Estimation of heritability for hip dysplasia in German Shepherd Dogs in Finland

Abstract

The heritability of hip dysplasia in the German Shepherd Dog was estimated by applying the animal model and the Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML) method to a data‐set which consisted of the hip scores of 10 335 dogs. Fixed effects of the model were the month and the year of birth, screening age, the panelist responsible for screening and the origin of the animal's sire. The litter and the breeder had only minor effects on hip joints. Heritability estimates were moderate (0.31–0.35). The moderate heritability, which was found in this study, enables a much better genetic gain in the breeding programme, if proper evaluation methods, such as BLUP animal model, and effective selection is used instead of phenotypic selection.