A Personalised Service
Trusted by Breeders
For over 25 years now, dog breeders and owners have travelled from all over the country to have their dogs X-rayed by Michelle Lingard and Vicky Foster (formerly of Moy Vets).
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Michelle and Vicky are very experienced in taking high quality X-rays with good positioning.
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Immediately following an X-ray, all clients receive a personalised consultation to discuss
the X-rays and offer guidance on the likely range of hip and elbow scores for your dog.
Experienced Veterinary Professionals
​Here at Lancashire Hip Scores, our team have 30 years' experience in canine health testing and providing excellent quality hip and elbow X-rays.
Personalised Consultation
We offer a personalised consultation to view the X-rays with you, provide guidance and help in understanding the outcomes, along with time to discuss the hip and elbow scores while answering your questions thoroughly.
Reliable & Friendly
Service
​We know how important it is for you to trust the people X-raying and looking after your dog, and we know how important it is for you to understand your dog's hip score for its future health.
Accessible
Location
We're based at The Beacon Veterinary Centre in the beautiful market town of Garstang in Lancashire.
Garstang is easily accessible from the M6 and other major routes. We offer easy parking at the centre with access to many dog-friendly cafes and coffee shops, gift shops and more.
Plus we have the stunning river walk our doorstep!​
So while your dog is in safe hands with us you can enjoy time to relax too.
New to Breeding or New to Us?
Here’s a quick overview of how we will screen your dog for hip and elbow dysplasia through our
hip and elbow scoring tests…
Step 1 - Book Online or Contact Us
Once your dog hip test appointment is confirmed, we will send you a confirmation email with important information and the next steps.
Please note: All dogs must be over one year of age (for BVA Submission).
Step 2 - On Arrival
On arrival for the appointment we'll check all of your dog's documents, sign consent forms, and we'll weigh your dog, scan its microchip and record its number.
Step 3 - Hip Score Test
Before we begin, your dog will been given a thorough health check. ​During the procedure your dog will be fully sedated and cared for by our veterinary team.
Once your dog is relaxed enough we will position for the X-rays. We will then X-ray your dog’s hips.
We're looking for excellent positioning of the pelvis and elbows.
Step 4 - After-Care
As soon as we are happy with the X-rays we have taken, your dog will be given another injection to reverse the effect of the sedation so they can ‘wake up’.
Step 5 - Consultation
We will examine your dog's X-ray and before your dog is returned to you, we will call you back in to show you the X-rays and discuss everything providing you with a detailed understanding of your dog hip scores.
Step 6 - BVA Scoring
Following the consultation and on the same day, we submit the X-rays to the BVA for official scoring.
As soon as we receive your certificates back from the BVA they will be emailed to you.
The results may appear on the Kennel Club website via their Health Test Results Finder before we receive them back from the BVA.
(Other scoring bodies can be used on request.)
“Highly personable, honest and professional, a rare combination. Michelle and Vicky have carried out hip and elbow X-rays for Highhouse Labradors for approximately 20 years. Michelle explains the procedure, and the architecture of the X-rays in an accessible way. Thus, informing breeding decisions for the benefit of breed in future generations.”
Jan Atkinson, Highhouse Labradors
What is Hip Dysplasia and Elbow Dysplasia?
Dysplasia means 'abnormal development', so hip and elbow dysplasia simply means abnormal development of the hips and elbows.
These conditions are genetic, meaning that they can be passed down from a sire and a dam to their offspring – but many less severely affected dogs show no symptoms or lameness until later in life, potentially after they have had many puppies.
As we often can’t tell if an animal has hip or elbow dysplasia, by watching a young dog moving, it is really important that we take X-rays to be sure.
The Hip Score Testing procedure enables us to screen dog for signs of any inherited hip and elbow dysplasia which may impact their health and the health of their offspring.
Read More on Our Breeders Blog
