Canine Hip Dysplasia - Symptoms
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| Definition | Risk Factors | Effects |
| Symptoms | Diagnosis | Prevention |
Symptoms of Hip Dysplasia
The symptoms of CHD can be the same as those often found in many other ailments: hip soreness, difficulty arising or climbing inclines, and limping. However, a few very specific symptoms can be signs of CHD:
Bunny Hopping: The dog tends to use both hind legs together, rather than one at a time. This occurs when the dog is running or going up stairs.
Side Sit: Also called lazy sit, slouch, or frog sit. When the dog sits, its legs are not positioned bent and close to the body. They can be loose and off to one side, or one or both legs may be straight out in front.
Sway Walk: Also called a loose walk. When the dog is walking, the back end sways back and forth because the hips are loose. The dog seems to be tiptoeing or walking very lightly on its rear legs. A dysplastic dog will be reluctant to jump or "stand up" on its hind legs.
Unusual Lying Position:Legs are straight out and off to the side when the dog is lying on its stomach or legs are straight out behind the dog. (All dogs lie with their legs behind them on occasion, but many dogs with hip dysplasia lie like this all the time.)
Limping: The dog may favor one hind leg or the other, and
may alternate legs that it is favoring.
Doesn’t Jump: Not only does the dog not jump on you, it seems to pull itself
up by its front end onto furniture instead of jumping up.
Underdeveloped Hind Quarters and Overdeveloped Chest: This is caused by the failure to use the hind legs normally and jump. The dog also may actually be shifting weight forward.
Occasionally the symptoms break down by age:
Symptoms in young dogs: Puppies who are already in pain from hip CHD tend to be very good puppies. They do not roughhouse the way that normal puppies do, and they tend to sleep for a long time after playing or going for a walk. Some owners describe their puppy as the best puppy they’ve ever had. The second warning sign is a puppy that runs with both back legs nearly together, almost as a bunny hop (see above). After exercise the puppy might be reluctant to rise, will sit back as if unsteady, and (this will be most apparent) will have difficulty climbing stairs or inclines. The puppy might look slightly underdeveloped in the rear quarters. When it stands the rear legs may not be parallel, but rather too close together at the ankles. This is a condition called "cow hocked." An owner might notice a boniness to the pelvic area from lack of good muscle development. Another hint of trouble is an inability to extend the leg backward very far (decreased range of motion).
Signs usually become evident between five and eights months of age. But remember, as we learned above, some dogs do not show any signs at all of hip joint degeneration until adulthood.
Symptoms in breeding dogs: Those looking to breed their dogs (especially for competition) should have an X-ray in all circumstances. In one test case, a Golden Retriever had absolutely no outward symptoms. He jumped and swam and had never shown any kind of lameness. In preparation for breeding, the owner had the dog X-rayed, and the X-ray displayed severe abnormalities in the left hip joint. Were the changes due to a genetic propensity for hip joint abnormalities, or was this actually due to an injury early in the pup's life that impacted the proper growth of the joint structures? No one can say for certain. But if the abnormal hip was due to genetic determiners, why take a chance of the litter having even worse hip joint conformation? (Note: The owner decided not to breed the dog.)
Signs of CHD in older dogs: Some dogs with dysplasia escape pain or simply accept it as a fact of life—at least for the first few phases of life. In fact, they don't complain until degenerative joint disease sets in. Affected older dogs will sit rather than stand, have trouble arising, run with the rear legs together, and be unable to keep up speed on walks. Every veterinarian has been mystified, from time to time, when an X-ray of an older dog who only recently seemed to be having hip trouble revealed extensive degenerative changes in the hips due to long-term dysplasia.
It is very important to keep this fact in mind: A dog can appear normal and
yet have hip dysplasia. Just because a four-year-old dog isn't showing signs
of trouble does not mean it doesn’t have hip dysplasia or won’t in the future.
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