Hip Dysplasia (abnormal development of the hip joint) has until fairly recently been associated with larger breeds of dogs, however it can be found in any breed and any size of dog including Cocker Spaniels.

HD causes lameness, arthritis and extreme pain in severe cases or produces no noticeable symptoms in minor cases.

HD does not have a simple pattern of inheritance (it is thought to be a polygenic condition meaning it is controlled by several different genes) and to be under the influence of "threshold traits.” Whether a dog will develop symptoms of HD and if he does, how debilitating the symptoms are is also influenced by external factors such as diet, rate of growth, exercise and injury.

There are several cockers with scores of 90+ who have produced lower scoring offspring and there are occasions when low scoring parent's have produced high scoring offspring.

Currently, the incidence of HD in cockers is being monitored by the KC/BVA to determine how widespread HD is within the breed. Following consultation with the breed clubs, the Accredited Breeders Scheme made it a recommendation in July 2006 for cockers to be hip scored prior to breeding from them. This recommendation may prove to be mandatory if it is established the HD is a significant problem in Cockers.

In the UK, the hip score is the sum of the points awarded for each of nine aspects of the X-rays of both hip joints. The minimum hip score is 0 and the maximum is 106 (53 for each hip). The lower the score the less the degree of hip dysplasia present.

As of the 01/11/11, a total of 1100 cockers have been tested since the schemes inception in December 1983. The scores range from 0 - 99 points (per dog, the total score for each dog is added together and then divided by the no. dogs tested and an average is calculated = the Breed Mean Score "BMS"). The current BMS for cockers is 13 (in 2008 the BMS was 14). For example, a dog scoring 2 on the right hip and 2 on the left hip would have a score of 4. This is well below the BMS of 13.

For more information about canine hip dysplasia please see our HD page and for more information on how to get a dog hip scored please visit our hip scoring procedure page.

Due to the recommendation in 2006, (it is not mandatory) that breeder's hip score their dogs we began hip scoring late in 2006 & therefore some of our older dogs are NOT hip-scored with the exception of Toby who had already been tested by the Swedish Kennel Club under the FCI Scheme.

The minimum age for testing is 12 months. We are one of only a handful of parti-coloured cocker spaniel breeders who hip score our dogs.

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