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Home The 5 star standard Find a 5 star breeder Health Checks Labrador Nutrition Questions to a breeder About 5 star Labs Additional Links LabPups.com Labrador. Info eLabrador.com K-9Heaven.com BlondeLab.com BlackLabradors.info ChocolateLabradors.info PureLabradors.com YellowLabradors.info LabAuthority.com	Health Checks What do all the health checks on Labrador Retrievers really mean? For starters, Hip Dysplasia is one of the more common questions that buyers ask the breeder, the answer that is supplied doesn't tell the buyer anything about the puppy. First off, Labrador Retrievers can suffer from Hip Dysplasia, and it can be so severe that the dog is immobilized. What caused the Dysplasia (Latin for abnormal and not the commonly thought of displaced)? Injury, improper development could be the cause. So if we examine injury, that would not have any influence on a puppy, but would qualify a Labrador to have hip dysplasia. So the Lab may have a fair or moderate hip as a result of injury. Improper development: This has been long thought to be genetic, however, if one were to seek out the source, there has never been a gene found to cause or prevent Hip Dysplasia. What this means is, it must be environmental. Nutrition can have a major role in the development of hips and joints. A lack of proper nutrition could result in a deficiency and therefore lead to Hip Dysplasia. Since Vitamin C is the "molecular glue" that bonds the calcium to the absorb and femur head to properly form the hip, it isn't far fetched to think that a deficiency could result in a dramatic decrease in available vitamin c. Since the logic of the Labrador Retriever is to keep the organs functioning, the internal organs would get first dibs on vitamin c in the body. Parasites, and especially Ascarid or  Roundworms (Ascaridoidea) steal nutrition and oxidize vitamin c in the dogs' body, rendering the vitamin c useless. In addition to this, the roundworm attaches to the intestinal wall and prevents that area from absorbing nutrition. The parasite would eat first. A leading veterinarian discovered that during necropsy that dogs with Hip Dysplasia also suffered from Scurvy, which is a lack of vitamin c. All of this to say, when you ask a breeder if the parents have had a hip x-ray and what the rating was, does it really tell you anything about the puppy? Not really. What is does tell you is whether or not the parents suffer from Hip Dysplasia. It could be argued if this is even plausible, however, the more important issue, how can you prevent your new Lab pup from developing Hip Dysplasia? The suggested pathway would be proper Nutrition (see Labrador Nutrition), regular deworming and supplement with vitamin c. Additional links LabPups.com - 5 Star Labrador Puppy breeder Labrador. Info - The Labrador Information source K-9Heaven.com - It's Heavenly for the 4 legged BlondeLab.com - Blonde Labs are more fun BlackLabradors.info - Classic Black Labradors ChocolateLabradors.info - Chocolate Labrador Authority PureLabradors.com - Pure Bred Labradors YellowLabradors.info - Yellow Labrador Information LabAuthority.com - The Labrador Authority