Hips & Elbows

Both Breed Clubs recommend that all breeding Keeshonds are to be both hip and elbow scored prior to mating.
In January 2023 The Kennel Club announced the most recent updates to the requirements and recommendations for Assured Breeders, including health testing, aimed to further improve dog health and responsible breeding.
Elbow and hip screening have been agreed to be added as requirements for the Keeshond, as BVA/KC scheme data suggest that dysplasia does occur in this breed. Eye screening has also been accepted as a new test under the Assured Breeders Scheme, but at this stage will be placed as a recommendation as very few dogs have been tested to date, and therefore there are little data to draw conclusions from with respect to the incidence of eye disease at this time.

Elbow Dysplasia is a multifactorial disease, which means that a number of factors can influence the occurrence of the condition. The most important factor, however, is the genetic makeup of the dog. Other factors such as growth rate, diet and level of exercise may influence the severity of the disease in an individual dog, but they cannot prevent the disease or reduce the potential of the dog to pass on the disease to offspring. However, studies show that ED has a high heritability confirming that a high proportion of the disease is genetic. Both the BVA and The Kennel Club recommend that breeders should select their breeding stock (both dogs and bitches) only from animals with elbow grades of 0.

Managing Canine Arthritis https://caninearthritis.co.uk