![Hip Dysplasia in Dogs: What is it and What can you do about it? By Dr. Ernie Ward](http://wildearth.com/cdn/shop/articles/dog_playing_in_snow-e1674596160266.jpg?crop=center&height=855&v=1709588969&width=1280)
Category_Dog Knowledge
Health
Hip Dysplasia in Dogs: What is it and What can you do about it?
What is hip dysplasia?
Hip dysplasia is a deformity of the hip that occurs during growth. The hip joint is a "ball-and-socket" joint. During a puppy’s rapid growth phase, usually around six to 18 months of age, both the "ball" (the head of the femur or “thigh bone”) and the "socket" in the pelvis (acetabulum) must grow at equal rates. In hip dysplasia, this uniform growth during puppyhood fails to occur. The result is laxity or looseness of the hip’s ball-and-socket joint followed by degenerative joint disease (DJD) or osteoarthritis (OA), which is the body's attempt to stabilize the loose hip joint. In simplest terms, the body grows new bone in an attempt to secure the loose hip joint. This additional bone is irregular and often interferes with the surrounding tissues and joint space, causing intense pain, decreased range of motion, and ultimately severe arthritis. The degree of lameness that occurs is dependent on the extent of these arthritic changes and may not be correlated with the appearance of the hip joint on x-rays, especially during the first several months to years of changes. Some dogs with significant signs of hip dysplasia or osteoarthritis on x-rays may not exhibit any clinical signs while others with minimal radiographic changes may experience severe pain and lameness.What causes hip dysplasia?
There are two primary causes of hip dysplasia, genetics and diet. In addition, excessive exercise during puppyhood and early spaying or neutering may also increase a dog’s risk of developing hip dysplasia. Genetics The exact genes involved in causing canine hip dysplasia have not been conclusively identified, but it is believed to involve more than one gene. Normal dogs with healthy hips may produce puppies that have hip dysplasia, while dysplastic dogs have been shown to have normal puppies, indicating the disease may skip generations. The current recommendation is to breed only at-risk and large-breed dogs proven to have normal hips on radiographic evaluation. There are two main “hip dysplasia-free” certification organizations in the US, the Orthopedic Foundation of America (OFA) and AIS PennHip. Before you select a purebred large breed puppy, be sure to verify its parents are healthy by reviewing their certification status. For a list of at-risk dog breeds and trends, OFA compiles a complete database here. Researchers continue searching for an accurate and reliable genetic test for dogs. The challenge has been that hip dysplasia appears to be influenced by several genes as well as nutritional and environmental factors, making a simple gene test elusive to date.![large dog in a field](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0141/7137/3626/files/large_dog_in_a_field_1024x1024.jpg)
Hip dysplasia tends to impact larger breeds more often, but all dogs can be affected
Nutrition
Advances in nutritional research have shown that diet plays an important role in the development of hip dysplasia. Large breed (generally greater than 50 lbs. or 25-kg) puppies should be kept at a normal, lean weight during growth rather than overfed and encouraged to grow “big.” Some pet food manufacturers or breeders encourage large breed puppies to “grow fast and big,” placing them at greater risk for uneven boney development in the hip joint.
Adding excessive or “extra” protein, calcium, or calories to a puppy’s diet can lead to hip dysplasia. One study of puppies at-risk for hip dysplasia found that when fed as much as they wanted to eat, two-thirds of the puppies went on to develop hip dysplasia while only one-third of puppies fed measured meals suffered from hip dysplasia. A study of German shepherds found that overweight puppies were almost twice as likely to develop hip dysplasia as their normal-weight counterparts. Another study demonstrated that Great Danes raised on food with high calcium content had delayed endochondral ossification (i.e., abnormal skeletal maturation, particularly in the hip joint), and greater risk of joint deformities. For that reason, high calcium intake should be prevented in order not to disturb the normal bone and joint development of a young puppy’s skeleton.
These nutritional studies have allowed food manufacturers to develop specially formulated diets for large breed puppies.
Exercise and Activity
Some veterinarians are concerned that excessive running or physical activity during the first 12 to 18 months of a puppy’s life could increase their risk of hip dysplasia. While this hasn’t been proven conclusively, it’s recommended to avoid long-distance running, especially on hard surfaces such as concrete or asphalt, with a growing puppy. One Norwegian study showed that puppies that ran up-and-down stairs during the first three months of life had a greater incidence of hip dysplasia than those allowed to free play on soft, often grassy, surfaces.
Early Spaying or Neutering
There have recently been concerns that early spaying and neutering could increase the incidence of hip dysplasia in at-risk dogs. Male dogs need testosterone to stop bone growth and development. If a male dog is neutered before puberty, there have been reports showing these male dogs grow taller and for a longer period of time, potentially placing them at greater risk for hip dysplasia. The research is not conclusive yet, but there is a growing global consensus that when appropriate, delaying spaying or neutering of at-risk dogs until post-puberty may provide a protective benefit.