[maryserratos]

There has been alot of new research that claims that hip dysplasia does not have to be genetic. It can be caused by factors such as poor diet, living environments, and other injuries. I am wondering how people here feel about this. I realize that there are supplements that alot of people give their dogs to try and help prevent HD. Now with these products are you just "covering up" what would have naturally been poor hips? Therefore, still making them genetic? I know that HD can pop up anytime in the dogs whether or not the parents had good hips. Do you think this could have been caused by something, or do you still feel it was genetic?

I just want to hear other peoples views on this. I have done a ton of research, but most of it is so conflicting. And what about the people that say "my dog has loose hips, but that is normal in bulldogs" is this a line of crap? An excuse maybe? Do you think the people that have done the x rays just disregard what they were advised and breed anyways because of the "loose hips in bulldogs" line?

Let me know what you think.

 

[maryserratos]

Nobody has an opinion on this???

 

[halo]

In My opinion I have dealt with both dogs healthy and the hip problems. I do think that there can be more than one cause. Poor diet can be a cause. Years ago before these dogs foods we have today we were told to add bone meal to our dogs food for the big breeds because they could have these problems along with rickets. We never had as many problems back then as we do today. I have a rotty that we rescued with hip problems he came to us and could not walk . He was very abused and had a very poor diet.
When we took him we put him on the supplement Triflex , The vet exrayed him before said he would not make it six months if that he would need major surgery or have to be put down , One year later he went back into the vets walking and they checked his hips again
he does have a little arthrtis but the cartledge had grown in to support his hips and his problems where gone in fact he asked us what we did. So no I don't think a good supplement is just a coverup of the symptoms. Although some may be genetic I think with good diet and proper nutrution a lot of thinks can be done to prevent things like this.
It is three years later now and the rotty is still here with us and still walking fine.

 

[ambull040769]

I feel that in larger breeds if you over feed them when they are young and they gain weight too fast it will definitely cause problems with hips and elbows even if both parents tested good.

Other factors come into play too such as allowing a dog that is say six months old to jump alot, their bones are still developing.

I think nutrition is a big factor also.

 

[gazar]

I do not think it is a genetic problem. I think it is a problem that large dogs have a tendency to get. Their hip ball joints do not develop at the same rate as the socket and it causes problems because the weight of a larger dog applys more pressure to this area. The "meds" just help to reduce the stress and the pain and allows the socket and ball joint time to fit better during growth. At least, this is what has happened to my dog.

 

[MrsCooper]

http://offa.org/hipstatbreed.html

I do believe that nutrition plays a role. If you raise your puppy on Ol' Roy and keep if nice and chubby don't expect it to grow into a healthy dog. But if it wasn't genetic than why do some breeds have such a high % of dysplastic dogs and others don't. And even though bigger dogs are more likely to develop HD 61.7% of Pugs have bad hips while only 2% of Huskys have them. To me the statistics prove that genetics play a big role in the dog developing HD.

 

[gazar]

http://offa.org/hipstatbreed.html

I do believe that nutrition plays a role. If you raise your puppy on Ol' Roy and keep if nice and chubby don't expect it to grow into a healthy dog. But if it wasn't genetic than why do some breeds have such a high % of dysplastic dogs and others don't. And even though bigger dogs are more likely to develop HD 61.7% of Pugs have bad hips while only 2% of Huskys have them. To me the statistics prove that genetics play a big role in the dog developing HD.

Hi, Mrs. Cooper - Has there ever been any reports or follow-up tests on Pugs to see if their ball sockets are not in proportion with their hip joint?

I have a St. Bernard and Shepard mix. His legs are very thick as are his hips. I think this compensates for any stress put on them. I think Husky's are built the same way. My other dog is a Border Collie and Chow mix. She has large legs but small hips - the mixed combination seems to weaken her strength in her hips instead of her being supported by them. I do want to take a step back on my statement on Genetics. It was too broad. I do feel that body weakness can be miss bred into a dog which could lead to HD. What are your thoughts? And I did forget to mention that I do also believe that nutrion does play a role in bone development.

 

[MrsCooper]

I do feel that body weakness can be miss bred into a dog which could lead to HD.

I don't think HD is caused by a dog not having thick legs and hips.
I have a male that has loose hips PH .56.58 he also has increased joint space. When I first had him x-rayed at 12 month old, the vet told me 99% he will be dysplastic by the time he is two. I had him x-rayed at almost 3 and there had been no changes in his hips.
The vet that x-rayed him the second time told me that chances are he will never develop any type of problems because he has such a muscular rear end. Still bad hips though, I never send his x-rays to the OFA, but I don't think they would pass. My guess would be probably a mild.
His sister who has a much smaller rear end and less bone has great hips PH .36.36 and nice joint conformation as well.
BTW, they both had the same nutrition from day one.
I remember a girl on the AOL AB board a couple of years ago, the dog had tons of health issues. She had him Penn hipped and it came back if I remember right in the low .20's. Which is really good for an AB. But looking at pictures of the dog, he had a very weak rear end you would never think that he had such great hips.
Anyway, I would think that the rear end plays a role in how the dogs hips will keep up over the lifetime of the dog, but I don't think it plays a very big role in how the hip laxity or the joint conformation in a young dog develop. Unless the dog has some structural problems, then it probably does.
There are dogs that grow up on cheap food and end up having excellent hips, others grow up with only the best and end up having HD. I do believe nutrition plays a role, but I don't think genetics should be ignored. To many breeders use that as an excuse not to x-ray, or to provide poor guarantees for there puppies.

I really have no idea what up with the poor pugs. Did you notice the Main **** Cat 22.6%, what's up with that ?

 

[gazar]

Did you notice the Main **** Cat 22.6%, what's up with that ?

You know this would make such an interesting study for someone needing to do a paper for vet school. Sure wish I had the time and knowledge that it takes as it really peaks my curiosity to get down to the details of it. Thanks for you imput. My Dad had a Maine **** cat - it was his baby and he was devastated when it died.

 

[Canon]

I am convinced that it is both genetic and environmental; pups are not supposed to be fed excessive calcium, apparently research has been conducted that proves that too much calcium does cause HD; overexercising a pup is also a NO NO.

 

[yungster]

I feel that in larger breeds if you over feed them when they are young and they gain weight too fast it will definitely cause problems with hips and elbows even if both parents tested good.

Other factors come into play too such as allowing a dog that is say six months old to jump alot, their bones are still developing.

I think nutrition is a big factor also.

Ditto that.