Dysplasia in Dogs

By Amy Cocke

Instructions

What is Dysplasia?

Step 1:
Both hip and elbow dysplasia refer to the corresponding bones not fitting into the joints correctly. In the hip, it is the femur that does not meet the hip joint properly, and in the elbow, all of the individual bones do not work together as they should. With hip dysplasia, the surrounding muscles and connective tissues play a part, as well, as these tissues may not be performing adequately to keep the bones correctly against one another.

Causes

Step 1:
Hip and elbow dysplasia are usually genetic diseases. If your dog has a type of dysplasia, it is likely one or both of his parents do, as well. However, being overweight and stressing the joints too much at a young age can contribute to the severity of your dog's dysplasia. Also, in elbow dysplasia, there may be bone fragments involved that are irritating the joints.

Commonly Affected Breeds

Step 1:
Though all dogs can develop either type of dysplasia, some breeds have a higher occurrence. For hip dysplasia, these breeds are Great Danes, Saint Bernards, Newfoundlands, rottweilers, golden retrievers and German shepherds. With elbow dysplasia, golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers, English springer spaniels, rottweilers, German shepherds, Bernese mountain dogs, Newfoundlands and bloodhounds are the most associated.

Symptoms

Step 1:
Even young dogs can begin to show symptoms of dysplasia. Dogs with dysplasia may have a lameness when they move (in which they do not move with an even rhythm). They also might not want to move at all, or they move stiffly. They may stop doing activities that used to be pleasant for them, such as running up to greet you.

Treatment

Step 1:
There are surgeries for hip dysplasia that can help to realign the affected bones. These are triple pelvic osteotomy (the bones are broken and realigned so they no longer rub), which is only performed on dogs less than 10 months old; juvenile pubic symphysiodesis, only available to dogs less than 20 weeks without any signs of arthritis (two bones are fused together to allow other bones to develop); total hip replacement for physically mature dogs; and femoral head and neck excision (the head of the femor is removed and replaced with a man-made joint).
With elbow dysplasia, arthroscopic surgery is used to remove bone fragments and treat lesions. If the arthroscope surgery is not enough, an incision may be made to remove bone fragments on either the inner or outer elbow joint to remove bone fragments.

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