Prevalence of hip dysplasia in dogs according to official radiographic screening in Croatia

The subject of this study was to detect the prevalence of hip dysplasia according to offi cial radiographic screening between 2001 and 2009. The overall number of dogs tested for HD was 5381, belonging to 137 breeds. In 2001 the number of dogs evaluated was 403, and in 2009 this number rose to 856, which is an increase of 212.40%. In 2001 the number of breeds evaluated was 48, and in 2007 this number rose to 79 breeds, which is an increase of 164.58%. In the overall sample there were 2125 (39.5%) males and 3256 (60.5%) females. The mean age was around 24 months. According to the FCI scale, C, D and E grades are interpreted as dysplastic hips. In our sample 4372 (81.25% ) dogs were found to be free of dysplasia (A, B), while HD was found in 1009 (18.75%) dogs. In the period between 2001 and 2009 there was a visible trend of a reduction in the number of dogs with dysplasia. There was a signifi cant difference (P<0.05) between 2001 on the one hand and 2005 and 2006 on the other. In 2001 there were 27.79% of dogs with dysplasia, while in 2005 this number fell to 14.81% and in 2006 to 14.51%. There was no statistical signifi cance in the prevalence of HD in males and in females (P=0.20). The difference in age, however, was signifi cant, and dogs with dysplasia were older on average (P<0.05). The results of our study show that the programme of selection on the basis of radiography of hips should be continued in order to improve the quality of purebred dog breeds in Croatia.

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