RECOMMENDED READING: Control of Canine Genetic Diseases by George Padgett How to understand the mechanics of inheritance, how to deal with percentages and predictability of outcome, and how to breed away from such scourges as canine hip dysplasia.

Canine Hip and Elbow Dysplasia Resources

By Moc Klinkam; Rev. June 3, 2002 - Fred Forrest

These on-line resources provide valuable educational information about canine hip dysplasia and other common canine orthopedic diseases and conditions and their inheritance, diagnosis, and treatment. Most of these resources provide comprehensive, non-breed specific coverage of the topics.

• OFA
• General Overview of CHD
• Veterinary Research
• Radiography/Diagrams
• Surgical Options
• Nutrition and Supplementation
• Genetics of CHD
• Hip Evaluation Schemes
• PennHIP
• Elbow Dysplasia
• Mobility Aids

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Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)

• Orthopedic Foundation for Animals is the recognized certifying body in the United States for hip and elbow dysplasia, and other genetic canine diseases. They feature a database where you can easily look up the hip and elbow evaluations for thousands of dogs.

• How Hips Are Graded is explained on the OFA web site with accompanying graphics and evaluative detail.

• Two articles reviewing PennHIP and OFA radiologic protocols for evaluating and predicting CHD. Drs. Keller and Corley, Diplomates of A.V.C.R. and principal radiologists of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), detail the research studies and scientific literature that support their position that PennHIP stress radiography to date remains an inconclusive method for reliable testing and evaluation. Fred Lanting, PennHIP promotional consultant, responds to some comments posted on Internet email lists with commentary promoting the PennHIP extraction method to diagnose CHD, and recommends its use over OFA protocol to screen for CHD.

• Hips, Elbows and OFA by veterinarian Catherine Priddle reviews evaluation and testing for the Rottweiler. This article is the fourth and last article on the page -- scroll down.)

• Orthopedic Update on Hip Registries, 2001-2002 by Fred Lanting

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General Overview of CHD

• Acme Pet presents Canine Genetics Primer

• Comprehensive series about Canine Hip Dysplasia by John C. Cargill, MA MBA, MS and Susan Thorpe-Vargas, MS including:
  • Part I: The Normal Canine Hip
  • Part II: Genetic, Nutritional, and Environmental Factors
  • Part III: Methods for Diagnosing the Abnormal Hip
  • Part IV: Orthopedic Registries Fighting CHD
  • Part V: Predicting the Normal Hip
  • Part VI: Treatment of the Disease Tailored Specifically to Your Pet
  • Part VII: Surgical Management of CHD (Part I)
  • Part VIII: Surgical Management of CHD (Part II)

• Dr. Hank DeBoer, Schutzhund trainer, championship competitor, and nationally recognized sporting and working dog veterinarian, shares his expertise and recommendations for successfully evaluating, treating, and using humane judgment when training the dog affected by canine hip dysplasia.

• Canine Hip Dysplasia by Malcolm Willis, author of History and Genetics of the German Shepherd Dog.

• Cindy Tittle Moore's Hip Dysplasia FAQs

• Cheryl Minnier's Canine Hip Dysplasia references pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatments (including estimated costs) for the disease.

• Cornell University presents Five Misconceptions about Hip Dysplasia.

• Orthopedic Disorders of Dogs includes discussions of many common disorders on the Tier-Vet Info site.

• Six Common Joint Conditions of the Dog by the makers of Adequan.

• Flat Coated Retriever Manual discusses Canine Hip Dysplasia

• Development, clinical signs, and treatment of Canine Hip Dysplasia by the Southern California Veterinary Surgical Group

• Canine Hip Dysplasia by Tom Phillips, DVM, MS, PhD focuses on the causes of CHD.

• Hip Dysplasia and Hip Joint Basics by Chick Newman, PhD, DVM

• Signs, Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment of Hip Dysplasia by PawCare.com

• Signs, symptoms and risk factors for Hip Dysplasia by Joe Bodewes, DVM

• Hip Dysplasia by Dr. G. Siemering and Dr. D. Brehm features radiographs of normal and dysplastic hip joints.

• Canine Hip Dysplasia by Ann L. Reed, DVM, MS, DACVR

• Orthopedic Soundness in the Field (Working Sporting) Dog by Fred Lanting

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Treatment Options

• North Carolina State University shares early results of Juvenile Pubic Symphysidesis (JPS), a procedure redirecting pelvic development to forestall the degenerative effects of hip dysplasia in the young dog.

• BioMedTrix develops and manufactures veterinary implants; their site features FAQs about contemporary issues in canine hip replacement and surgical procedures for treating CHD, including total hip replacement and TPO.

• Canine Hip Dysplasia page features radiographs of surgical treatments for CHD.

• Options for Your Pet's Hip Dysplasia by Sarah Probst

• Surgical Treatments For Hip Dysplasia by Anita Weidinger, DVM

• Total Hip Replacement by BioMedtrix

• Total Hip Replacement and Triple Pelvic Osteotomy (TPO) by the Southern California Veterinary Surgical Group

• Treating Hip Dysplasia in Dogs by George Siemering, DVM

• Options for treating Canine Hip Dysplasia by All-Care Animal Referral Center

• Causes, Diagnosis, and Medical Treatments for Canine Hip Dysplasia by Long Beach Animal Hospital features many detailed diagrams and photos.

