The Truth Behind Hip Dysplasia We Can Make a Difference

 

The Truth Behind Hip Dysplasia
The SV in Germany has proven genetics is only responsible  for about 25% of the bad hips in dogs.  In other words, when looking at a pedigree, the dog may have up to 10 generations of "good" or "excellent" hips and still have a 75% chance of having bad hips. 

This means that 70% to 75% of the bad hips are caused by environmental issues.

Here's some things that may help:

1- Keep your dog thin - when I say thin I mean you need to see a definition between the ribs and loins
of  your dog. I cannot stress this enough. The more weight a dog carries the more  pressure on the hips. This is extremely important when the dog is  growing (between 8 weeks and 18 months)

2- Do not over exercise your young  dog. DO NOT TAKE A PUPPY JOGGING !!! Not until its older than
one year  of age. Over exercise is the fastest way to destroy hips.

3- Feed a quality all-natural diet.
If  you don’t want to feed a raw diet at least feed it an all-natural  commercial diet. We have fed this for years and feel that it's the best we can  find.

Holistically, we stress the diet with our puppy families and it can make a huge difference

4- If you have a question about subluxation in a young dog - SWIM the  dog!!
Take the dog swimming every day for 3 or 4 months before you have x-rays taken.  Swimming is the best exercise you can do for a dog. It is way better  than jogging the dog. When you stop and think that subluxation means  the head of the femur is loose in the socket - does it not make sense to  exercise the dog so the muscles and ligaments tighten up the dog as  much as possible.

5- We suggest giving your dogs 99% Glucosamine  supplements

Growing dogs, usually in their first year, often limp and  have what vets coin as 'growing pains'. 
We believe that these pains are  in the muscles and are caused by faulty nutrition (unless of course the limp is due to an injury or sore foot- pads). Giving them bone shavings,  liver, vitamine C, vitamine E and micro-organisms to improve  intestinal flora (such as  live cultures or raw dirty tripe), in addition to their basic diet, rectifies these pains within about 3 weeks.

Over-feeding causing Hip  Dysplasia

There was a very good long term study  done on the effects of overfeeding in dogs as it relates to HD.

To cancel  out the effects of genetics and focus just on food intake, they randomly divided Lab pups from several litters into two groups. One group (the ad libitum-fed control group) was allowed to eat as much as they wanted,  while the other group (the limit-fed group) was fed 25% less than the first  group.

They were all fed the same thing. The dogs were followed from 8  weeks of age until they died.

Here's some excerpts from the 4 reports that were published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association:

"Using the OFA method, 7 of the 24 limit-fed dogs and 16 of the 24 ad libitum-fed dogs were diagnosed as having
hip dysplasia. Similarly, using the Swedish method, 5 of the 24 limit-fed dogs and 18 of the 24 ad libitum-fed dogs were diagnosed as having hip dysplasia. "

"Radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis that affected multiple joints was significantly more common in the control-fed group  than in the limit-fed group. Prevalence of lesions in the hip joint was 15/22 in  the control-fed group and 3/21 in the limit-fed group. Prevalence of  lesions in the shoulder joint was 19/22 in the control-fed
group and  12/21 in the limit-fed group; lesions in this joint were generally mild.  Severity, but not prevalence, of osteoarthritis in the elbow joint was  greater in the control-fed group than in the limit-fed group"

"food-restricted dogs weighed less and had lower body fat content and lower serum triglycerides, triiodothyronine, insulin, and  glucose concentrations. Median life span was significantly longer for dogs in  which food was restricted. The onset of clinical signs of chronic  disease generally was delayed for food-restricted dogs."

There  is NO QUESTION that over feeding is a major factor in HD - the above post  addresses this - what it does not address is how a quality all-natural  diet in limit-fed dogs improves orthopedics’ AND how over exercise at a  young age increases HD.

For years it was wrongly thought that  the blame of HD was genetics. As this information comes out it will improve  our dogs because people will take more empowered  steps to raise their pups in a healthier manner.

