Elbow dysplasia is a hereditary condition when the bones of the elbow don't quite fit together correctly, causing lameness, pain, and arthritis.
Mostly larger breeds are affected by this condition (not to be mistaken with Patellar Luxation, or slipping knee caps, that mostly affect smaller breeds). Here are the statistics for the top twenty breeds affected, courtesy of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)
| Breed |
Rank |
% Dysplastic |
|---|---|---|
| Chow Chow |
1 | 47.3 |
| Rottweiler |
2 | 40.7 |
| Bernese mountain dog | 3 | 28.8 |
| Black Russian terrier | 4 | 27.5 |
| Newfoundland | 5 | 24.7 |
| Chinese Shar-pei | 6 | 24.5 |
| Fila Brasileiro | 7 | 23.1 |
| Dogue de Bordeaux | 8 | 21.7 |
| American bulldog | 9 | 19.5 |
| German shepherd dog | 10 | 19.4 |
| Saint Bernard | 11 | 18.1 |
| American Staffordshire terrier | 12 | 17,8 |
| Irish water spaniel | 13 | 16.5 |
| Staffordshire bull terrier | 14 | 15.8 |
| Bloodhound | 15 | 15.8 |
| English setter | 16 | 15.2 |
| Mastiff | 17 | 15.1 |
| American pit bull terrier | 18 | 13.9 |
| Bullmastiff | 19 | 13.7 |
| English springer spaniel | 20 | 13.0 |
The Golden retriever is listed as #24 with 11.4% of all these dogs evaluated graded dysplastic and the Labrador retriever at #26, with 11.1% of all dogs evaluated found to have elbow dysplasia.
How much does it cost to treat this condition? Diagnosis and surgery can run to several thousand dollars. For example for we paid out over $3,800 for Peppa, a 1 year old Golden Retriever, living in Portland OR for bilateral elblow dysplasia. Yowch!
For more information on this common genetic conditions in dogs, go to the Embrace Pet Health Center.
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Hereditary conditions and pet health insurance
Bilateral Elbow Dysplasia - $5,900 surgery
