unilateral hip dysplasia - Page 1

I'm curious how common this diagnosis is in the breed.  Is it likely a result of injury when the affected hip is only mildly lax, deep socket, no DJD, but lax enough to not get an OFA number while the other is good?  The dog in question (unfortunately I don't have pictures), also shows almost twice as much laxity through PennHIP in the one hip than the other.   

My Ortho specialist told me he believes over 50% of uni-lateral dysplasia are the result of an injury and he is one of the best.

The following statements are merely my opinions and not supported by scientific facts. I may add that all dogs tend to "favour" one foot just as we do. It has been long thought that the damage to one (1) hip socket can becaused by this preference, as the dog uses this leg to launch himself from a rest or to a faster speed. But, while this does sound somewhat plausible I certainly have seen no supporting data.

Dogs also have a favourite side on that they lie when resting or sleeping and this also has been thought to contribute to this issue. But again-no hard evidence supports it.

We know that the body (be it a dog or human) develops by cellular division shortly after the moment of conception. In a perfect world there would be identical cellular division right-side vs. left side. But of course this is never the case. I tend to place more stock in this theory regarding unilateral hip dysplasie than I do any theories regarding environmental or behavioral factors.

That is, unless there is evidence of an injury from an early age where there was severe stretching of ligaments on one (1) hip joint. Unlike the hip joint construction of we humans, the hip joint of the dog depends entirely on the musculature and connective tissues to maintain it in proper contact. In such a case the stretched connective tissues could allow the development (and eventual damage) of a lax hip joint.

Best Regards,

Bob-O

Observational and opinion only from 40+years - not that common tho in the end most people don't tell you much beyond the hips didn't pass. Suggest you email some of the nicer Brits who frequent the board because their hip scheme grades each hip separately form 0 to 55 or 60(I think it used to be 60 and it got changed but not sure on that). Malcolm Willis collected and published the hip data and the hip production status for a number of years. I do not know if he ever looked at the prevalence of uni lateral.

Again observation only - I have seen a few cases where it seemed to follow the pedigree suggesting it may not just be injury. Finally uni-laterals seem to have more difficulty than bilateral. The thought has always been that it causes an imbalance which then causes wear and tear on the other joint. The few dogs that I have known that suffered significantly from HD were uni-laterals. I have known or owned dogs that had bilateral HD that would scare you silly on xray and the dogs lived long healthy active lives w/ no problems but that's just my experience.

Hi Tig from the stats I have of several thousands of dogs scored under the BVA scheme, dogs/bitchs with uneven hips (more than 5points difference) tend to (not all) produce progeny with high or uneven scores.

Heres some examples sire 4/18 dam 30/8   progeny scores; 31/9; 22/22; 14/11; 4/8

same sire 4/18 different dam 10/13    progeny: 7/5; 4/18; 14/12

same sire: 4/18 different dam 8/8 progeny 13/13

same sire 4/18 different dam 3/3 progeny 13/33

same sire 4/18 different dam 3/3  progeny: 8/3; 9/17; 7/7

same sire 4/18 different dam 8/6 progeny 39/34; 9/13; 8/8; 7/7

Same sire 4/18 different dam 6/7 progeny 5/4; 6/4; 5/8; 5/6; 5/7

same sire 4/18 different dam 5/4 progeny 4/11; 9/25

Amysue not sure if your in the UK, but are you willing to take the risk if you are and end up be taken to court for compensation? As you can see not all pups in each litter were scored but not many are an acceptable score either.

Pam

My vet also said its usually caused by an early injury. The dog puts weight on the uninjured let, causing damage to the other.

Here in the UK dogs can be hip scored from 12 months of age. Hip score range from 0 to 53 for each hip The lower the score the less degree of hip dysplasia (the maximum possible score is RH53/LH53 total:106. The breed average score is around about 19 total.

We have a young male Korzwin Randy which we bred ourselves with a hip score of RH3/LH47 total 50. His mothers hip score is 6/6 =12 , his fathers hip score is 7/7 =14 and his sister is 6/5 = 11. To our knowledge he has never had any trauma to his hips. He has done a lot of winning in the show ring here in the UK and is a very well constructed dog who is sound throughout and moves very well. He is exercised just the same as our other dogs and has never once gone lame. We will continue to show him here in the UK as our system allows us to do so but he will NEVER EVER be used at stud. (although there is nothing in our Kennel Club rules to say he can't be used and his progeny registered) 

Linda B

Linda,

I'm definitely no expert on genetics & hip scores so I wonder if you could help me out with a question I have.

I can understand not wanting to breed from Randy but would his progeny be any more susceptable to bad hips scores than his sister's progeny both of whom came from the same lines where the 'bad hip' gene resides?

Cheers,

AandA

When a dog (or a human, or any other animal) is bad on one side, they compensate with the opposite side, thereby damaging that side too.

Example: I tore up my right ankle badly being dragged by a horse. Later on, even after the right ankle healed, x-rays of my left ankle actually show more damage and arthritic changes than the injured one. Both are shot all to hell now.

AandA

Sorry I am no expert on the Genetics of hips so can't honestly answer your question.

But you could turn that question on it's head and say would he be more likely to produce good hip scores more in line with his parents and his sister whom came from the same lines where the 'good hip gene 'resides.

Hips are a very complex subject and unless every single GSD born is Hip Scored we will never ever understand it fully.

Many Breeder have their dogs hips X-rayed at 6 months if they don't look good they are not x-rayed or scored at 12months old. So although a certain sire may look like he is a good  hip producer this may not be the case as many of his progeny may never have been scored due to this fact.

Linda B