How can I prevent my pet from getting hip dysplasia or how can I insure I get a pet that is not prone to the disorder?

THE ONLY WAY WE WILL EVER DECREASE THE INCIDENCE OF HIP DYSPLASIA IS TO IDENTIFY THOSE THAT HAVE THE PROBLEM AND REMOVE THEM FROM THE BREEDING POOL. THE MAIN RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS LIES WITH THE BREEDERS.

When you get a puppy from a breeder, please ask to see the paperwork showing how the parent's hips have graded. This applies to mainly the large breed dogs (the Shepherds, the Labs, the Goldens, the Setters, the Rotties, etc.). If the owner has not had the parents x-rayed, then find another breeder. The good breeders have the parents x-rayed and then will charge you a few hundred extra dollars for each puppy. This is well worth it to avoid thousands of dollars you may have to spend later in medical expenses and aggravation. My experience has been that pups from the good x-rayed lines cost $200-$400 more, depending on your area of the country.

Not all dogs, especially those from the shelters, come with x-rays. We are only talking about when you go to a reputable breeder who is going to charge you for a puppy. I am a big advocate of adopting pets from shelters and humane societies. Most of these dogs are mutts and have a lower chance of having hip dysplasia. And when you save a life from a shelter, the risk of having any problems is balanced by the good you have done by adopting a pet. So please do not let this in anyway prevent you from adopting even big dogs from shelters. Since you are already saving hundreds of dollars by adopting, you are ahead of the game from the start.

The other thing you can do to help prevent or at least minimize the severity of hip dysplasia is to be careful how you feed medium to large breed dogs. Check with your veterinarian about specifics for your pet, but, in general, you do not want to over-feed them. Nor do you want to over-supplement them. If they are on one of the good, commercial, fully balanced diets, you do not need to give them extra vitamins or calcium/phosphorous supplements. Such supplements can, in fact, leave them more prone to dysplasia. Many times we will feed the large breed, fast growing puppies regular dog food as opposed to puppy diets as a way to prevent excessive nutrition. There are so many brands of food available and so many different breeds of dogs, that how and what to feed your dog is a very important topic to discuss with your veterinarian. You can also check the area on "How to Feed Your Pets".

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