On this Page I will lay out several Facts of Hip Dysplasia. Please take the time and read all this and watch all the videos. I will be covering several things, from too fast of Growth in large Breed Puppies, to proper exercise for growing Puppies. This Page contains several Facts that everyone needs to know when purchasing any Large Breed of Dog. This Page contains Experts in the Field of Hip Dysplasia.
First of all Proper Slow Growth is Key to the Skeletal Development of your Puppy. Proper Diet plays a big role too. Please do not over feed your Puppy, in videos on this Page you will see just how Important Slow Growth is in the Prevention of Hip Dysplasia and Panosteitis (PANO) for Pano the typical symptom is a Sudden, Unexplained, painful lameness of one or more legs. The lameness may be mild or severe. The most common bone that is effected is the humerus, but pano may also be found in the radius and ulna (the foreleg) , the femur (thigh) and or the tibia (lower leg).
Proper Exercise plays a big role in Building Muscle in the Hips of your Puppy. Muscle and Ligaments is what pushes the Femur Head into the Hip Socket. Not enough Muscle and you get Subluxation (loose fitting joint)
Can you have a Puppy/Dog show signs of Subluxation even with Proper exercise? Yes you can.
Can Subluxation be from Genetics even if the Parents do not have hip dysplasia? Yes it can.
Young Dogs are more elastic and looser in the hips than a big grown Dog, so proper exercise is vital. Swimming your Puppy/Dog is the very Best way to Muscle up the Hips on your Dog. Running and playing is good too, but not jogging a young growing Puppy/Dog on Hard Surfaces. A growing Puppy needs lots of time out Running/Playing in a Natural way. Any Large Breed Dog say 4 months of age needs 6 to 8 hours a day off leash and playing. Take your Puppy/Dog on Walks, throw a ball or frisbee to encourage running, walk/run up and down hills, run on a Sandy Beach with the Puppy, wadding in water ect..Do not let your growing Puppy run up and down Stairs though, this is not good. No running on hard surfaces or jumping from a SUV or Pickup Truck for and Dog under 18 months old.
Look at how many hours each day a Wolf or Coyote will be out on the hunt for food, at a trot or very fast running after it's Prey. Searching for miles through the lands for Food. A 1 Hour walk 2 x a day is not even nearly enough exercise. Going to a Dog Park for a few hours each week helps, but is not nearly enough and I honestly don't recommend Dog Parks for the reason of too many Parasites and diseases. My Dogs here at the Kennel run and play almost 24/7 with me rarely seeing one of them even laying down.
Daily walks and trips to wide open spaces such as large fields, Beaches and the Forest is vital to obtain Proper Muscle Mass in your Dog. 30 to 35% of all Hip Dysplasia is from Genetics and nothing is going to change that. But follow all guidelines on this Page and the odds are better in your favor.
When getting a Dog X-Rayed to evaluate the Hips Proper Positioning is a Must. It can't be close, it has to be Exact and most Veterinarian's are not very good at this. Please watch the Video on Exact Positioning. Read all that Ed Frawley from Leerburg has to say on this matter too. I want you to be very Educated on this. I have fought the Battle of Improper Positioning for years now.
First of all Proper Slow Growth is Key to the Skeletal Development of your Puppy. Proper Diet plays a big role too. Please do not over feed your Puppy, in videos on this Page you will see just how Important Slow Growth is in the Prevention of Hip Dysplasia and Panosteitis (PANO) for Pano the typical symptom is a Sudden, Unexplained, painful lameness of one or more legs. The lameness may be mild or severe. The most common bone that is effected is the humerus, but pano may also be found in the radius and ulna (the foreleg) , the femur (thigh) and or the tibia (lower leg).
Proper Exercise plays a big role in Building Muscle in the Hips of your Puppy. Muscle and Ligaments is what pushes the Femur Head into the Hip Socket. Not enough Muscle and you get Subluxation (loose fitting joint)
Can you have a Puppy/Dog show signs of Subluxation even with Proper exercise? Yes you can.
Can Subluxation be from Genetics even if the Parents do not have hip dysplasia? Yes it can.
