| Canine hip dysplasia is a genetic issue that | | | | * walking with a limp |
| starts to appear from the ages of 4 to 12 | | | | |
| months. Not all puppies in a litter will | | | | * a swaying gait |
| develop it, though if your dog has canine hip | | | | |
| dysplasia, she should not be bred. | | | | * bunny hopping when running |
| | | | |
| Larger breed dogs have a higher risk of | | | | * difficulty in the back legs when getting up |
| developing hip dysplasia, due to the greater | | | | |
| weight these joints will have to bear. But | | | | * pain in the hip |
| it's important to realize that small dogs can | | | | |
| be affected also. Large breed dogs at risk | | | | * when the puppy is lying on its back, its |
| include rottweilers, german shephards, golden | | | | back legs may not extend towards the front |
| retrievers, dalmations, and blood hounds. | | | | legs without pain |
| | | | |
| Canine hip dysplasia affects the ball and | | | | The only way to find out if your dog |
| socket joint of the hip. The head of the | | | | definitely has hip dysplasia is if he has an |
| large bone in the dog's leg doesn't fit | | | | x-ray by a vet. This normally means the dog |
| snugly into the hip socket. The problem is | | | | will have to be heavily sedated, or go under |
| that the socket itself is not well developed, | | | | anaesthetic. |
| and it creates a lot of stress on the joint. | | | | |
| The muscles don't develop as quickly as the | | | | Tips To Prevent Canine Hip Dysplasia |
| bone grows, and a situation is created where | | | | |
| the weight the joint has to bear is greater | | | | * Don't feed a growing dog a diet too high in |
| than the capacity of the ligaments, tendons, | | | | calories. It's important that the growing |
| and muscles around the joint. Thus joint | | | | dog's nutritional needs are met, but |
| instability develops. This in turn leads to a | | | | excessive weight, and rapid weight gain, |
| greater wear and tear than the joint would | | | | create more of a load for the joints to bear. |
| normally experience. | | | | If a dog is genetically predisposed to hip |
| | | | dysplasia, this can delay the beginning of |
| Canine hip dysplasia ranges from mild to | | | | symptoms, or reduce the chance of it |
| moderate. In mild cases, the space between | | | | developing into a more severe form. |
| the joints is greater than normal and the | | | | |
| ball at the top of the hip bone is part way | | | | * Be careful about the type of exercise |
| out of its socket. Fortunately, in mild | | | | growing dogs get. Jumping up and down from |
| cases, there are no associated arthritic | | | | heights, and standing on their back legs, |
| changes in the joint. | | | | such as when they stand against a fence or |
| | | | window to look over it, can aggravate the |
| In moderate canine hip dysplasia, the top | | | | joints whilst they are growing quickly. |
| part of the normally rounded hip bone begins | | | | |
| to flatten, and it sits only loosely in the | | | | * Buy dogs from a reputable breeder. If one |
| joint. Bone spurs begin to develop, and | | | | parent dog has hip dysplasia, the risk of it |
| arthritic changes start to happen. | | | | occurring in the litter is doubled. Good |
| | | | breeders take care to prevent this situation |
| Unfortunately, in severe hip dysplasia, there | | | | from occurring. The pedigrees of dogs can be |
| is definite arthritis present. And once | | | | checked to see whether they have been |
| arthritis appears in the joint, the condition | | | | certified as normal by the Orthopedic |
| is irreversible. In the severe cases such as | | | | Foundation For Animals (OFA) in the US. Their |
| this, the hip bone is completely out of the | | | | website is |
| joint. The silver lining is, however, that | | | | |
| not all dogs with hip dysplasia and arthritis | | | | Other organizations that check for markers of |
| will become lame. Some may become lame as | | | | hip normalcy in dogs are PennHip and the GDC |
| puppies, some may not ever become lame. | | | | (Genetic Disease Control in Animals). Large |
| | | | breed dogs have a greater chance of |
| Symptoms of hip dysplasia include: | | | | developing hip dysplasia, and prospective |
| | | | owners would be wise to take this precaution. |