Canine hip dysplasia

Symptoms an owner can spot at home

• Bunny-hopping gait at canter
• Reluctance to jump up, climb stairs, or rise from lying down
• Loss of muscle mass over the hindquarters
• Audible click from the hip when walking
• Stiffness that improves with light movement and worsens after heavy exercise

When to see a vet

• Persistent lameness lasting more than 24-48 hours
• Sudden non-weight-bearing on a rear leg
• Visible deformity or swelling around the hip
• Marked behavioral change, irritability when touched on the rear, withdrawal from activity the dog previously enjoyed

What it is

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint. In hip dysplasia, the socket (acetabulum) is too shallow and the ball (femoral head) does not seat tightly. The resulting laxity causes the joint surfaces to grind against each other every step, which the body responds to by laying down new bone (osteophytes) and remodeling the joint, the textbook picture of secondary osteoarthritis.

Hip dysplasia is polygenic, many genes contribute, and is also modulated by environmental factors. The strongest environmental lever is body condition: a multi-decade prospective Labrador study found that dogs kept lean (BCS 4-5/9) developed clinical hip dysplasia roughly two years later than littermates fed ad libitum.

How vets diagnose it

Diagnosis combines orthopedic exam (Ortolani sign for puppies, range-of-motion and pain response in adults) with radiographs. Two main screening protocols exist: OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) uses a standardized extended-hip view scored by panel of radiologists at age 24 months; PennHIP measures joint laxity quantitatively via a distraction view as early as 16 weeks.

Treatment overview

This is editorial overview, not a treatment plan, your vet builds the plan. Conservative management combines weight control, structured low-impact exercise (swimming, leash walks on soft ground, balance work), physical rehabilitation, multi-modal pain control (typically an NSAID class drug plus adjuncts), and joint-support nutraceuticals where supported by evidence. Surgical options range from juvenile pubic symphysiodesis in young puppies through triple/double pelvic osteotomy in older puppies to femoral head ostectomy or total hip replacement in adults with end-stage disease.

What buyers can do

• Buy from breeders who score both parents on OFA or PennHIP, and ask to see grandparent scores too.
• Feed a large-breed puppy formula with appropriate calcium/phosphorus ratios, overfeeding and over-supplementation accelerate disease.
• Keep puppies lean (BCS 4-5/9) through growth and life.
• Avoid repetitive high-impact exercise (long jogs on pavement, ball-chuckers) in dogs under 12 months while growth plates close.
• Provide low-impact alternatives: swimming, balanced age-appropriate fetch, sniffari walks.