YOUR PET'S HEALTH

HIP DYSPLASIA IN DOGS (HD)
= bad development or positioning of one or both hip joints

- dogs can have hip dyplasia from birth or can get it during their growth period

- HD concerns either the femoral head or the acetabulum or both

- mainly German Shepards get this malformation, but also other large breeds (Labrador Retriever, Berger de Beauce, ...)

- diagnosis is based on X-rays of the hip joints; different degrees of HD can be noticed that way :

A : no signs of HD (see photo # 1)

B : transitional case

C :slight HD

D :medium HD (see photo # 2)

E :severe HD (see photo # 3)

- prognosis : depending on the degree of HD; usually leads to coxarthrosis which causes a lot of pain (see photo # 4)

- treatment : anti-inflammatory drugs; surgery for the severe cases

- as a preventive measure, breeders should only breed with dogs which don't show any signs of hip displasia