FRIENDS OF THE ALASKAN MALAMUTE CLUB

HIP DYSPLASIA RULES & SUPPORT

1. Alaskan Malamute Breed & Working Club of Southern Africa, (referred to as "the Club" or AMBWCSA) will only accept hip X-ray results where the X-rays have been graded under accredited Vet or Veterinary Association (the Onderstepoort Vetinary Institute), examined by approved readers and forwarded to the Breed Registry Body Hip Dysplasia (HD) Control System 

2. Dogs must be at least 18 months of age, and be identified in accordance with the HD Control System before being X-rayed for Hip Dysplasia. (see item 7)

3. The Breed Registry Body Control System is open to all Alaskan Malamute owners in South Africa, whether members of the FAMC or not.

4. FAMCSA are in support of the HD regulation. 0.0 for one of the dogs with at worst a score of 1.1 for the other.

5. Dogs which have had their hips graded overseas are not accepted by Breed Registry Body and needs to be re-X-ray in South Africa to make the import eligible for breeding in South Africa.

6. If there should be any question about the acceptability or otherwise of any HD result, the Breed Registry Body will make the final decision.

7. At or before the time of X-rays being taken, dogs must be positively identified by either microchip, and if micro chipped the number should be recorded on the X-ray. Only dogs which have been correctly identified at the time of X-ray will be accepted by the Club, and will be included in the suffix scheme.

8. FAMCSA will, if requested by an owner, apply to the Breed Registry Body for the suffix "[A]" to be added to the registered name of any Alaskan Malamute owned by them if the requirements of this policy are fulfilled and the dog passes the standard set.

9. FAMCS will actively encourage owners to have every Alaskan Malamute X-rayed and graded for HD, and the results submitted to the Breed Registry Body, before breeding from it.

10. FAMCSA will actively encourage owners to breed for normal hips, FREE of dysplasia. 

11. FAMCSA will strongly discourage the breeding together of 2 dogs with high pass scores. Failed dogs should not be bred from, i.e higher than 1 on either hip, e.g 1.1 (Registration of litters only allowed when 0.0 mated with at worst 1.1 - as per KUSA regulations.

12. As Canine Hip Dysplasia is genetically influenced. The breeding of two radio graphically HD normal dogs will not necessarily guarantee that their offspring will be HD free. 

    An HD control program in Sweden showed that:  

    ·         normal (0.0) : normal (0.0) matings led to 18%  dysplastic offspring;
    ·         normal (0.0) : dysplastic (greater than 0.0) matings led to 59% dysplastic offspring.
    ·         dysplastic (greater than 0.0) : dysplastic (greater than 0.0) matings  led to 87% dysplastic offspring. 

    ** HD is a polygenic disorder meaning it is a genetic condition or disorder from the combined action of *alleles (one of 2 alternate forms of a gene that can have the same position on homologous chromosomes and are responsible for alternative traits), some alleles are dominant over others. Such disorders are inherited, they depend on the simultaneous presence of several alleles thus the hereditary patterns usually are more complex than those of single gene disorders. ** Obtained from THE Book “Control of Canine Genetic Diseases” by George A Padgitt DVW

     

13. For advertising or publication of a dog in any AMBWC literature, the Club must publish the HD status by stating either (a) Pass, (b) No hip score provided or (c) Dog too young.

14. The Club will actively support any breeder who participates in the Breed Registry Body Control System, yet, from parents both passed for breeding, still produces a puppy that scores higher than 1.1 on either hip (i.e. fails the hip X-ray). The Club may assist by providing information about Hip Dysplasia, writing letters, and acting as a liaison between the owner of the dog, the breeder, and the Breed Registry Body or other controlling interstate body, if the need arises.

15. The Club will actively support any person who owns an Alaskan Malamute who fails a hip X-ray, if the owner fails to obtain satisfaction from the breeder. The Club may assist by writing letters, and acting as a liaison between the owner, the breeder, and Breed Registry Body or other controlling interstate body.

16. All hip passes will be published when recorded, and a list of passes will be made available to FAMCSA Members.

17. An annual report on the Breed Registry Body Control System will be requested and made available on request to all FAMC members.

