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 Losing a much-loved gundog in her prime is a heart-wrenching experience. But, as RAY WALTERS, explains canine hip dysplasia can be avoided
Most of us who own and work dogs are aware to a certain degree the problems of hip dysplasia. However, not until we have a dog struck down by dysplasia do we really take time to think about and consider it.
Having just had to make the heart-wrenching decision to have my best springer spaniel put down at the age of six as a result of this awful condition, I thought it time to investigate the problem further.
Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a congenital disease that causes the hip joints in affected dogs to grow abnormally. This causes the joint to become loose and wobbly and eventually leads to a form of arthritis which is commonly referred to as degenerative joint disease (DJD)
The breeds that gundog people most commonly recognize as being affected by CHD are probably the Labrador and the golden retriever.
When I breed or buy in Labradors great care is taken to ensure that hip scoring has been done and that the scores are below the breed mean score. Unfortunately, I was less careful when I bought my spaniel as you don’t very often hear of spaniels with CHD… do you?
Well, if you take a close look at the British Veterinary Association / Kennel Club Hip Dysplasia Scheme you will soon find that a great many of our gundog breeds are affected by hip dysplasia.
Generally the larger breeds seem to suffer the most. Labradors, golden retrievers, flat coats, vizlas are all there on the list, but so too are springer and cocker spaniels. Indeed, their breed mean score is on a par with that of the Labrador. It would seem that all our gundog breeds have the potential to be affected by this crippling disease. This is a fact that we should all consider when breeding or selecting a puppy.
The symptoms of CHD can vary enormously from dog to dog and are affected by factors such as breed, age, fitness, and weight. In some of the larger breeds the symptoms can become apparent early on in the dogs first year. This can allow for successful long term treatment by your vet. However, dependent on weight, fitness etc some dogs can show no signs for many years, only to be suddenly struck down after some form of trauma.
This is what happened earlier this year to my springer spaniel, Midge. She was six years old and had never had a day’s lameness in her life. She was lean, fit and well muscled and this obviously helped to keep the dysplasia hidden for so long. It was not until she twisted herself in some very thick undergrowth whilst picking up that the first sign of trouble showed itself.
She returned to my side and became very subdued, refusing to leave me. She was still walking fine but I had to lift her into the back of the truck where she stayed for the rest of the morning.
Not suspecting anything more serious than a sprain I rested her under a heat lamp that night and gave her some anti inflammatory medication.
In retrospect, it is easy to see that this should have been an indicator. Other symptoms that I could have expected would have been; lameness, stiffness after lying down, reluctance to jump or climb steps and an obviously painful reaction to exertion of the rear legs when stretching.
Midge did become very hunched up when she walked but still tried to get into the back of the truck with the other dogs to go to work. Seldom have I seen a dog look more sad and confused than she did when I left her behind to rest in the kennel.
If like midge your dog starts to show any of the typical signs and has not responded to rest then get him to the vet and let the vet give him a good going over.
The vet will want to know things about your dog such as; is there a family history of CHD? Were both parents hip scored? What food has he been fed? How much exercise does he get? The answers to these questions will help the vet to build up a picture of the dogs’ life prior to the problem and will aid in the successful diagnosis.
The vet’s x-ray shows how seriously Midge’s hip was affected.
As with my spaniel, the vet will then carry out x-rays of the dog’s hips and will be able to tell from these if, and to what extent, the dog is suffering from CHD.
 The diagrams here show the difference between normal hips and dysplastic ones (click on diagram for larger image) and your vet will be able to tell you at a glance just how badly your dog is affected. The x-ray is that taken of Midge and shows that her hips were badly dysplastic and that despite her calmness she must have been in considerable pain.
If the problem is found early enough in pups there are many ways, including surgery in which the vet will be able to alleviate the pain.
Treatments for CHD can vary dependent upon the age of the dog and the severity of the condition. In young dogs this treatment can include pain killing medication together with balancing of diet and reduction/monitoring of exercise. This sort of treatment will often see the dogs’ condition settle down by the age of two. If not then surgery to improve hip stability, relieve pain or replace hip joints may be an option.
Similar treatments may be used in older dogs and can be effective but full recovery is obviously less likely and the animals’ quality of life should always be given serious consideration.
In this operation three bones cuts are made to free the socket of the hip joint from the rest of the pelvis. The socket is then rotated to provide better coverage and secured with bone plates to maintain the new position and allow the bone cuts to mend.
This operation is generally for large breed dogs no older than ten months that only have mild CHD and no arthritis.
In this operation the head of the femur (ball) is removed. The remaining portion of the femur forms a false joint with muscle, tendons and ligaments. This surgery will see a great reduction in pain and is far more effective in small dogs, with many experiencing an almost normal function of the hip.
In this operation the head and neck of the femur are both replaced with either stainless steel or titanium implants. It tends to be carried out on younger dogs that are physically mature but it can be carried out on older dogs too.
Unfortunately Midge did not respond to pain relief medication and the operations didn’t look likely to offer a meaningful cure so after much reasoning and questioning I took the decision to put her down. She now lies beneath her favourite tree in the garden.
Canine hip dysplasia is a condition of genetic and environmental factors and we, as responsible owners, can play a serious part in helping to reduce it in future generations. Unfortunately dogs with good hip scores can still carry the genes responsible for the condition, so two good parents will not guarantee problem-free offspring. This is discussed on the gundog pages conference report on the BASC website. But by conscientiously breeding from dogs with good scores dysplasia can be dramatically reduced. To help achieve this:
- Ensure you only buy puppies from hip-scored parents regardless of the breed.
- Talk to your vet or other owners about exercise, feeding, food supplements etc during the first year of a dog’s life.
- If you intend to breed a litter of pups, then get the sire and dam hip scored and act responsibly.
- Remember CHD can and does affect most breeds of gundog from Labs to pointers, springers to cockers.
- Do your home work and hopefully you won’t have to suffer the pain and anguish of losing a cherished friend and companion to this horrible disease.
In simple terms hip dysplasia means that the hip joint is loose or ill-fitting. It is possible to predict whether this is, or may become, a serious problem by x-raying a dog’s joints and taking a series of measurements.
In the UK an assessment scheme is run jointly by the Kennel Club and the British Veterinary Association (BVA.) X-rays, taken by your own vet when the dog is at least 12 month old, are sent to the BVA where each film is examined by two expert vets. Nine different measurements are examined from each hip joint and allocated a score, ranging from 0 (perfect) to 6 (worst).
Your dog’s score can them be compared with the average for the breed – the breed mean score. Dogs should only be used for breeding if their hip score is well below the average for that breed, and if you are buying a puppy you should ask to see the hip scores for both the parents and, if possible, the grandparents too.
You will find a full description of the scheme on the BVA website.
Canine hip dysplasia is a condition of genetic and environmental factors and we, as responsible owners, can play a serious part in helping to reduce it in fuure generations.
- Ensure you only buy puppies from hip-scored parents regardless of the breed.
- Talk to your vet or other owners about exercise, feeding, food supplements etc during the first year of a dogs life.
- If you intend to breed a litter of pups, then get the sire and dam hip scoredand act responsibly.
- Remember CHD can and does affect most breeds of gundog from Labs to pointers, springers to cockers.
- Do your home work and hopefully you won't have to suffer the pain and anguish of losing a cherished friend and companion to this horrible disease.
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