Hip dysplasia (HD) describes any of a number of conditions involving abnormal formation of the hip joint. The main cause of HD is muscle laxity during a dogs growth period. It is the pelvic muscles that must hold the hip joint in place during this growth period for the joint to form correctly. If the muscles fail to support the joint adequately or bone growth is faster than muscle growth the joint may pull apart. This is called subluxation which leads to arthritis.

HD is exhibited in different ways from dog to dog. The symptoms include a swaying gait, bunny hopping on the hind legs when running, underdeveloped rear musculature, stiffness and lameness.

What causes HD? There is no one cause of HD. Although there is much evidence suggesting polygenic inheritance. There are a number of risk factors that effect the severity of expression of HD. These include size of the animal, muscle mass, growth rate, excess weight, overnutrition, over exercise and even rough play.

Can HD be prevented? The incidence and severity of HD can be at least reduced by attacking the problem on two fronts.

Given that HD is hereditary it follows that breeders of the medium to giant breeds susceptible to HD must take active measures to eliminate the use of dogs with HD from their breeding programmes. Responsible breeders have all their breeding animals hip scored. The Royal New South Wales Canine Council with the approval of the Australian National Kennel Council has implemented a litter restriction policy based on hip and elbow scoring. The RNSWCC will not register puppies that are the result of a mating between animals that have not been hip and elbow scored.

What is hip and elbow scoring exactly? Hip and elbow scoring can only be done dogs that have reached 12 months of age. Scoring is done on 9 different points of the hip joint anatomy. It is therefore necessary for the dog’s pelvis to be x-rayed in the correct position for scoring. Veterinarians are in possession of the information for correct positioning of the pelvis for x-raying. The x-rays are then forwarded to any one of a number of recognised veterinary radiographers for scoring. The 9 areas of the pelvic/hip anatomy that are scored are:

1. Norberg Angle
2. Subluxation
3. Cranial Acetabular Edge
4. Dorsal Acetabular Edge
5. Cranial Effective Acetabular Rim
6. Acetabular Fossa
7. Caudal Acetabular Edge
8. Femoral Head/neck Exostosis
9. Femoral Head Recontouring

The responsible breeder then uses this hip score information for each dog in deciding a suitable mate or indeed whether to breed the particular dog at all.

There is no numerical hip score cut off point above which a dog cannot be bred and below which it can. Having said that obviously the use of two animals with very low scores is most desirable. I say ‘most desirable’ as this is the best a breeder can hope to do. It does not guarantee that the pups from such a mating will all be free of HD or if hip scored will have a resulting score anything like that of their parents.

The second of the preventative measures is partly the responsibility of the breeder but primarily falls on the shoulders of the new puppy buyer. Here I am talking about management of the environmental factors influencing the expression of HD.

A puppy generally remains with the breeder until 2 months of age. Approximately half of this time the pup feeds exclusively from it’s mother. When the pup is weaned consideration should then be given to the type of food offered, the amount and how often offered. This is most important when considering the food given directly to the newly weaned pups. It is also important to consider the food given to the mother that goes indirectly to the pups via the mother’s milk prior to weaning. I believe that the best diet for all dogs of any age is a natural raw one. Follow this link for more on a natural raw diet. Raw Diet

The growth rate of puppies, that is dogs that are still not adult size, should be slow. Puppies should be kept slightly hungry and never be allowed to become fat. A lean dog is a healthy dog. The same goes for pups. Excessive weight, as in humans, leads to health problems in dogs.

Growing bones and joints can be easily damaged. Pups should be housed with dogs of their own age and size to prevent any accidental injuries. Similarly, a pups needs no more exercise than it imposes upon itself. Pups should not be taken on long lead walks until fully grown. Exercise during play is all a pup needs. Forced exercise is not only unnecessary but dangerous to a pups health.

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