Rapid Growth and Hip Dysplasia: Just When You Thought You Knew Everything About Hip Dysplasia

Is our thinking correct when it comes to risk factors for the development of hip dysplasia in dogs?

Last time Jasmine was at her chiropractor’s, she met a young Rottie girl. They really liked each other, and both wanted to play badly. They could not.

Her new friend had hip dysplasia so bad, her back end had to be carried around.

Rapid Growth and Hip Dysplasia: Just When You Thought You Knew Everything About Hip Dysplasia

Surprising research

A friend of mine found this research, the results of which might come as a surprise. It does not surprise me that much; it has been my observation that what has been written in stone one day, is no longer true the next.

There was a time when we believed that the Earth was flat and that margarine was good for us.

Randi I. Kronveit, from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, made some mindboggling discoveries regarding the effect of environmental factors on hip dysplasia in dogs.

Randi followed the development of hip dysplasia in 500 dogs from 4 different breeds, the Newfoundland, the Labrador, the Leonberger, and the Irish Wolfhound.

The findings

Contrary to previous findings, she determined that rapid growth does not increase the risk of hip dysplasia.

Findings from previous experiments and studies from other countries have indicated that rapid growth and high body weight are factors that increase the likelihood of developing HD.

But Randi thinks this is not true:

On the contrary, we found that the breed that had the slowest growth rate – the Newfoundland – had the highest incidence of HD (36%). The Irish Wolfhound had the lowest incidence of HD (10%), yet had the fastest rate of growth.

Say what?

Impact of exercise

Daily exercise in the first 3 months prevents HD.

Puppies born in spring or summertime, either on farms or with another ample opportunity to exercise during the first three months of their life, had a lower risk of developing HD. But moving up and down stairs is bad. Randi says:

Overall, it would appear that daily exercise out in gently undulating terrain up until the age of three months gives a good prognosis when it comes to preventing HD.

Based on the findings of this doctoral research, preventive measures through exercise during the first 3 months have a huge impact on how HD will develop and how severe it will become. If HD in its most serious forms can be prevented, the quality of life for dogs with HD can be improved tremendously.

Randi I. Krontveit defended her doctoral research on 13th March 2012 at The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (NVH) with a thesis entitled: “Canine hip dysplasia in a prospective cohort study – incidence, risk factors and long-term effects in four large breeds.”

This is certainly pretty interesting. I wonder what we’re going to learn next.

Related articles:
Hip Dysplasia in Puppies: Top 10 Prevention and Management Recommendations
Physical Therapy for Hip Dysplasia: Tips and Techniques

Further reading:
A number of environmental factors can affect the incidence of hip dysplasia in dogs

Categories: Hip dysplasia • Joint issues

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Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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