Published in the "Your Pet" column of The Nashua Telegraph.
The column runs on the second and fourth Fridays of each month.
My puppy has hip dysplasia. What does it mean for the future? By itself, not a whole lot. As it is often the case with orthopedic conditions, it really depends on different factors. A puppy diagnosed with hip dysplasia may live a fairly normal life, or it may become crippled enough that a total hip replacement becomes necessary.
But first of all, what is HD? It is a genetic orthopedic disease. It affects most mammal species, but is particularly common in medium and large breed dogs. Owners of German shepherds, rottweilers, Labrador, golden or other retrievers know it all too well.
Unlike the disease in human infants, canine HD is developmental. Puppies are born normal, but as they grow, HD and hip pain set in. This is because the "ball" of the hip joint does not perfectly fit in its "socket." This results in hip laxity and ultimately, the ball sits partially or completely out of the socket. As a consequence, small tears in the joint capsule are produced and arthritis sets in.
"How do I know if my dog has HD?" It is not necessarily, easy since the symptoms for HD are not specific. Dogs show some discomfort in the rear legs, but these signs are shared by many other diseases other than HD. Owners of dysplastic dogs most commonly report these complaints:
- Difficulty jumping or climbing.
- Stiffness and slowness to get up or to lie down.
- Sudden reluctance to continue or slowing down during walks.
- Limping, short-stride gait or "bunny hopping" (walk like a rabbit) in the rear legs.
- Skinny rear legs because of muscle atrophy.
- Athletic or working dogs stop performing at their prior optimal level.
- In extreme cases, the dog becomes protective of his hips and even aggressive when touched in the area.
- These signs tend to get worse after a period of rest or exercise. They also vary, with good and bad days (especially cold and wet days, not so rare in New England!).
If you suspect your dog has HD, the first step is to contact your veterinarian for an evaluation. Only your veterinarian will be able to tell if HD is present, but also if it is the actual cause of the lameness and the pain. Many of the dogs I see in consultations for HD actually have something else.
Once the diagnosis of HD is established, the treatment options will be dictated by the dog's overall condition, function (sedentary pet or athletic dog), age, clinical signs and status of the hips (intact anatomy or arthritic joint). Also, dysplastic dogs should not be bred because HD is a genetic disease.
For mild cases, the conservative management is just fine. This is a multi-modality approach consisting of weight reduction, lifestyle modification, special diet, food supplement (combination of glucosamine, chondroitin and other substances) and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Never use any other NSAID than the one prescribed by your veterinarian, since human NSAID can be toxic in dogs.
For more advanced cases, different surgical procedures are available. For younger dogs with intact hips, some procedures are designed to prevent the development of arthritis. These are called the juvenile pubic symphysiodesis in a very young dog, and the triple pelvic osteotomy in older, but less than a year old, dogs.
Once hip arthritis is present and the previously described conservative treatment stops working, other surgical procedures are necessary. These include total hip replacement, which uses a completely new prosthetic joint to replace the severely arthritic hip, and femoral head and neck ostectomy, for small dogs, where the ball of the hip joint with its base is removed, resulting in the formation of scar tissue in place of the arthritic hip joint.
Long story short, no need to panic. The chances are good that your puppy will be a happy dog most of his life with minimal precautions, good nutrition and intermittent use of NSAID. For the less fortunate dogs with a more severe form of the disease, different surgical options are available. Even the most severe HD is not a death sentence - far from it.
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