Belfield DVM cures HD - Page 1

I am not sure that I read or understood the article on the vet's web site, so I decided to present here what I think I read.

He said that HD is not hereditary. This is how it is prevented.

One gives the bitch throughout her pregnancy [amount unknown] Mega C Plus. Then when the pups are two hours old, give them two drops of the above product.

And where does one obtain this product? Of course, from him.

He also recommends OSS which is ovary saving surgery. This procedure evidently is quite common in England. Now did he invent this procedure?

We've been supplementing bitch and puppies with vit c for years. Puppies that stay with me longer have better hip joint conformation and no dysplasia. It could also be free exercise all the time, keeping them slim, etc etc. I don't believe it's hereditary in many cases. I feel that diet, exercise, and weight play a very big role in the development of dysplasia.

.02

It all sounds like BS but I would say prevent, not sure HD.

Cure*

Old news. I still have a copy of the first printing of his book...I believe it first came out in the early 80's [can't check right now, as all of my books are still packed from the move].

While I will say up front that like melba, I do give my dogs Vitamin C from the day I first bring them home until the day they draw their last breath, some of Dr. Belfield's claims are questionable in that the results he said he had hasn't been replicated when others attempt to verify the supplementation is doing precisely what he claimed it has done.

I would guess if reading your post Dr. Belfield would state go to your medicine cabinet and get started, buy or dont buy on the website. Before the fall of the wall the east line had numbers in the high 90's of A hips. Its my guess it was not due to the radiographs and good hips being passed but due to dogs with higher then normal natural Vit C production being passed to the progeny. Dosage Alamance is individual dependent. When they get they runs back off a tad.

In her book "Four Paws, Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and Dogs", Cheryl Schwartz, DVM, suggests the following dosages for health maintenance:

Puppies and Small Dogs: 250 mg daily
Medium-sized Dogs: 500 mg daily
Large Dogs: 750 mg daily
Senior Dogs: 500-1,000 mg daily per 40-50 pounds of body weight

Ester C was the type of C that was used   Here is an article that is in working dogs that explains the idea

 

http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0039.htm

Breeders get excited about any scrap of data separating HD from genetics....unless they are poo-pooing another breeders lines.

Interesting point, vk!

Alamance tells us that OSS is apparently common practice
in England; this came up in another thred recently where
I pointed out (from the UK) that actually, its not.

So now we know this empty assertion is coming from ('Dr'?)
Belfield; along with an exhortation to use Vitamin C in some
form to 'cure' HD. I thought the claims for vit.C to be some
sort of 'cure' - so how does it actually WORK then, does
Belfield say ? - had been discredited years ago. But I suppose
new generations of owners, new opportunities to sell old snake
oil ...

I agree 100% with Melba.
I guess in some cases it could be hereditary, but I believe in most instances it is environmental.
Say what you will, my pups are sold mostly for pets, blah, blah, blah...
thats why I have no HD reports (as if pet people can t tell a crippling ailment as well as sport show people).
The way a pup is reared, from the second it is born, plays a big role in how its joints develope.
You can t tell me that a puppy that is whelped in a stupid plastic pool, with only paper or i have seen numerous pics of no liners, will have the same hips as those pups that are provided comfort and footing for nursing.
What effect would you really expect from newborns, with soft bones who have their hind legs, grasping for grip while nursing to have....
I would guess those would be the 'dogs' without hip sockets.
Proper nutrition and exercise is a must.
My pups get high protein from the git go. AND, my pups are NEVER crated or cooped up.
3 weeks they are started on raw beef with cooked turkey. They run and play until THEY have had enough, not til I have time for them to run and play.
As soon as they can get up and down the 3 steps to the back yard on their own, they have woods and yard fenced to explore.
A well fed German Shepherd will not do more than, or less than his energy level calls for.
My pups are treated very well, heating pads and blankets from day one, total nutrition and exercise as soon as they are ready, out doing chores and hikes very early on, and at the end of the day, i have produced healthy happy pups that i am more than proud of, free of HD, ED, EPI, mega E and any other plague the breed has been subjected to from the GREEDERS involved in the breed. HEALTH BEFORE PROFIT
Yeah, it takes lots of time and effort to do it right, but thats the only way to do it if you want to have great dogs and the reputation for producing such dogs to follow.