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.