Can you prevent hip dysplasia in dogs? If i give my 9 wk pup lots of exercise will it prevent it?
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at
2:24 pm
Tagged with: dogs • dysplasia • exercise • give • lots • prevent
Filed under: hip dysplasia in dogs treatment
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a formula called Sasha’s Blend. You sprinkle it on its food
A good diet and lots of exercise is a start but if it’s going to happen it’s going to happen. There’s no alot else you can do about it.
It’d genetic and exercise will not prevent it. Good breeders screen their dogs for it before breeding them because it can’t be treated successfully.
9 wks? No, pups at that age shouldnt recieve to much excersize, that could actually worsen it.
Hip dysplasia is primarily a genetic disorder most prevalent in the larger breeds of dogs that cannot be prevented. However, injury can exacerbate the symptoms and the wrong kind of exercise in young pups can cause injury. While exercise-play is good, allowing them to jump off or onto high surfaces can damage the joints.
Proper feed and management will help. Actually, you can overdo it with exercise. A 9 week old puppy is a baby…joints are still forming and growing, so the pounding of a serious exercise regimine would not necessarily be the best thing. And, as the radiologist at my nearest university told me once…. a certain percentage of hip dysplasia incidents are hereditary….a certain percentage are environmentally caused….and a certain percentage are just “sh*t happens”. (I asked him questions after one of my young show prospects turned out mildly dysplastic…..kept in good condtion, fed well, 4 generations of OFA certified dogs behind her….)
Hip problems are genetic in nature, hence real breeders X-ray their dogs for the problem. Hip dysplasia can occur if a Young dog has an accident or is exercised too vigorously for his age and development. Giving your dog exercise will not prevent it if he/she is genetically disposed to it.
No it is part of the breeds genetic composition……..have you had your dog x-rayed and certified that they do not carry this trait?…. breeders who have breeds that are pron to this usually will pay to have them certified…….or ask if they have done or will do it before purchase…….It does help to keep their weight stable and healthy exercise routine……..
Buying from a breeder that has hips tested will be a start.. Good quality dog food, and making sure that you don’t allow your young puppy/ dog to jump down stairs, or jump out of pick up trucks, avoid jogging on hard surfaces.. Things that are hard on the hips. You want him to grow and develop properly before you start any kind of aggressive exercise like that..
They also say that if you give your dog vitamin c it helps.. I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s what they say.
But just a lot of exercise isn’t going to make sure that the hip socket develops properly.. Proper growth, good diet, things like that are going to make more of a difference than anything.
Displaysia is generally associated with genetic predisposition, but keeping the dog at a proper weight with sufficient exercise can help minimize the effects and delay the onset. Don’t get obsessive about exercise, though, you don’t want to cause injury to the young pups by pushing them too hard. Remember, the growth plates in their bones are still growing and can easily fracture if they are too rough.
Proper weight is the most important of all, even more so than exercise. Hips, knees, and elbows are common victims of overweight dogs who are active. Keeping your dogs at a healthy weight (no number can define, go by looks) for their lifetimes will help relieve stress on the joints, ligaments, and also their endocrine and digestive systems (help prevent pancreatitis, diabetes, and so forth).
Hip dysplasia is a hereditary structural deformity. The best way is to make sure your pups parents & ancestors were x-rayed clear. Yet, it is still transmitted various ways. Some fanciers suggest running on stones, climbing, & swimming to strengthen muscles around the hips, and this will lessen negative effects, but Google your breed hipdysplasia treatments.
Recent studies show that it is the calcium-phosphorus ratios and high calorie levels that increase the risk of hip dysplasia, not the protein intake as some research had suggested. Some suggest that calcium should be .8 or .9 percent and phosphorus should be .7 percent. A lot of dog food is much higher than that. Also some still suggest keeping the protein level down from the higher puppy chow percentage.
Dont exercise her just now!! You will damage her hips!! Try to give her only ten minutes a day at first then gradually build it up! another way to look at it is giver her 5 mins for every month of her life i.e if she is 5 months she gets 25 minutes
It is a genetic problem, However good feeding is a must, I recommend either Eukanuba, Iams or science diet large breed puppy formula, It has all the calcium the pup will need as well as Glycosymine in them. They products are a bit dearer but well worth it, you can actually do a lot of damage if you add calcium yourself and add the wrong amount, you can end up with skeletal defects.
When you buy a large breed puppy I recommend buying from a reparable breed, and I wouldn’t buy a pup of a dog with a hip score over 10. But even this is not a promise that the pup will not have problems.
Don’t let your dog carry excessive weight, you should be able to stand above your dog and look down and just see where the rib cage ends. If in doubt ask your vet what weight your dog should be.
http://www.acay.com.au/~dissi/sbc/hipdys.htm
My vet, and the research I did before buying my puppy, informed me that there are three conributors to hip dysplasia:
1. Genetics
2. Diet
3. Exercise
The best way to avoid genetic problems is to ensure that your dog’s parents are both certified Good or better by OFA.
A high-protein diet can lead to too-fast growth in puppies, which contributes to the disease.
Allowing a puppy to jump too high or too frequently before six months of age also can cause joint disorders that lead to hip dysplasia.
I hope this information is helpful.
Feed the puppy a high quality food … and keep him lean, dogs that are overweight as pups have more of a tendency towards crippling hip dysplasia (hip dysplasia comes in various degrees and while you cannot prevent it since it is partially genetic, you can affect the severity).
Keep the pup in good condition, but do not over exercise and absolutely no FORMAL exercise (ie: jogging on concrete) until the pup has grown and is fully an adult.
Your best bet is to buy a pup from a breeder who has screened its parents. Since you already have the pup, just keep it in shape, feed it well and what happens happens.
It’s a genetic problem for the most part, but some things add to the development of dysplasia.
The best advice has 4 aspects-
Buy from a breeder with dogs that have their hips checked
Do not alter too early
Do not over exercise
Watch protein intake