Hip Dysplasia in Dogs – Symptoms,Treatments and Prevention

Dog hip dysplasia is one of the most studied illnesses in veterinary medicine.

Despite the number of researches made on the topic, it is also one of the most challenging diseases to prevent and treat; hence, it causes much frustration to pet owners and veterinarians alike.

What is Hip Dysplasia?

To define, dog hip dysplasia is a formative malady. The hip is not shaped accurately which this way causes ligament harm and detachment in the hip joints.

At the point when not treated, it can prompt joint pain and can be extremely excruciating.

Pooches experiencing hip dysplasia may sign side effects at the early stage, even before joint inflammation sets in.

Treatment, for this situation, includes surgery. Unfortunately, there are instances when symptoms show after arthritis has been developed and at this point, treatment procedures are typically limited and complicated.

The disease is also genetic, so if one of the parents has the disease, chances are the offspring will get it.

Dog dysplasia is common among the larger dog breeds such as the golden retriever, Labrador, German Shepherd, and Saint Bernard.

Of the smaller dog breeds, hip dysplasia is commonly diagnosed among Cocker and Springer Spaniels.

The first sign of hip dysplasia is decreased activity. If your dog refuses to jump, use the stairs or stand on its hind limbs, then you had better get them checked immediately.

Sometimes you’ll also notice their swaggering gait and will moan when they rise or move their hips.

Other symptoms of dysplasia include lameness in the back legs and soreness after lying down.

The symptoms can show as early as five months, and unless treated, dogs suffering from hip dysplasia will eventually, be unable to walk.

Aside from genetics, nutrition and exercise are considered as risk factors. Research shows that there’s a good reason for choosing your dog’s food.

For example, dog foods with high-calories can exacerbate the condition, whether or not the dog is genetically susceptible.

Also, if the dog’s diet has too much or too little calcium, it can also cause an abnormality in the development of its hip joint.

This is the reason why dogs should not have free choice food and had the best stick to commercially developed pellets for balanced nutrition.

While exercise is an excellent way to develop your dog’s muscles, it can increase the incidence of hip dysplasia if they over exercise at a young age.

If your dog is genetically susceptible to the disease, the best exercises are those who do not exert too much pressure on the hip joint.

Running and swimming are most recommended. To diagnose dog hip dysplasia, your dog needs to undergo a complete physical exam and an x-ray especially if there are already outward signs of arthritis.

Symptoms of Hip Dysplasia

Like with most other diseases, there will be some signs and symptoms that show up when a dog has hip dysplasia.

In most cases, these symptoms are associated with a reduced ability to function and lameness.

Some of the signs of hip dysplasia are impossible to detect when they are puppies.

However, the condition begins to become apparent when the puppy is about nine months old.

Even if you take your dog to the veterinarian for testing, you will likely be told that you must wait until the puppy reaches a certain age to determine if the symptoms remain.

Here are some symptoms to watch for as your puppy grows:

1. Hip dysplasia in puppies causes severe pain in the lower extremities, especially in the hip area. This symptom will be especially noticeable following a passionate running session or climbing and descending stairs.
2. You should have your dog checked for dysplasia in the hips if you notice him or her exhibiting pain during normal activities or walking.
3. Dysplasia may cause your four-legged friend to sulk in a corner because of the intense pain movement causes. You should know that there is something wrong with your dog if they do not interact with you and your family frequently.
4. Dysplasia is a condition that develops at its pace. Most goldie parents do not realize their dog is afflicted until it is far too late. If dysplasia is left untreated, the dog could develop a permanent limp or worse. Hip dysplasia can develop when the puppy is in the forming stages; however, it may not be an apparent health concern until middle age.
5. Dysplasia often becomes so severe that the dog begins to hop as opposed to running.
6. Dysplasia in the hips will cause your dog to walk with irregular movements.
   Hip dysplasia in is passed down from the parents. Therefore, dogs affected by this condition are not suitable for breeding.

However, these dogs are every bit as capable as the next to live a long, happy life. You may have to give your dog prescription medication to help control their weight or reduce pain, allowing your golden retriever to enjoy life.

How is hip dysplasia diagnosed?

Diagnosis of hip dysplasia is usually made with radiographs. Typically, a ventrodorsal hip-extended view is taken which is done by laying the dog on their back and pulling both hind legs straight back.

In the young dog, the main sign seen on the radiograph is the separation of the head of the femur from the acetabulum.

Occasionally early bone formation within the joint, termed osteophytes, may also be seen.

The older the dog gets with this disease, the more bone change or remodeling, will be observed.

Typically the femoral head changes from being round to flattened and the acetabulum becomes more shallow.

Visible new bone formation within the joint, termed osteophytes, will be seen on the acetabulum and the head of the femur also.

For purposes of determining if a dog’s lameness is due to hip dysplasia, the routine ventrodorsal hip extended radiographs work well.

It is always indicated to take radiographs to verify that the dog has dysplasia, even if the symptoms all fit because there are many other diseases with similar symptoms such as cruciate disease, lumbosacral disease, and hock OCD.

