Dog Health Canine Hip Dysplasia - The Free Dog Owner's Special e-Edition

Dog Health Problems

Dog health problems are on the increase and one of the most common is canine hip dysplasia. If you have ever had a pet that exhibits this dog health problem, you'l know how frustrating it can be.

I came upon the following article that covers a lot of ground relating to this dog health problem that afflicts so many of our pets.

Ask any veterinarian what is the hardest and most frustrating dog disease there is and most of them are certain to answer, "canine hip dysplasia." Canine hip dysplasia or CHD is a condition wherein the dog's thigh bone does not properly fit into the hip socket.

In this scenario, the cartilage becomes damaged, the joint slowly gets destroyed, and the dog experiences pain and swelling in the affected area. Hip dysplasia in dogs is not the same as hip arthritis. However, dog hip dysplasia is one cause of hip arthritis in dogs. The pain caused by this dog health problem is severe and very debilitating.

Canine Hip Dysplasia Can Be Inherited

Some experts believe that canine hip dysplasia is a genetic disease. If an adult dog has dog hip dysplasia, it will pass the disease on to its offspring. To prevent hip dysplasia in dogs from spreading, the only solution is to not breed dogs that have the disease. One can prevent this dog health problem before it starts. The solution sounds very simple and straightforwards, but it can be a challenge to actually do it because the symptoms of canine hip dysplasia are not easy to identify in dogs. In fact, there are dogs that do have canine hip dysplasia but the symptoms are not visible until it is too late or the dogs have already been bred. In addition, dogs that are perfectly normal can have the gene for canine hip dysplasia, and they are bred, which causes the disease to be passed on. This is a common problem with registered breeds that develope all sorts of genetic dog health problems due to in-breeding.

Symptoms of Canine Hip Dysplasia

Usually, dogs with CHD appears lethargic and do not move around much. They often have a hard time getting up when they are sitting, have lameness in the back of their legs, and dislike going up the stairs. Dogs with CHD also tend to hop like a rabbit when they are running. The symptoms of canine hip dysplasia generally don't show themselves until dogs are in their middle age. However, there have been cases when dogs as young as five or six months exhibited the symptoms of canine hip dysplasia.

Diagnosing Hip Dysplasia in Dogs

Currently, it is still not possible to determine if a dog is carrying the dog hip dysplasia gene or not. Canine hip dysplasia cannot be determined by a blood test or genetic test. Instead, veterinarians are able to diagnose the condition by physically examining the dog and taking x-rays routinely. X-rays help veterinarians assess how far along the disease is and how effective the treatment is helping. Dogs with hip dysplasia can be x-rayed using two techniques: the hip-extended ventrodorsal view x-ray, and the PennHIP radiography technique. The hip-extended ventrodorsal view x-ray gives the veterinarian a frontal view of the hip-joints and pelvis, providing the veterinarian the best view as to how severe the condition is.

PennHIP radiography is an x-ray technique that is often used to see if there are any hip looseness in dogs.

Treatment Options for Hip Dysplasia in Dogs

Unfortunately, canine hip dysplasia is not yet a curable disease. However, dogs diagnosed with hip dysplasia have non-surgical treatment options available to them in order to relieve them of the symptoms of canine hip dysplasia. One non-surgical treatment option is the use of pain and anti-inflammation medications. Some of the CHD drugs include Deramaxx, Ectogesic and Rimadyl.

These drugs have been found to be effective at relieving dogs of pain and inflammation, enabling them to live normal lives. Other non-surgical treatment options include physical therapy, controlled exercise and weight loss programs.If the non-surgical treatment options are not adequate, surgery is the only other treatment option. With surgery, the malformed joint can be corrected, thus eliminating the cause of the hip pain. When dealing with hip dysplasia in dogs, there are two ways to approach surgery: prophylactic surgery and therapeutic surgery. Prophylactic surgery is undertaken in order to stop the arthritis and joint problems from progressing.

Therapeutic surgery, on the other hand, is undertaken to treat hips that already has arthritis.Currently, the primary preventive surgical procedure for dogs with hip dysplasia is the triple pelvic osteotomy. In this procedure, the pelvis is cut in three different places and the hip sockets are rotated. This type of surgery is recommended for dogs whose arthritis has not yet set in or joint is not yet damaged. Pubic symphysiodesis is another preventive surgery that can be done, but only on very young dogs. This type of surgery involves manipulating the pelvis so that it grows in such a way that the hip is connected tighter. The effectiveness of this procedure is still under study.

Total hip replacement and femoral head ostectomy are two types of therapeutic surgeries available for dogs with hip dysplasia. Larger dogs with canine hip dysplasia are often the recipient of total hip replacement. In this procedure, the socket is replaced with a high density medical plastic and a non-corrosive alloy is used as a ball joint. This type of surgery enjoys a high rate of success. Dogs who undergo total hip replacement are able to resume activity and live a normal life that is free of pain.The femoral head ostectomy, on the other hand, is a type of therapeutic surgery wherein the top of the femur is removed.

