Showline Vs. Working/HD Vs. Not?

[Melina]

Tried to find the best place to post this, so move is necessary. Also, I'm sure this has probably been discussed before, but I'm not digging through threads, so if someone knows of a direct link, feel free to send me there and end the discussion now....


Anyway...I took Riley to the dog park the morning, and while on the small dog side, I noticed a Shepherd on the larger dog side. I yelled over to the woman if I could say "Hi" and she said, "Of course, come on over". So Riley and I made our way over to say hi. The lady told me his name and that he was about ten years old. He was most definitely a Showline GSD, and when I went to pet him said that I should stay away from his "bad hips".

Koda, is most definitely not a Showline GSD, from what I've learned from this forum. He appears to be more East German or DDR? (I'm no expert in bloodlines, but I do know there's a difference there).

My question is this: Are Showline GSD's more prone to HD than other bloodlines, or is it just luck of the draw? This may be a silly question, but I'm serious. I honestly don't know the answer. My Koda is four years old now and I've never thought to have his hips checked out as he's shown no sign of pain/discomfort/awkward gait. I'd like to have them checked out eventually, but should I do it soon? I'd like to know if he's at just as much risk as any other GSD for HD.

Any info is appreciated.

[JakodaCD OA]

any dog can have HD, I don't think any one type is prone to it over others. Since this guy was 10, he could have arthritis vs bad hips, he could have DM, vs bad hips, she may have been just saying it "generally".. Did she mention if she had him xrayed and he had "bad hips"? Not that it makes a difference

Some dogs may have bad hips and never show any pain or discomfort.

The only way to truly know is xray. I xray all my dogs around 18 mths to2 years (unless I have to xray for something earlier)..I want to know hip/elbow/knee status, plus it's good to have it on file for future reference to compare changes should the need ever arise.

So it's not something you "have" to do, but if it's something you want to know, your vet can do it for you, just make sure you use a vet who's experienced in positioning and reading xrays..

[hunterisgreat]

As far as I know, true DDR lines are almost entirely absent of HD as it was a state controlled breeding program and rigidly bred against. That being said, there are extremely few pure DDR lines