Young Dogs are more elastic and looser in the hips than a big grown Dog, so proper exercise is vital. Swimming your Puppy/Dog is the very Best way to Muscle up the Hips on your Dog. Running and playing is good too, but not jogging a young growing Puppy/Dog on Hard Surfaces. A growing Puppy needs lots of time out Running/Playing in a Natural way. Any Large Breed Dog say 4 months of age needs 6 to 8 hours a day off leash and playing. Take your Puppy/Dog on Walks, throw a ball or frisbee to encourage running, walk/run up and down hills, run on a Sandy Beach with the Puppy, wadding in water ect..Do not let your growing Puppy run up and down Stairs though, this is not good. No running on hard surfaces or jumping from a SUV or Pickup Truck for and Dog under 18 months old.
Look at how many hours each day a Wolf or Coyote will be out on the hunt for food, at a trot or very fast running after it's Prey. Searching for miles through the lands for Food. A 1 Hour walk 2 x a day is not even nearly enough exercise. Going to a Dog Park for a few hours each week helps, but is not nearly enough and I honestly don't recommend Dog Parks for the reason of too many Parasites and diseases. My Dogs here at the Kennel run and play almost 24/7 with me rarely seeing one of them even laying down.
Daily walks and trips to wide open spaces such as large fields, Beaches and the Forest is vital to obtain Proper Muscle Mass in your Dog. 30 to 35% of all Hip Dysplasia is from Genetics and nothing is going to change that. But follow all guidelines on this Page and the odds are better in your favor.
When getting a Dog X-Rayed to evaluate the Hips Proper Positioning is a Must. It can't be close, it has to be Exact and most Veterinarian's are not very good at this. Please watch the Video on Exact Positioning. Read all that Ed Frawley from Leerburg has to say on this matter too. I want you to be very Educated on this. I have fought the Battle of Improper Positioning for years now.
Dr. Lonnie L. Davis in Troy Ohio. Dr. Davis is a Expert on Precise Positioning Technique. Please follow the link to his website and spend some time looking at the X-Rays that has failed OFA and then resubmitted with Precise Positioning Technique and now will pass the OFA. It will take a little time to look over his website, but this is very Important in understanding the Importance of Proper Positioning when taking the X-Ray for evaluating the Hips for OFA.An average Veterinarian will X-Ray a Dog, do Improper Positioning and then tell you that your Dog has Hip Dysplasia. Please be aware of this before you panic when told this. So it's best to understand the Importance of Precise Positioning before your Dog ever gets the X-Ray. www.Doghipxray.com www.TroyAnimalHospital.com
Below is a Video of Dr. Lonnie L. Davis demonstrating how important Precise Positioning Technique is.
Below is a Video of Dr. Lonnie L. Davis demonstrating how important Precise Positioning Technique is.
Next is a video from Dr. Karen Becker on why Slow Growth is so Important.
Below is a video on Too Fast Of Growth causing Pano
This is a Link to the OFA, you can look up all breeds to see their Hip Stats
https://www.ofa.org/diseases/breed-statistics#detail
Normally when a Dog is Diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia it's the left side, why is it the left side most of the time? The Left side normally has less Muscle, therefor a Subluxation Socket, which then leads to Cartilage being destroyed, which in turn leads to bone spurs growing in to compensate for no cartilage.
As you can see lots of things come into play when it comes to Hip Dysplasia, yet most Veterinarians will say it's all Genetic. It's a matter of Fact that if one Breeds Dogs and sells Puppies some are going to end up with Hip Dysplasia evan at a very young age.
Aussie run around 6.9 to 7% Hip Dysplasia, which is a really good compared to so many other breeds. All of our Breeding Aussie and Standard Poodle have OFA Certified Hips. Just follow the advice of Slow Growth and Proper Exercise and if your Dog gets a X-Ray to evaluate it's Hips, be sure you get Proper Positioning. Let the Veterinarian understand that you know what Proper Positioning is. The slightest off from perfect Positioning can be the difference in determining Hip Dysplasia or not.
As you can see lots of things come into play when it comes to Hip Dysplasia, yet most Veterinarians will say it's all Genetic. It's a matter of Fact that if one Breeds Dogs and sells Puppies some are going to end up with Hip Dysplasia evan at a very young age.
Aussie run around 6.9 to 7% Hip Dysplasia, which is a really good compared to so many other breeds. All of our Breeding Aussie and Standard Poodle have OFA Certified Hips. Just follow the advice of Slow Growth and Proper Exercise and if your Dog gets a X-Ray to evaluate it's Hips, be sure you get Proper Positioning. Let the Veterinarian understand that you know what Proper Positioning is. The slightest off from perfect Positioning can be the difference in determining Hip Dysplasia or not.