Recognizing Hip Dysplasia in Dogs – VetVid Episode 014
Recognizing Hip Dysplasia In Dogs
Hello, I’m Dr. Mike. Today, were going to
talk about hip dysplasia in dogs. To cover
this topic, were going to visit with Anthony
Cambridge, who is board certified in veterinary
surgery. Hip dysplasia essentially is a deformity
of the hip joint. It can lead on to degeneration
of the joint, arthritis, inflammation, and
pain. The vast majority of dogs acquire hip
dysplasia, likely as a result of an inherited
factor. And that’s combined with factors such
as body weight, rate of growth, possibilities
of trauma during development, and other factors
such as environment play a role in this. We
commonly see hip dysplasia in breeds such
as golden retrievers, Labradors, rottweilers,
and the German shepherd is probably the most
common in our practice. Most owners are going
to recognize some type of discomfort. Often,
reluctance to play as a puppy, there going
to see a change in the way the hind legs are
being used, often smaller dogs and younger
dogs will bunny-hop using both hind legs together
to get around or especially going up stairs.
They may recognize pain when the dog first
gets up after a period of rest, or they may
see early exhaustion compared to other dogs
they’ve had experience with in the past. If
owners feel that their dog is possibly suffering
from hip dysplasia, the simplest, best solution
would be to see their local vet to get first
an examination, and then quite possibly, x-rays
to follow. A veterinarian is going to examine
a dog to determine if it has hip dysplasia.
Some dogs can be examined awake, however,
often it’s useful to sedate
the patient to determine whether the hips
are lax. Laxity is the key finding in dogs
with hip dysplasia. There is a test for laxity
that we refer to as the Ortolani and we can
demonstrate that on this model. In the Ortolani
we push on the femur under sedation, the femoral
head rises out of the joint, the femoral head
is now subluxated, we lift the leg up, and
it clicks back in. Were feeling for that click
back in to tell us that the hip was actually
out. If we confirm
this, this is hip dysplasia, regardless of
what we see on an x-ray. As always, it is
best to
discuss with your veterinarian the ideal treatment
options for your pet. I’m Dr. Mike, I
hope this information has been helpful, and
thanks for watching.
