How to be pro-active for Canine Hip Displasia?!

This is often hereditary in larger breed dogs. It occurs due to inbreeding. What it is, is when the ball of the hip joint does not fit securly into the socket, but is a little off in one direction or another, often causing pain for the animal and generally leading to arthritis.

I was going to just post a picture of what was happening here, but here are several pages of pictures:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=…

this is a joint defect which cannot get better on its own.

the best article on the web, and the most complete and easy to read is here: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?…

It will answer all your questions.

I have a young beagle mix who has hip dysplasia for reasons totally unknown, although the first year of his life was spent on very poor food and confinement -- so that may be part of it or all of it. I have him on chondroitin/glucosamine/MSM to slow the process of the problem -- but it is impossible to stop a beagle from running and playing hard! So we just do what we can.

I will say that since I have started actually making some of my own dog food and adding it to Max food for large dogs, there has been an very noticeable upswing in the behavior of all three dogs, the largest of which has advanced arthritis all through his backbone and tail and hips at only seven years of age, and our beagle mix seems to be running more evenly. This was a surprise to us, and a welcome one. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in what we are doing here.

Do read that article I linked above. I just finished reading the whole thing before I linked it and I learned a lot as well.

first just because a dog sits in a certain manner in no way means she has hip dysplasia -- dogs often sit on one hip or the other or with their legs to one side --- common signs of hip dysplasia include difficulty or reluctance to go up and down stairs or to jump up or down from objects -- also difficulty rising from a sitting or lying position is common -- often once a dog is up and moving thye signs improve -- so called warming out of it -- you may also notice that she won't want to play or walk for as long as she once did -- these are more reliable signs of hip dysplasia --- your vet will have to take radiographs of her hips to tell you definitly if she has dysplasia or not and to obtain good radiographs she will likely need to be sedated -- it is uncomfortable for her to have her legs pulled and stretched so believe me she will prefer alittle help to relax --- do not let anyone including your veterinarian tell you she has hip dysplasia without a radiograph - that is the only way to diagnose this condition --- things you can do to help are 1) get her plenty of excersize walking and swimming are best -- as a side it is all most impossible to excersize a husky to much 2) keep her weight at a proper level -- sounds like your fine here -- too much weight puts strain on the hips 3) i recommend a supplement that contains glucosamine and chondriton -- it helps rebuild and maintain cartilage in the joints -- any generic form is fine --- i would not recommend using any NSAIDS for pain / inflammation without talking to your vet first ( never use ibuprofen on a dog ) --- if it makes you feel a little better hip dysplasia is very treatable these days and huskies are not a breed that is commonly affected although any large breed dog can suffer from the disease

Just because a dog has sloppy sits does not mean the dog is dysplastic. Conformationally speaking, the way a dog is put together doesn’t always tell the story either. I have had dogs that are conformationally correct and dysplastic, and dogs with sloppy sits that have excellent hips. If a dog is having other symptoms, these signs may be indicators of CHD, but in and of themselves are not necessarily indicative that your dog is dysplastic.

If it were accurate to diagnose hip dysplasia by either of these methods, x-rays wouldn’t be necessary. The only way to tell for sure is to have your dogs hips x-rayed, and have the x-rays evaluated by the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals). Even if you decide to not send the x-rays off to OFA for evaluation, I would still have an orthopedic vet take and read the x-rays, as most general vets do not have the experience or knowledge to evaluate x-rays that fall in the mild to moderate categories, and most don’t understand the importance of proper positioning of the dog to get a true picture of a dog’s hip health. However, be aware that your dog is only a year and half old, and a dog can’t get a hip score from the OFA until the dog is 2 years old. Before the age of 2, x-rays are considered "prelims".

That being said, most large breed dogs have some propensity to hip dysplasia. Hip dysplasia is genetic, but it can also be made worse by injury, poor diet, being obese or environment. With my dogs, I generally have preliminary x-rays done between 12-18 months, and final x-rays at 24 months. From the time they are pups, I start them on glucosamine supplements and ester-c. These supplements not only help with keeping joints healthy, but keep the joints lubricated, and in the case of a dog with early dysplasia, can lessen the severity and discomfort associated with dysplasia as the dog ages.

In a mild to moderately dysplastic dog, building up muscle in the dog’s hips can help keep the hip joints held tightly together, helping the dog lead a functionally normal life. This is best achieved through swimming or underwater treadmills if available, but regular exercise like walking is also beneficial. The more muscle a dysplastic dog has in it’s hips, the less the joint subluxates out of the socket, which results in less friction and joint degradation over time.

Keeping the dog on a high quality diet and keeping your dog lean is also helpful. The more weight the dog has to carry, the more strain it puts on the hips. Any dog that is dysplastic should be kept slightly underweight. That she is undersized is not a bad thing should she turn out to be dysplastic.

Any dog that is dysplastic should be spayed or neutered, not only because dysplasia is genetic, but also because hips naturally subluxate in a ***** when she is in heat. For this reason, breeders do not have their dogs hips x-rayed for evaluation for at least a month on either side of a heat cycle.

Surgery is usually the recommended path for a dog that is severely dysplastic, but at 1? years of age, you would probably see some other signs in your dog, such as bunny hopping when running, popping sounds coming from your dogs hips, muscle atrophy in the hip area, and quite possibly, obvious signs of pain from your dog, such as stiffness/soreness, yelping or difficultly in rising. In a dog that is severely dysplastic, surgery is the best option for a cure, but in a young dog, discomfort can often be managed through use of anti-inflammatory drugs and Cosequin. Adequan injections are also available for the dog that is experiencing pain associated with moderate to severe hip dysplasia.