These diseases can be treated, and the dog may return to normal function.

Unfortunately, some dogs are assumed to have hip dysplasia when they do not, or they have hip dysplasia but it is one of these other conditions that are causing the pain, but radiographs never get taken to prove one way or the other.

Another important consideration when it comes to diagnosing hip dysplasia is that just because a young dog’s hips show some signs of dysplasia does not guarantee that the dog will have problems with the disease. It has been shown in studies that there is a weak correlation between clinical signs and radiographic findings.

Meaning, many dogs can have significantly dysplastic hips on radiographs but show no clinical signs related to it.

This is important when trying to decide if treating a young dog with dysplasia is appropriate.

For purposes of screening breeding dogs to ensure that they do not have hip dysplasia, other radiographic tests have been developed which studies have shown to be more accurate in detecting hip dysplasia.

These tests are necessary because you want to know that breeding dogs have no signs of hip dysplasia at all.

These tests include the PennHIP ( the University of Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Program) technique and the dorsolateral subluxation score. Both of these techniques use the distraction to determine the degree of laxity within the hips.

The other benefit of these tests is that they are accurate as early as four months of age.

Other tests such as CT scans and MRI of the hips have been looked at in research settings but are rarely used in clinical practice.

Screening breeding dogs for hip dysplasia before mating is essential but does not guarantee that the puppies will not have hip dysplasia.

Some dogs may be carriers for the genes for hip dysplasia but not show overt signs of the disease.

When two dogs that are carriers are bred, they can have a litter of puppies that have overt signs of hip dysplasia.

The only current way to reduce this possibility is by screening not only the parents but all offspring for multiple generations proving that none of the ages of puppies ever showed overt signs of hip dysplasia which is rarely if ever done.

Shortly, genetic analysis for hip dysplasia should be available which will be a much more comfortable and accurate way of screening potential breeding dogs.

Treatment of hip dysplasia

Hip dysplasia in dogs is a prevalent degenerative disease, having said that it does not always affect all dogs.

However, there can also be many misconceptions regarding this disease, some that are known and some that are not.

Treatment for hip dysplasia can fluctuate between a few surgical systems, even though this likewise relies on upon the age and seriousness of joint degeneration.

A considerable measure similarly relies on upon the pooch’s generation and wellbeing before any surgery.

Triple Pelvic Osteotomy; (TPO) is ordinarily a methodology that is utilized for youthful pooches under ten months of age; these will have had radiographs which demonstrate dangerous hip laxity, at this young age they won’t have created harm to the joints. This is real surgery and costly yet is exceptionally fruitful.

An aggregate substitution of the hip is frequently exhorted for a dog that has the degenerative joint infection because of ceaseless hip dysplasia.

This sort of surgery includes evacuating the current joint and supplanting it with the prosthesis.

The puppy must be skeletally developed and weighing no less than 20 pounds; there is no most extreme size farthest point if both hips must be supplanted then ordinarily a three month rest period is prompted between the surgeries.

Therapeutically hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis have been enhanced throughout the years with the presentation of new supplements and medications.

Hip dysplasia is principally an acquired sickness in this manner; no items available can keep the advancement.

If you begin by giving your dog a legitimate eating routine, work out, supplements and agony alleviation, this may diminish the movement of the common sickness.

Weight management and practice for your pooch from an early age can anticipate many illnesses, albeit some of the time as specified hip dysplasia can be hereditary.

Those of you who are considering gaining a puppy can get some information about hip dysplasia of the particular breed.

How would we prevent hip dysplasia?

Hip Dysplasia is a genetic condition discovered for the most part in vast and monster breed dogs.

A few breeds are more inclined to the malady than others. It is essential when picking pets you know about the pervasiveness of hip dysplasia inside the breed.

Hip dysplasia happens when the muscles and ligaments around the hip joint neglect to hold the wad of the femoral head safely in the hip attachment.

As these two bones lose contact, after some time, the bone structure will change and disintegrate away.

Lamentably, there is no genuine approach to keep this from happening other than to know about the dog reproducer’s practices.

A pooch destined to guardians with great confirmed hips will have less probability of building up the sickness, while a dog conceived with even one parent with reasonable for poor hips are considerably more liable to build up the infection.

Just through particular reproducing practices can the infection be dispensed with inside a breed.

There are measures you can take to help slow the degeneration of the hip joint.

• Keep the dog well exercised. Making sure the hip muscles and tendons remain strong will help to keep the hips in place.
• Diet and nutrition are essential to dog breeds who tend to develop this disease. Make sure your pet does not get overweight. Carrying extra weight will put more strain on already fragile hip joints.
• Ask your vet about supplements. Things like glucosamine, Omega 3 fatty acids and avocados may be of help for the osteoarthritis associated with hip dysplasia.

Above anything else, to decrease the chances of having a dog with hip dysplasia, thoroughly investigate the practices of the breeder you plan to purchase your dog from.

Be sure your dog comes from parents with certified good hips. Ask lots of questions of the breeder before purchasing to find out the number of incidences of the disease in their breeding history.