🦴 Our clinic offers elbow and hip dysplasia screening for dogs, performed by Dr. Rannaäär 🦴

Pets can suffer from various hereditary conditions, and the risk can be significantly reduced through responsible breeding and pre-mating health checks. One of the most important of these checks is joint dysplasia screening.

🐶 Dysplasia screening means X-raying the hip and elbow joints to assess how well they have developed.

What is hip or elbow dysplasia? 🤔

Dysplasia is a hereditary joint development disorder that can cause joint instability, cartilage wear, pain, joint inflammation and mobility problems.
🩺 Early diagnosis helps us put together a suitable treatment plan and improve your pet’s quality of life.

How does the screening work? 🩺

The minimum age for official dysplasia screening is usually 12 months, and 18 months for giant dog breeds such as St. Bernards and Mastiffs.

Dysplasia screening is performed under sedation, because to get correct, assessable X-rays the dog must be positioned precisely and its muscles must be relaxed. Sedation ensures the dog stays perfectly still and allows us to take the highest-quality, most accurate images.

💶 The price of dysplasia screening usually ranges from €200 to €300.
The exact price depends on the dog’s body weight and therefore on the amount of sedative medication required.

The official assessment of joint development is given by an Estonian Kennel Union (Eesti Kennelliit) certified veterinarian:
🐕‍🦺 Hip joint: A (healthy) → E (severe dysplasia)
🐾 Elbow joint: 0 (healthy) → 3 (severe dysplasia)

‼️ Please note! Early changes and deviations in joint development can already be detected at 3–5 months of age. For some developmental disorders, early intervention is possible, which can reduce the risk of later problems.

For this reason, a first X-ray of the joints can be done much earlier than 12 months of age. The minimum age matters mainly when you want an official assessment from the Kennel Union.

📸 If you are planning to use your dog for breeding, or simply want to check the health of its joints, get in touch with us and book an appointment for dysplasia screening!