Golden Retriever Hip and Elbow Dysplasia Health Problems

Hip and elbow dysplasia are common health problems with Golden Retrievers. A study done at the University of Columbia showed that as many as 30% of the dogs had the condition. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals examined a range of dogs to pre-screen them for the condition and they found hip dysplasia in 21% of the animals. Obviously, it is a common problem.

The odds of your dog getting hip dysplasia are high. Professional Golden Retriever associations are trying to warn owners and breeders of the high risk of this disease. They need to try to breed the disease out, but this is a long-term solution. It will take years to solve.

The average lifespan of a Golden Retriever is 10 to 13 years, so changing the inherited characteristic of hip dysplasia will take some time to extinguish.

Hip dysplasia is a genetic condition. The bone socket isn’t well formed and the head of the femur bone is not created correctly. Elbow dysplasia is a similar condition that just affects the elbows.

Consequently, there is friction when the ball of the bone moves in the socket. This will cause wear and tear on the socket and pain for the animal. The condition is painful and debilitating. Over time, the dog will have extreme difficulty walking or stop being able to walk altogether.

If you take your dog to a vet for an x-ray, the radiologist can analyze the results and let you know if they have this diagnosis. If the dog is younger than 6 months, it cannot be detected, but most x-rays are done when the animal is at least two years old.

There is no cure for this disease and you can have expensive joint replacement, but that isn’t even a sure long-term solution. You can, however, mitigate the problem.

You should always make sure to adopt a pet that doesn’t have the condition in the first place. Ask the breeder if the parents had the disease. The AKC and the OFA have ways to certify that the parents did not suffer from this condition. It is usually a genetic condition, so if the parents didn’t have it, your puppy most likely will be okay as well.

If you are adopting a dog from a rescue, you might not have the option of knowing what its parents had. If you find your dog does have this condition, it will be best to keep your dog’s weight low and exercise minimal to prevent further problems.

Underfeeding is not recommended for these dogs, but it will be beneficial to keep the dog right at its target weight since excess weight will only exacerbate the problem. If you give him more calories than he can expend, you will gain weight and cause more problems.

At two years old, a dog can be examined for hip dysplasia. Hopefully, your animal will not have it, but if you get it tested, you can take every precaution to make them as comfortable as possible for as long as you can – rather than unintentionally let the problem get worse because you didn’t know your dog had it.

You will need to keep your dog exercising, but a reduced level will be mandatory.

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