The veterinarian will examine the dog physically, palpating the hips for joint instability or pain consistent with hip dysplasia.
Because extending the hip or moving the femur in its socket can be painful for the dog, veterinarians will often sedate dogs for these tests. You may hear the term ‘Ortolani test’ mentioned; in this exam, a physician looks for hip subluxation, a condition in which the hips move out of their natural position and is, again, most often associated with hip dysplasia.
He is most likely going to need an X-ray or even a CT scan of your dog’s hip.
The signs of hip dysplasia in the X-rays are in both hips, and stiffness is normally seen. Hence, the doctor can examine the position and also check the arthritis or discomfort caused to the leg bones, apart from other existing conditions. Fetch covers Hip Dysplasia, given that it is not pre-existing.
Quick Quote: What is the Treatment for Hip Dysplasia?
The treatment can vary from anti-inflammatory and painkiller medications to a change in lifestyle and physiotherapy, and finally, surgery, depending on the degree of symptoms.
This means that non-surgical solutions while making the dog more comfortable, will never be able to truly fix the problem since it is biomechanical.
Conservative treatment involves low-impact exercise in the form of swimming and weight loss combined with medications that target the reduction of pain and protection against inflammation and cartilage.
It can be treated with a variety of surgeries, including removing the painful joint, changing the angle of the hip bone, TPO, or minor pubic epiphysiodesis, so that the femur sits in the acetabulum, or even replacing the whole joint with a prosthesis. It can be substituted with organs.
Depending on how invasive this is, how much arthritis there is and how old the dog is, how large, how active it is, the vet will suggest which line of treatment needs to be followed.
How to prevent the pet from getting hip dysplasia
Pet owners can select a dog whose parents and grandparents have been checked – ‘with good hip score’ – on their hips to reduce the chances. It’s not overly rapid, which would have you trying to put more weight on them, quite the reverse. The right diet would result in the right end bodyweight without the puppy getting fat. On the other hand, the effect of exercise is less clear, although some speculation exists that vigorous exercise before 3 months of age might worsen the risks of developing hip dysplasia in a puppy already genetically predisposed.
Preventing Hip Dysplasia
It should be observed that some cases of hip dysplasia cannot be avoided. Nevertheless, there can always be measures discouraging the occurrence of hip dysplasia, especially in those dog breeds that are likely to acquire hip dysplasia:
Choosing to breed from breeders who may be identified by the care and concern for the health of the hips of the dogs they breed.
A dog’s genetic makeup in the development of hip dysplasia. One of the best prevention steps is to take one-generation prevalence for the hip dysplasia gene. A prospective dog owner, if possible, should look at three or four breed dogs before deciding on one. This will eliminate any carriers of the gene in the bloodline and hopefully can decrease the potential for the disease to be passed along.
Look for evidence of good hip health. Make sure that with this point, the dog’s pedigree shows both Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Program (PennHIP) certification and Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) certification. Both of these certifications are good markers of good hip health.
Don’t over-exercise.
Over-exercising the dog where the hip joint area pulls in increased stress causes additional damage, particularly during the growing years.
For that reason, resist the temptation to play catch for hours and hours, run on the beach, jump, and many others that may put a usually high amount of stress on the hip joint if not prepared.
Treating Dog Hip Dysplasia
For those dogs that are not as fortunate as taking the precautions above, it is not the end of the road.
Hip dysplasia is not a terminal disease, and several treatment options are available. There are management options for treatment, which are available for some relief in cases of moderate and severe forms of hip dysplasia in dogs:
Management of treatment
These are the steps that have been aimed at ridding the dog of hip pain. The steps may involve:
Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO): This is a surgery in which just the hairy part of the hip joint is removed. The FHO surgery is best for young dogs because of the surrounding area and some scar tissue that gives them a false joint, allowing very little movement with the hind leg.
FHO surgery is recommended for dogs with severe arthritis and dysplasia. Or if the dog breaks a hip. And if the cost of other surgical procedures is sky-scraping.
Total Hip Replacement (THR)
THR is a final surgical option – when the other treatments and procedures yield no result.
Total hip replacement is a surgical procedure where the complete hip joint of the dog is removed and replaced with a new ball and socket made of plastic and stainless steel. A plus with THR is that it can give a dog immediate pain relief, long term. Most THR is very specialized and may be more costly than other surgical procedures.
It’s essential to discuss the range of options appropriate for the condition of your dog. No one method applies to all these interventional procedures, but your doctor will help you figure out the best way to go about treatment.
Final thoughts
Hip dysplasia in dogs is an awkward condition at best and can delay, as well as lessen, symptoms of this disease with just about every countermeasure listed above. Of course, always seek the advice and direction of a licensed vet to make sure you are underway on the correct course of care for your furry friend—most especially in consideration of initial test results.