18. For a litter to be eligible for advertising on the Puppy Register:

a. the breeder must have been a FAMCSA member for 3 months and both parents of the litter must have been hip X-rayed and passed for breeding and the dam to be at least 22 months;

b. hip scores for both parents must be submitted with the application to the Club Secretary.

c. Advertisements for litters will not be accepted unless advertised through the Puppy Register.

Canine Hip Dysplasia in South Africa by Dr. Mark Rubinsohn

Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD) is a developmental disease seen most commonly in larger, well fed faster growing dogs.   It causes a painful hip joint with persistent and unrelenting lameness. It is usually present in both hips, but the degree of severity may differ in the two hips. Although adverse environmental factors can influence hip joint development, CHD is essentially a disease with a high degree of heritability. It is a condition that may require medical treatment and often radical medical treatment. Eventually it may require Euthanasia of the dog.

Clinical Signs From as early as 4 or 5 months the pup may show signs in difficulty of getting up, stiffness on rising, alteration in the manner of running, "bunny hops", pain after exercise and  resentment to patting of hind quarters.  The arc of movement of the hind leg becomes greatly decreased, and as degenerative joint disease develops the thigh muscles atrophy.  The degree of lameness becomes worse after a couple of years and is aggravated by cold and damp weather.  It is possible for CHD to be present in dogs who  show no visible lameness or gait abnormality.

Causes It is a complex inherited disease weather the degree of severity of Dysplasia in the parents directly influences the frequency and severity in the pups. Even mild dysplasia in one parent will affect the risk of dysplasia developing in the progeny. A high energy diet leading to rapid growing or overweight pups has a greater chance of producing dysplasia, especially if the growth spurt occurs at a sensitive time  in skeletal  and muscular development. poor pelvic muscle mass and abnormal  pelvis angulation will affect the hip joint.  Excessive activity in the young animal, especially if overweight or in the presence of exaggerated joint laxity can aggravate dysplasia. Calcium intake may be an important factor with both excessive or insufficient calcium being  detrimental to joint development.

Diagnosis By radiographic evaluation of the hips it may be diagnosed as early as a  few months of age. In South Africa  certification may be done from one year of age. Correct positioning of the dog is important and is facilitated by sedation and anaesthesia. Palpitation of joint laxity in the young pup is often  one of the first diagnostic signs of HD. This is also facilitated by anaesthesia.

Various Grading Systems of Hip Dysplasia:  

 Note: These gradings above is not specific to the Alaskan Malamute Breed, but refers to the general HD grading of each organization.

Treatment  No therapeutic or surgical treatment will restore totally normal function. However, some measure of relief can usually be given to the dog crippled with CHD Treatment is aimed at alleviating the pain caused by the degenerating joint disease by avoiding cold, damp areas; judicious exercise to maintain muscle tone  with care not to overexert the joints; allowing adequate periods of rest; reducing weight in  the obese dog; using analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs; and resorting to surgical procedures where these methods are no longer effective.

Surgical procedures include the following:

Resectioning of femoral head -for severe dysplastic arthritic changes. This is occasionally done on both sides and is generally more successful on the lighter type dogs

Reangulation  osteotomy  of the pelvis or femoral head - this surgery is the best for cases performed between four to eight months and is not worse than grade II or III.

Hip prosthesis - which is expensive and to date results have not been impressive.  

KUSA SCHEDULE 2:

APPENDIX 'C' - BREED SPECIFIC LITTER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

1. ALASKAN MALAMUTES

1.1 Only Alaskan Malamutes with hip scores of A1, A2, B1 or B2 may be mated to Alaskan Malamutes with hip scores of C1 or C2. Alaskan Malamutes with hip scores of A1, A2, B1 or B2 may also be mated to each other.

(The old terms in short were: at worst 0.0 to 1.1 or 0.0 to 0.0)

1.2 All dogs are positively identified by microchip before any X-ray examination is made. The identification number is included on all developed X-ray film.

1.3 At the time of whelping, the Dam is twenty-two (22) months of age or older.

NO MATING IS ALLOWED WITH ANY DOG SHOWING SCORES OF D1, D2, E1 or E2 WHATSOEVER.
 

At least DO NOT buy a puppy from ANY breeder, no matter how "famous" they are or how many Champions they have in Show Ring. If they cannot produce an official hip score certificate for BOTH the sire and the dam of the litter and if the hip scores of either parent do not fall within the acceptable range as indicated above, 

DO NOT BUY THE PUPPY.