Canine Hip Dysplasia is an abnormal formation of the hip socket, that in a severe form, can affect the joints by making them susceptible to arthritis and crippling lameness.
It can be found in many animals but mostly affects larger breeds of dogs.
This condition is mostly due to the poor "fit" of the joint which causes the joint to have dysfunctional or abnormal wear and tear.
The body's normalprocess is to try to produce more cartilage, but this is a very slow process and because of the inability to keep up with the production of cartilage the joint becomes inflamed and painful.
To reduce pain from this disorder, the dog will constantly try to reduce the movement of the hip or hips, sometimes causing the dog to mimic hopping, where both legs move at the same time.
Environmental conditions and genetics play a role in causing Canine Hip Dysplasia, environmental being injury at a young age or an overweight condition.
This problem almost always arises before the dog is 18 months of age and it has been theorized that the hips of young dogs are weakened by heavy vaccination.
Eventually this condition will cause severe osteoarthritis.
It is worth remembering that a dysplasic animal has lived with the condition and it's discomfort from a young animal and has developed a tolerance of some kind to it.
Dogs suffering with this kind of pain do not normally exhibit acute signs of pain but may suddenly sit down while walking or refuse to walk at all during an outing.
It is worth noting, however, that these signs also can be symptoms of other things such as a thorn in a paw, leaving pain recognition a less common means of detection.
It can be found in many animals but mostly affects larger breeds of dogs.
This condition is mostly due to the poor "fit" of the joint which causes the joint to have dysfunctional or abnormal wear and tear.
The body's normalprocess is to try to produce more cartilage, but this is a very slow process and because of the inability to keep up with the production of cartilage the joint becomes inflamed and painful.
To reduce pain from this disorder, the dog will constantly try to reduce the movement of the hip or hips, sometimes causing the dog to mimic hopping, where both legs move at the same time.
Environmental conditions and genetics play a role in causing Canine Hip Dysplasia, environmental being injury at a young age or an overweight condition.
This problem almost always arises before the dog is 18 months of age and it has been theorized that the hips of young dogs are weakened by heavy vaccination.
Eventually this condition will cause severe osteoarthritis.
It is worth remembering that a dysplasic animal has lived with the condition and it's discomfort from a young animal and has developed a tolerance of some kind to it.
Dogs suffering with this kind of pain do not normally exhibit acute signs of pain but may suddenly sit down while walking or refuse to walk at all during an outing.
It is worth noting, however, that these signs also can be symptoms of other things such as a thorn in a paw, leaving pain recognition a less common means of detection.