Elbow Dysplasia (ED)

Elbow Dysplasia examination

Elbow dysplasia (also called ED) examination focuses on 4 different disorders of the elbow joint, namely LPC, LPA, OCD and Curvus radius, all 4 eventually result in the deformation of the joint which eventually can lead to dog’s lameness.

These are developmental disorders of predominately the cartilage in joints which are mainly caused by hereditary factors. Some dogs may experience severe problems at an early age. In others, the serious malformations in the joints will lead to lameness at a later age.

ED is officially tested using X-rays of the elbow joints. These photos are also taken by a vet and sent to the Raad van Beheer as well for review.

The following results are possible: ED-Free, Border Case, Grade 1, Grade 2 and finally, Grade 3.

In general, the better the elbows of the parent animals, the smaller the chance that the offspring will develop ED. It is in no way a guarantee that sibblings of negatively assessed dogs will also be negative, the chance is only bigger.

Treatment

The treatment of Elbow dysplasia depends on the following:

• The nature of the deviation,
• The severity of the deviation,
• The severity of the complaints,
• The age of the dog,
• And possible (complicated) arthritic changes.

In most cases, surgical treatment is required. Osteoarthritis itself is cannot be cured by surgical treatment, but the cause of this can. Having said that, ED is a more complicated issue then HD. And in a lot of cases treatments are only successful when the dog is still young.

Here again, do not let the puppy / young dog get overweight and try to avoid excessive strain on the elbows.

Our many years of experience have shown that in young dogs, which tend to develop HD or ED, for example because of their rapid growth, they benefit from a calcium poor diet. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Here too, just as with HD, the best solution is to exclude affected animals from your breeding program.