OFA HIP DYSPLASIA GUIDELINES FOR BREEDERS and the OFA Progress in hip joint phenotype of dogs in the United States between the 1970's and early 1990's has been shown through results of a retrospective study using the OFA data base. This improvement was evident as an increase in the percentage of dogs classified as having excellent hip joint phenotype and a decrease in the percentage of dogs classified as having hip dysplasia (HD). The increase in percentage of dogs classified as having excellent hip joint phenotype was greater for German Shepherd dogs, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Rottweilers than for all dog breeds combined. In addition, the submission screening rate for these four breeds was higher than the screening rate for all dogs. Within these four breeds, the improvement was greatest for Rottweilers, which also had the highest screening rate. 
Overall, low screening rates for breeds found in this study offer some insight into the problems involved with reducing the incidence of HD. The typical dog breeder is involved in breeding dogs for about five years. Thus, informed, experienced breeders are continually replaced with uninformed, inexperienced breeders who may not be as aware of the problems associated with HD or of the importance of participating in a screening program. In addition, many breeders choose which dogs they breed on the basis of the hip phenotype of individual dogs without knowledge of the phenotype of related dogs or previous offspring. It can be very difficult to get hip information on siblings and previous offspring due to the overall low number of dogs radiographed in a given litter (most dogs in a litter end up in pet homes). This is the slowest method of reducing the incidence of an undesirable trait or increasing the incidence of a desirable trait. The use of preliminary radiographs as early as 4 months of age can be used by breeders to add valuable information on the hip status of dogs they choose to use in a breeding program.
What can breeders do? Hip dysplasia appears to be perpetuated by breeder imposed breeding practices, but when breeders and their breed clubs recognize HD as a problem and establish reduction of HD as a priority, improvement of the hip status can be accomplished without jeopardizing other desirable traits. Prospective buyers should check pedigrees and/or verify health issues with the breeder. If suitable documentation is not available, assume the worst until proven otherwise.
Do not ignore the dog with a fair hip evaluation. The dog is still within normal limits. For example; a dog with fair hips but with a strong hip background and over 75% of its brothers and sisters being normal is a good breeding prospect. A dog with excellent hips, but with a weak family background and less than 75% of its brothers and sisters being normal is a poor breeding prospect.
OFA's Recommended Breeding Principals

• Breed normals to normals

• Breed normals with normal ancestry

• Breed normals from litters (brothers/sisters) with a low incidence of HD

• Select a sire that produces a low incidence of HD

• Replace dogs with dogs that are better than the breed average

OFA CLEAR BY PARENTAGE POLICYAs a greater number of DNA based disease tests become available, a policy regarding the clearing of offspring out of DNA tested parents has become necessary.
For direct mutant gene tests only, the OFA will issue clearances to untested offspring:

• If the sire and dam have both been DNA tested “Clear,”

• If the sire and dam’s DNA disease test results have been OFA registered, and

• If all three (sire/dam/offspring) have been DNA identity profiled and parentage verified.

The DNA profile paperwork must be submitted along with a completed OFA DNA-based disease test application. The resulting OFA certification will have a suffix of “CBP” (clear by parentage), indicating that the dog itself was not tested and that the clearance was based on the sire and dam’s test results, and known science at the time. Because of the possibility of new mutations or as of yet undiscovered gene mutations, only first generation offspring will be cleared. https://www.cabi.org/animalscience/news/22202
For linkage or marker based tests where a margin of error including both false positives and negatives exists, the OFA will not issue any clearances to untested dogs.
DNA based disease screening is an evolving area. This policy is subject to change by action of the OFA Board of Directors as technology and science advance.

Environmental Factors Can Affect the Incidence of Hip Dysplasia 

A study by Norwegian researcher Randi Krontveit indicates that conditions in early puppyhood can affect the appearance or severity of hip dysplasia in genetically predisposed dogs. Article by Claudia Bensimoun There's probably no better subject on evidence-based dog health care than the benefits and risks of early-age preventive measures for hip dysplasia. Because hip dysplasia is a hereditary developmental disease in which the hip joint fails to develop properly, determining both the genetic and environmental factors would help eliminate the disease through informed breeding and training practices. Although hip dysplasia is a hereditary condition, a recent doctoral research study by Randi Krontveit at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science examined the role that environmental factors played in its development. Hip dysplasia is a genetic disease. Dogs are not born with hip dysplasia, but puppies that are genetically predisposed to it may develop it in varying degrees. The severity of hip dysplasia has an effect on when the dogs show symptoms of this disease and on how long they tend to live. Any dog can develop hip dysplasia, but the condition is most common in large dogs such as the Newfoundlands, Rottweilers, Golden Retrievers, Saint Bernards, and German Shepherd dogs.

