Canine Hip Dysplasia

Canine hip dysplasia is a genetic disease. It is a malformation of the hip joint that ultimately leads to arthritis. The hip joint is a ball-and-socket arrangement that allows for mobility. The ball is the femoral head, the knob at the top of the upper leg bone or femur. The socket is the acetabulum, a scooped out area on the pelvic structure. The two parts must fit together and be lubricated by sufficient joint fluid to maintain structural soundness and avoid arthritis. Hip dysplasia is joint malformation that occurs when the ball and socket are misaligned, loosely fitted, or misshapen. Dysplastic dogs experience pain, generally are not as active as healthy dogs, and may need expensive corrective surgery as they age.

Nutrition also plays a part here. Puppies pushed to eat more for rapid growth manifest more hip problems than siblings allowed to grow at a slower rate. Many vets recommend that puppies be fed adult maintenance dog foods with less than 25 percent protein and be kept slightly hungry so their bones are not pushed into rapid growth that may be bad for good hip formation.

Hip dysplasia can be mild or debilitating. Mild cases may need no more than an occasional aspirin; moderate cases can be corrected by surgery, and severe cases can result in painful crippling and euthanasia.

Hip dysplasia cannot be detected by observation. Dogs that seem perfectly agile as pups and young adults may actually be mildly dysplastic in one or both hips. Diagnosis is possible only by x-rays of the dog’s hips.