As a result, the painful grinding that the dog with hip dysplasia experiences at the hip joint is eliminated. The femur is made to freely float, which causes scar tissue to form. This scar tissue then acts as a false joint. Femoral head ostectomy is not advised for dogs with mild cases of arthritis. It is most effective when done on dogs that are smaller and well-muscled.*

Prevention of Canine Hip Dysplasia

Careful breeding is one of the best way to prevent the spread of hip dysplasia in dogs. Dogs who are predisposed to CHP can be helped by controlling their weight while they are still young and making sure the hips do not take on any undue stress. If the onset of canine hip dysplasia cannot be delayed any longer, dog owners can look into dog insurance packages to help cover costs of CHD surgery. In addition, potential dog owners should look for information on breed risk before acquiring puppies. It is best to make sure that puppies being sold have an OFA, PennHip of GDC certification.

I've hoped you enjoyed this Canine Hip Dysplasia article. Learn more interesting facts about dog health and dog allergies from http://www.dognpuppies.com, an unbiased source of information for dog and puppy lovers.

What's Natural Health For Dogs and Cats?

Hi All,

I get questions quite often about using vegetarian meals for their dogs and cats for better dog health care. This question usually comes from well meaning and sensitive people who care deeply for their animals and also for the lives of farm animals. It goes against their beliefs to kill something for their dog food and they are looking for alternatives that are healthy dog food options.

Well, both cats and dogs are carnivors and there is no getting a round that. If you feed tham a vegetarian dog food diet your animals will suffer all sorts of problems. They need to eat meat in order to survive. Their systems are designed to digest meat and not large quantities of vegetable matter.

The majority of dog food related dog health problems are caused by modern commercial pet food being made of mostly vegetable products. If you want to read more about it then visit this dog food site. They have information that will key you in to what your animals are being exposed to.

The best bet for your dogs and cats is to feed them raw natural dog food food that is species appropriate. The effects on your dogs health problems and general well being will amazing. We feed our animals a healthy raw dog food food diet and they haven't seen the vet in years.

Is Dog Health Insurance As Stupid As It Sounds

I came across the following article which I thought you may be interested in. It puts forward the notion that as with humans, the costs of caring for your dog or other pets are getting so high that you will require medical insurance to meet the costs. I will post a comment later on what my take on this is. For now, just have a read through and let me know what you think...

You can insure your house, your car, your boat, and your life, and now, thanks to dog and cat health insurance, Fluffy and Fido can have their own protection, too. But what exactly is it, and is it really as stupid as it sounds? Maybe not. In fact, it could be quite sensible; read on.

This form of insurance isn't about paying you money if the pet dies; it's about giving the pet (or, more realistically, the person taking care of the animal) some money should you die. This option is particularly favored among the elderly, people who are fond of their pets, and know that there is a good chance that their animal will outlive them.

In essence, you pay a certain amount of money monthly to a trust, and, should you die before your animal does, the trust will then pay a certain amount of money monthly to the person designated your pet's guardian in your will. This is an especially desirable option if you already know who you want to look after your pet should you die--someone both you and your pet like--but you're concerned that they not be saddled with the cost of caring for your pet. This can be a wise investment choice for both you and Fluffy or Fido.

But dog and cat health insurance must be handled carefully. Don't purchase it and then start looking for someone to manage the money and care for your pet when you're gone; greed may cause your animal to get the rotten end of the stick. Instead, find someone you trust. Discuss the possibility of their taking care of your pet when you die. If it's someone you feel comfortable with, and someone your pet seems to genuinely like, then you may wish to let them know that you've purchased pet insurance to help with the costs of pet care after you're gone. Before that, however, it's never a good idea.

A similar idea, with similar problems, is a pet trust, where a certain amount of money is put into a special savings account, with the interest going to help pay for pet care after your death. The same problems exist here as with insurance--namely, finding someone you can trust to care for the pet--but there are some significant differences. For instance, with a trust, a large lump sum is generally required to start the trust, with the option of adding to it later on; with insurance, you make monthly payments.

Over time they can add up to more than the trust would cost, but the money is spread out. Plus, depending on the interest rate you've gone with, you can have to come up with quite a large sum of money to begin with, just to make those cat food payments. With insurance, you're guaranteed the amount you signed up for, no matter what.

But, in the end, it isn't as much about trust funds versus dog and cat health insurance as it is setting aside a little something ensure that your best friend isn't forgotten after you're gone.

Craig Thornburrow is an acknowledged expert in his field. You can get more free advice on pet insurance and pet medical insurance at http://www.petinsurancegroup.com


Let me know what you think about these pet dog health issues. Because I think that something is drastically wrong when you've got start insuring against diseases and disorders that are the result of incorrect feeding and poor quality dog food.

What I've Just Learn't About Dog Health Care

Hi all,

If you have the time then may I suggest that you pop over to this Dog Health Care site. I've been reading up on what is in our commercial foods and it makes for very interesting reading.

The information here could literally save your dog's life.

I've always advocated feeding a natural and healthy diet to my dogs and the information here does a better job of convincing you than I could.

Have a great weekend and speak to you next week.