Printed in Croatia Occurrence of hip joint dysplasia in some hunting dog breeds

An analysis of the occurrence of hip joint dysplasia (HJD) was carried out on the following hunting dogs in the Slovak Republic in the period 1995-2000: Bavarian mountain hound and Hannoverian hound. During the period under investigation we examined 299 animals of both breeds- 206 bitches and 93 dogs. Whereas in 1995 we found that 38.3 % were affected by HJD, by the end of the observation period the number of HJD-positive dogs decreased to 26.1 % in both breeds. Analysis of the results also showed that HJD was diagnosed in 22.3% of bitches and 18.9 % of dogs. The differences between positive and negative findings during the investigated period were significant (P≤0.05) when evaluated by χ2 test. The incidence of HJD in both hunting dog breeds showed a decreasing tendency, probably as a result of selective breeding. HJD was evaluated using a 5-point gradation system, extending from A to E. However, stages D and E were not diagnosed. Key words: dysplasia, hip joint, do