Previous studies have indicated that rapid growth in a puppy and a high body weight were factors that increased the likelihood of developing hip dysplasia. But Krontveit's study showed something different. Hip dysplasia (HD) in dogs is affected to a larger degree than previously believed by the environment in which puppies grow up. It is particularly during the period from birth to three months that various environmental factors appear to influence the development of this disease. During the puppy stage, preventive measures can therefore be recommended with a view to giving dogs disposed to the condition a better quality of life. Another factor that may influence the development of hip dysplasia in dogs is exercise. Many breeders will advise against exercising a pup to prevent the development of orthopedic conditions. Nonetheless, veterinarians believe that gentle, low impact exercise can be beneficial for pups, but that all forced exercise beyond what a puppy would normally do should be avoided. Veterinarians maintain that running should be avoided until a puppy is physically mature, and that puppies should stay away from high impact sports such as jumping and agility. Both of these activities are believed to be traumatic on a puppy's immature joints.

Randi Krontveit's research indicates that rapid growth and high body weight in the first year of the pup's life did not result in an increased risk of hip dysplasia. The study finds that the breed with the slowest growth rate, the Newfoundland, had the highest incidence of hip dysplasia(36%). The Irish Wolfhound had the lowest incidence of hip dysplasia (10%), yet the highest growth rate. Puppies live together with their mother at the breeder's home (or other location) for the first eight weeks of their life. Dr.Krontveit found several factors related to the living conditions at the breeder's were shown to have an influence on the incidence of hip dysplasia. The study suggests that puppies born in the spring or summer, and to breeders who lived on a farm or a similiar area, had a lower risk of developing hip dysplasia. Then, after about eight weeks, the puppies began a new life with their owners. Through observations, Krontveit confirmed that the opportunity to exercise daily in parks up until the age of three months reduced the risk of hip dysplasia. But the daily use of steps during the same period increased the risk of hip dysplasia. The study reveals that daily exercise outdoors in gently undulating terrain up until the age of three months is very helpful in preventing hip dysplasia. Five hundred privately owned dogs participated in this study. The four breeds included were the Newfoundland, the Labrador Retriever, the Leonberger and the Irish Wolfhound. The dogs involved in the research were tracked through questionnaires that were completed by the breeder and the new owner, as well as by examinations by veterinarians. Krontveit's researchers followed up on the dogs until they reached 10 years of age. They found that dogs that were seriously affected with hip dysplasia were euthanized earlier than dogs that had a milder form of hip dysplasia. Newfoundlands and Leonbergers tended to suffer from the more serious forms of hip dysplasia. Hip dysplasia did not have such a large effect on the longevity of Labrador Retrievers or Irish Wolfhounds. Krontveit found that serious and moderate degrees of hip dysplasia increased the risk of all hip dysplasia symptoms such as limping and hip pain and that these symptoms occurred the earliest in the Newfoundlands. Labrador Retrievers was the breed in which symptoms appeared much later on in life.

Labrador Retrievers, like this one, were one of the breeds used on Krontveit's study. Photo courtesy of Marit Stormoen. Through observations, Krontveit confirmed that varied exercise had a positive effect and dogs that exercised on a daily basis on a leash as well as running free in different types of terrain were free of symptoms longer than the dogs that were less active. She adds that canine hip dysplasia in its most serious forms can be prevented, and that the life quality of dogs improves if preventative measures related to early canine life is introduced. "I also will highlight that the breeds included in our research are large breeds and that the results might not be directly transferable to small breeds," Krontveit says. Unfortunately, older puppies do not benefit in the same way from free exercise.

Krontveit says, "Based on our research, I can say that none of the exercise parameters we registered seemed to have any effect on hip dysplasia risk after approximately three months of age. [This means] that preventive efforts probably are most effective before this age. Having said that, I would still recommend that genetically prone pups should be exercised regularly to strengthen musculature, but extensive jumping/stair use, etcetera should be avoided until growth is completed (at approximately 12 months)." To obtain more information about this research, you can contact Dr.Krontveit at randi.krontveit@nvh.no and visit www.nvh.no/en/Home/News/News-stories/A-number-of-environmental-factors-can-affect-the-incidence-of-hip-dysplasia-in-dogs/
Resources: 1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20956024 2.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120326112842.htm. 3. http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/hip-dysplasia-in-dogs.html