• Treatment options for Canine Hip Dysplasia by Meyerland Animal Clinic

• Diagnosis, clinical signs and medical treatments for Canine Hip Dysplasia by Dr. Shields Henney

• What Is Hip Dysplasia? by Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists includes photos of bilateral hip dysplasia at six months, and total hip replacement and triple pelvic osteotomy information

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Veterinary Research

• Medline Literature Search summarizes CHD veterinary research abstracts from 1966-1996.

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Radiography/Diagrams

• Operating Room Seminar on Hip Dysplasia provides nice diagrams of a healthy canine hip and one affected by CHD; includes promotional information about PennHIP.

• Canine Hip Dysplasia page features radiographs of surgical treatments for CHD.

• The Pet Center features comparative radiographs -- one a healthy hip joint, and the other displaying canine hip dysplasia with arthritic developments.

• Ed Frawley's Leerburg Video site features The Importance of Proper Positioning for Canine Hip X-Rays, with diagramatic radiographs.

• Canine Hip Joint Conformation with diagrams of normal and dysplastic hip joint.

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Nutrition and Supplementation

• Relationship of Nutrition to Developmental Skeletal Disease in Young Dogs by Daniel C. Richardson

• Adequan (polysulfated glycosaminoglycan) pharmaceutical information provided by its manufacturers.

• Ester-C: Miracle Cure for Hip Dysplasia? Larry Mueller takes a non-scientific approach when discussing a study that reports the efficacy of Ester-C as a treatment for CHD.

• Canine hip dysplasia A interesting article that has a great illustration of hip replacement.
  
  Difficult to prevent and treat, canine hip dysplasia is among the most studied and the most frustrating diseases in veterinary medicine. Read More...

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Genetics of CHD

• Hip Dysplasia: Understanding the Condition and Its Treatment by Dr. Race Foster & Dr. Marty Smith includes detailed diagrams of the canine skeleton and affected joints.

• The Institute for Genetic Disease Control in Animals.

• Eliminating Genetic Diseases in Dogs: A Buyer's Perspective by Gary Mason.

• The Dog Owner's Guide includes CHD in their article, It's All in the Genes.

• Working Dogs Cyberzine Canine Genetics Resources page

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Hip Evaluation Schemes

 

• British (BVA/KC) hip scoring scheme with descriptive graphics of each scored part by Malcolm B. Willis.

• British BVA/KC scheme summary

• Sample British Veterinary Association (BVA) hip evaluation certificate

• Hip scoring scheme in France.

• Australia's hip rating scheme with some very nice graphics of the canine hip components.

• International Hip Dysplasia Ratings for Finland, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and USA

• Foreign Hip Evaluations comparison chart for OFA, FCI, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

• FCI Hip Classifications comparison chart for Finland, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland.

• Certification classifications (USA/OFA, United Kingdom/UK, and Germany/SV) compared to official FCI hip ratings

• Breed Value and the GSD - Breed Value and the SV Zuchtwert System by Fred Lanting

• Martin Wahl summarizes the SV "Zuchtwertschätzung" hip rating system, with helpful links to more in-depth information and statistics.

• SV Zuchtwert System (German Hip Rating Scheme on the SV web site (in German)

• Susann Stramm helps translate the SV's HD Zuchtwert system on her Westerode web site.

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PennHIP

• PennHIP (University of Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Program)

• Giant Schnauzer Health and Genetics discusses CHD and PennHIP.

• Canine Hip Dysplasia and PennHIP by Patricia Long promotes PennHIP diagnostic methods.

• Canine Hip Dysplasia: Are Breeders Winning the Battle? -- Including Comprehensive Sections On Methods for Diagnosing and Predicting Genetic Predisposition by Pamela Davol compares methodologies for evaluating hip joint soundness.

• Questions and Answers About PennHIP

• Canine Hip Dysplasia and PennHIP by Patricia Long, reviewed and edited by Dr. Gail Smith and Dr. Peterson of PennHIP

• PennHIP Questions and Answers by Anne V. McGuire and Dr. Gail Smith of PennHIP

• The PennHIP Method of Diagnosing Hip Dysplasia by Kathleen R. Hutton, DVM

• In Why Look Into PennHIP? PennHIP promoter Fred Lanting discusses PennHIP wedge radiography to determine hip joint laxity.

• PennHIP: Misconceptions and Misinformation by PennHIP promoter Fred Lanting

• What Happens to the PennHIP Radiograph? by PennHip promoter Fred Lanting

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Canine Elbow Dysplasia

• Canine Elbow Dysplasia by Ann L. Reed, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVR.

• Elbow Dysplasia - Parts 1 and 2 by Dr. Henry De Boer Jr., a national Schutzhund competitor and trainer and practitioner at his Pioneer Valley Veterinary Hospital in Western Massachusetts.

• OFA Elbow Registry summarizes definition, diagnosis and prevalence

• Elbow Disease in Growing Dogs by Roger Lavelle, University of Melbourne

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Mobility Aids

• K9 Cart Company features pet mobility aids for mobility-impaired pets.

• Dewey's Wheelchairs for Dogs assists dogs with problems with their hind legs.

• Doggon' Wheels features wheelchairs, slings, paw protector booties, and other products for the mobility-impaired dog.