The Rottweiler and Hip Dysplasia

The Rottweiler is an impressive looking dog and for such a large breed, they boast longish life spans which can be anything from 10 to 13 years when they are well cared for and fed the right kind of diet to suit their ages. In general, the breed is known to be healthy although because they are such heavy and big boned dogs, they are more prone to suffer from hip dysplasia, a condition that affects a dog’s hip joint and socket.

The problem with Rottweilers is that often the condition is one they inherit from their parents because it is a genetic disorder that can be passed on to puppies. This is why careful breeding is so important in any breed with a predisposition to suffering from HD. If a breeder uses a dog they know suffers from the condition, the risk of Rottweiler puppies being born with abnormal hip joints is greatly increased, their hips will just not grow properly as they should, resulting in dog's having to put up with a lot of pain and discomfort.

The disease is a progressive health disorder which means it gets worse as time goes by. Hip joints become inflamed and very painful as new bone forms on the edges on the joints, and ligaments are affected too. The result is that a dog's hip movement can be seriously impaired simply because of the change in shape seen in their hip ball and socket.

Living with a Rottweiler with HD

If your dog has developed the condition and they are lame due to the discomfort they are feeling, there are certain things you can do to ease their discomfort. However, the condition can be affected by several things in your dog's environment which are worth making a note of and this includes the following:

• The amount of food they are given and their calorie intake
• The amount of daily exercise they get
• The weather can seriously impact the level of discomfort a dog feels
• The older a Rottweiler is, the more acute the pain tends to be because the disease is progressive although some dogs with HD run around as if there is nothing wrong with them and just occasionally display signs of lameness and discomfort

Understanding Test Results

Having dogs tested helps owners know to what extent their dog's hips have been affected by the condition or if indeed everything is as it should be, so it's important to understand the results of a BVA test which are explained below:

Severe - this indicates that a dog's hips have been severely affected by hip dysplasia which clearly shows up on an x-ray. A dog's ball joint would show up as sitting outside of the socket which appears shallower than it should be. As a secondary issue, arthritis sets in which causes changes in the bone structure around the joint which again causes dogs a lot of pain and discomfort.

Moderate - an x-ray would show the ball just sitting in a shallow socket that looks quite abnormal. Along with this bone changes occur as a result of arthritis setting in making this stage of the progressive disease very painful.

Mild - the x-ray shows the ball is sitting partially out of its socket which leaves a gap between the joint and the ball. When the condition is considered mild, no arthritis has set in to cause any boney changes in the socket. However, if a dog is around 2 or so years old, the condition of their hips will worsen as arthritis does set in which is why it's worth having a second x-ray done when they are older.

Borderline - this is when an x-ray does not give clear and conclusive evidence of there being a problem with a dog's hips. There's no evidence of arthritis or that hips are dysplastic. However, boney changes may be evident in the x-rays which is why vets recommend that a second set of x-rays be taken 6 months further down the line which allows for enough time to have passed for any changes in a dog's hip joints to become evident.

Fair - an x-ray would show there may be some small changes in a dog's hip joints and where a slight change in shape may be evident due to a dog preferring to put their weight down in a certain way which as a result makes the socket a little shallower than it should be.

Good - the x-ray would show that a dog's ball fits nicely into their hip socket with no gaps evident at all and no boney changes are evident either. Percentage-wise, the majority of Rottweilers fall into this category which is good news for owners.

Excellent - the x-ray would show the balls fit very well into the dog's hip socket and they therefore have very good conformation"".

Some vets might recommend surgery, but in the majority of cases, HD can be carefully and successfully managed. A vet might recommend adding natural supplements to a dog's diet which are not only very effective, but they do not have any side effects either. These include things like:

• Chondroitin
• Glucosamine
• MSM

However, it's important to discuss things with your vet before adding any sort of dietary supplement to your dog's diet to make sure you get the dosage right from the word go. They would also be able to recommend the best product to offer your pet and may even prescribe a specific natural supplement for your dog.

Contacting a Reputable Rottweiler Breeder

If you are thinking about getting a Rottweiler puppy, it cannot be stressed strongly enough the importance of contacting a reputable and well established breeder who only uses healthy dogs that are known not to suffer from hip dysplasia. This greatly reduces the risk of any puppies inheriting this congenital and extremely painful health disorder although sadly there is never a guarantee that a well-bred Rottweiler would not develop hip dysplasia during the course of their lives.

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