When you think of health problems in the German shepherd breed, most people automatically jump straight to hip dysplasia.  Hip dysplasia is definitely a problem but it is not the only health concern in this breed.  Along with hip dysplasia is elbow dysplasia.  Elbow dysplasia is showing up more often in the German shepherd dog and can be a bigger problem than hip dysplasia.

Elbow dysplasia can lead to lameness or abnormal gait and can be extremely debilitating.  There is no  surgical procedure that can significantly alter the progression of the disorder or cure it. The only way to  reduce the incidence of the disease is through selective breeding.

Both hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia can be diagnosed with x-rays by an experienced veterinarian and evaluated by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA).

There are three different types of elbow dysplasia:

1. FCP – Fragmented Medial Coronoid Process
2. OCD – Osteochondrosis
3. UAP – Ununited Anconeal Process

All three types of elbow dysplasia are genetic which is why it is so important that breeders screen for these disorders.  If only dogs that were clear of elbow dysplasia were breed, the risk of offspring developing this health problem would be reduced.

X-raying your shepherd is the only way to diagnose and evaluate elbow dysplasia.  Have an experienced veterinarian take the x-rays and send them to OFA for an evaluation and rating.  There are four grades that OFA will consider when reviewing elbow  x-rays.

1. Normal (Passing) – No signs of Elbow Dysplasia.
2. Grade 1 – Minimal bone change on the anconeal process.
3. Grade 2 – Additional subchondral bone changes and/or osteophytes.
4. Grade 3 – Well developed degenerative joint disease

Normal elbows on dogs 24 months or older are assigned a breed registry number by OFA and will periodically be reported to the parent breed club.

Abnormal findings (Grade 1 – 3) are reported only to the owner of record and referring veterinarian.

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