collies is 13.  The KC record all hip scores on their health database.

Please note… HD cannot be cause bye ‘over-exercise’ … the genetic predisposition for malformation of the hips along with a lot of exercise in a pup may aggravate the condition but a normal healthy and well reared puppy with perfectly good hip joints will not develop hip dysplasia through exercise.

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Elbow Dysplasia:  The current BVA/DC scoring scheme for elbow dysplasia (ED) was launched in 1998.  Dysplasia means abnormal development, and the degree of elbow dysplasia present is indicated by a grade assigned to each elbow on a scale of 0 to 3 (0 being the best and 3 being the most severe).

Only the highest grade of the two elbows is taken as the elbow grade for the dog.  The minimum age for elbow grading is one year, and each dog is only ever graded once under the scheme.  Advice to breeders is to use only those dogs with grades of 0, wherever possible.  The KC record all elbow scores on their health database.  More breeders are now scoring elbows and the latest data and evidence shows an increase in higher scores, due in part to the increase in elbow scoring.

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Routine Adult Eye testing: An annual routine eye examination should be done.  This will cover all known hereditary eye conditions (excluding PLN which is a separate eye test).  The routine test will look for known concerns such as CPRA known as RPED and CEA.  In addition, the eye specialist will look for any other anomalies and possible other hereditary eye conditions.  

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PLA (Goniodysgenesis - Narrow Angle Glaucoma):  Required Glaucoma is the name given to a group of eye diseases characterised by an increase in intraocular pressure, which causes the pathological changes in the optic disk and visual field defects. It’s a very painful condition that leads to varying degrees of blindness and in it’s severest form, can result in removal of the affected eye or euthanasia. 

Glaucoma can initially be categorised as PRIMARY, where there is an increase in intraocular pressure occurring in an eye without previous disease or injury, or SECONDARY where an injury or prior disease/infection leads to the condition. In the case of Primary Glaucoma, recent research has confirmed that it is congenital and inherited. This hereditary form of glaucoma in Border Collies takes the form of narrow-angle glaucoma which is characterised by a shallow anterior chamber and a narrow angle, in which filtration is compromised as a result of the iris blocking the angle and impairment of outflow of aqueous humour leading to a painful build up of pressure within the eye.

There is a physical eye examination that assesses the structure of the eye and these angles called PLA.  Gonioscopy is not part of the standard eye examination but can be carried out by an ophthalmologist on its own or at the same time as a standard eye exam. It is quite an awkward test because it involves the dog having a local anaesthetic in the eye and then a large round lens placed on the eyeball for the ophthalmologist to look through. It is important that the dogs stays as motionless as possible in order that the specialist can carry out a full examination. It may be necessary to sedate dogs that will not sit still. 

The genome has recently been discovered which determines the predisposition to Glaucoma and a DNA test is now available to determine an animal’s status allowing breeders to select breeding stock to eradicate the development of narrow angled Glaucoma in the breed. This does not mean that physical eye tests have been replaced - on the contrary.  It is important to assess the eyes and should a diagnosis of narrow angles result, it is recommended that a regular test routine is established to monitor the eyes for the onset of narrow angled Glaucoma.  It is however important to note that gonioscopy is not a test for glaucoma but rather an examination of the eye to determine any predisposition for narrow angle glaucoma.  A dog that tests “affected” for gionodysgenesis will not necessarily go on to develop glaucoma, indeed many do not. Dogs tested “affected” should be re-assessed on the advice of the examiner but at least every 2 years. 

It is advised that a PLA eye test is completed every 3 years unless any evidence to the contrary emerges. The first test can be performed in dogs from 6 months of age onwards and current advice is that gonioscopy is performed at approximately 1, 4 and 7-8 years of age.  Repeat testing should provide much needed longitudinal information about the risk of developing glaucoma in later life and, in conjunction with advice from Breed Health Mar 2020.  Current data is showing that unlike other breeds the Border Collie does not appear to have the progressive form, but currently sufficient data cannot be provided to have the advice changed by the BVA and K.C. 

Gonioscopy grading:  Previously gonioscopy was recorded as either ‘CLINICALLY AFFECTED’ or ‘CLINICALLY UNAFFECTED’. While this is clearly a binary choice, the assessment of PLA/PLD utilising a simple grading scheme is considered more helpful when deciding the breeding strategy to adopt.  PLA/PLD is classified as Grade 0 (unaffected), Grade 1 (mildly affected), Grade 2 (moderately affected) or Grade 3 (severely affected).

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Deafness:   Figures from the Animal Health Trust indicate that 1 in 25 Border Collies tested suffer from congenital deafness.  This still may not sound particularly important but when you realise that the estimate for incidence of deafness in the dog population as a whole is about 0.25% or 1 in 400, it begins to look a little more significant.

Even the most experienced Border Collie breeders sometime do not recognise an affected puppy in the nest, especially one that is unilaterally deaf.  And yet there are still people who are reluctant to do hearing tests because “we haven’t got a problem”.  The only way to know for sure is to hearing test all breeding stock and progeny.

A skilled observer may sometimes identify bilaterally deaf dogs as they often show very typical behaviour, such as lack of response to loud noises, or remaining asleep when the other siblings are roused.  But this subjective method of testing is open to misinterpretation as some normal animals may be unresponsive whilst others adapt quickly and stop reacting.  A unilaterally deaf dog is very difficult to identify as it hears perfectly in the non-affected ear and so usually behaves normally.  It is almost impossible to confirm that a dog is unilaterally deaf without performing a more objective test, such as the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) test.

The BAER is the electrical response of the brain to auditory stimuli.  When sound enters the ear, the auditory pathway generated electrical impulses.  These are picked up by recording electrodes, which are positioned on the head, and passed into a computer.  A series of clicks are passed into he ear through a headphone, producing a repeatable sequence of peaks and troughs, which are displayed on a screen.  The test is usually very quick and non-invasive, and gives an accurate and totally objective hearing assessment.  Puppies are tested from 5 weeks of age, and adults can be tested too, although a light sedation may be required.  With this kind of deafness, all the peaks in the BAER waveform are lost, so a straightforward yes-or-no assessment of hearing ability is possible.  If the characteristic trace is acquired from both ears, the animal hears normally.