The Hip Health Project aims to helps dogs with Hip Dysplasia lead their best life.
Collecting information about exercise habits and patterns is important if we are to challenge any of the current recommendations for dogs with hip dysplasia and large breed puppies.
So…should I rest my dog with Hip Dysplasia? Is it ok for my puppy to run? Should I stop my puppy playing with other dogs.
Before we go too far, I would like to say – if your dog is limping, you need to see your vet.
I am talking about puppies with quirky little habits and no obvious lameness or soreness in this article.
Many owners are told to walk their large breed puppies a short or prescribed distance as they grow. Is this the best advice? We would like to know for sure…that’s why we are collecting information.
My current feeling is that a structured exercise program will assist puppies from a young age, showing postural evidence of hip dysplasia. What does that mean exactly? If you puppy sits like it’s always on vacation…laid back…relaxed or just chilled….maybe they have hip laxity.
Manuka sat this way as a puppy.
Here is her Distraction PennHip X-ray view demonstrating severe hip laxity.
Rating as she does at this stage (17 weeks) gives us the warning that arthritis will certainly play a role in her future.
So Manuka began the exercise program, modified for her little puppy self from the get go.
She was learning to sit straight from the moment we taught her to sit.
Every straight sit got a reward, every sloppy sit was ignored. We asked her to stand and rewarded the stand then asked her again to sit straight.
Once she had a straight sit nailed, she also learnt that sitting that way gave her the best pay off for her efforts. And it became her habit. Good posture is also a habit.
When a dog stands up from a straight sit, they use their quads (thigh muscles) and gluteal muscles (rump muscles) in a coordinated way.
If your dog is sitting ‘sloppy’ or chill…standing up requires…weight shift forward, front end takes the weight, one back leg takes the load and then the other catches up. The latissimus muscles, back muscles, foreleg muscles, and hindlimb muscles are all engaged.
This is much less efficient for your dog and can lead to generalised muscle soreness and trigger points. A great deal of pain associated with arthritis can come from the activities of daily living and muscle soreness goes hand in hand with sore joints.
If your dog learns to sit straight, they engage and strengthen the muscles that actually hold the hip in place.
It is never to early to start helping your dog if you are concerned about Hip Dysplasia.
We are looking to register all sorts of cases to the Hip Health Project. Puppies, young dogs, dogs with an established Hip Dysplasia diagnosis, dogs with a swaying walk, dogs that sit sloppy, and our beautiful old friends that are sore with arthritis.
If a disease gets worse with age, it gets better with exercise and it’s never too early to start.
Join the Hip Health Project today.
