Nearly all large to giant breeds, and some smaller ones, can be affected by Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD). It is a

hip development abnormality.

 

In layman’s terms…… When the head of the Femur bone does not fit properly

into the socket of the hip joint then excessive movement will occur that eventually

wears down the surfaces of the bone causing abnormal bone growths, loose joint

movement, pain, osteoarthritis etc.

 

Symptoms; The Dog progressively looses his fluid movement, has trouble getting up from

sitting or lying down, can no longer jump up, can no longer stand on his hind legs, and in severe

cases cannot even walk.

 

These symptoms are normally found from the age of 2 years onwards, although in severe cases can be apparent from the age of 6 months upwards.

 

The Leonberger’s average hip score (total for both hips) for the breed is 12. This is excellent considering the size of the dogs. As a general rule as long as the hips are below 30 the dog should not have any serious problems with mobility for most of its adult life. Leonberger’s breeders have managed to keep the scores low through good breeding, but do not fret too much if you come across a Leo with a score in the high twenties!

 

The causes are not truly understood or discovered, but there are identified factors that help to reduce its incidence:-

 

Inheritance: this is probably the most important factor. It has been shown that the probability CHD in dogs is significantly reduced if the parents/grandparents/great grandparents etc have low hip scores. Your Leo and all his near ancestors have had their hips scored, and are all within acceptable limits if not well below the mean of the breed.(Alaska’s hips are 0:0, Russia’s were 3:3, and India’s are 4:4...all below the average total of 12).

Poor Diet/Nutrition: bad diet especially early in the puppy’s life can be a factor for CHD. Should be easy to eradicate this factor by following a good quality food manufacturers feeding guide.

Too Rich a Diet; too high levels of calcium etc can have a detrimental effect with abnormal growths of calcite deposits developing on the femur head or within the socket. Again, should be easy to eradicate this factor by following a good quality food manufacturers feeding guide.

Over Exercise; too much exercise before the puppy’s 1st birthday can cause problems. The giant breeds need a full year before their primary bone structure has completed its growth. Any changes forced on this structure by adaptation to a vigorous exercise regime can cause problems with joint formation.

Overweight; puppy’s that are overfed and become overweight can cause structure changes within the joints to cope with the excess weight. These changes will be a reaction to the weight and not to aid movement etc of the proper operation of the joint.

 

The Technicalities

 

The hips are x-rayed and then sent to central BVA (British Veterinary Association) monitoring site where they are assessed by a panel of experienced experts. They are looking for how far the femur head fits into the socket, cartilage distribution, gap displacement around the joint etc etc and each is rated for perfection.

 

Each hip is given an overall rating of between 0 and 53 ……with 0 being perfect and 53 being terrible!

 

Both hips are then added together to give a total score for the dog. Therefore, the worst possible result is 106……which would imply 53 for each hip, the best possible result is 0. (of which we are proud to say is Alaska’s (Leonmoor Korean’s) result!

 

These results are then posted for each breed to give average standards as guidelines.

Research has shown that a puppy’s probability of developing CHD is as follows:-

Both parents have CHD          -      80% chance of CHD in the puppy

One parent has CHD       -      58% chance of CHD in the puppy

Both parents are normal         -      30% chance of CHD in the puppy

Parents, Grandparents and great

Grandparents are normal         -      < 30% chance of CHD in the puppy

 

Taking the inheritance statistics and then taking into consideration the other factors that are in your control such as diet, exercise and weight means that you can make the risk to your puppy very small….

Low hip scores does not guarantee a puppy will not develop CHD in the future, it only reduces the risk of

this happening.