KNEES, HIPS & PATELLAS

Dogs are born with pre-determined (inherited) color, size, and structure whereas joints, ligaments, and bone health are affected by environmental factors.

No amount of x-rays can prevent bone and joint problems or clear phenotype for luxating patellas (knees), and dysplastic hips or elbows.  DNA tests may reveal genotype but only breeders can control environment and diet.  

And that is where breeders and owners most often fail the canine.  Bone and joint deformities are usually the result of accelerated growth and obesity (at any age!) but are exacerbated by lack of exercise and poor diet.  Wild carnivores are not obese and in order to survive, they get plenty of exercise.  Okay, you're getting your mind around that basic concept.  Next you must ignore the sales hype for genetic markers, DNA tests, X-rays, etc.  Tests only tell you what is, not how to preserve it.  Most veterinarians are eager to do tests but let's face it, only a handful have ever bred a litter and even fewer have produced a show dog or field champion. So... flying in the face of convention and profitability, here's your prescription for soundness.

There are only two ways to prevent orthopedic and joint problems - rigid genetic selection for unexaggerated, normal canine conformation, coupled with proper nutrition and environmental control.  When used together, this method is infallible. It works every time if you are more concerned about sound conformation than about winning a ribbon in the show ring.  I know some breeds are more difficult to work with but take my word for it, a Mastiff, Bulldog or Pekingese can be both "typy" and structurally sound.   Let's begin by understanding the modern canine.

ii Medial patellar luxation is common in toy breeds, said to be hereditary.  I strongly disagree. I believe it is a combination of nutritional factors and pogo jumping which most toy breeds do as a result of environmental factors. Do your toy dogs stand in one place and jump up and down when out in the yard? No. Toy breeds only pogo when they are kenneled or in x-pens and then only when there’s something or someone they want to see from the vantage point of height.

ii Lateral patellar luxation is common to large and giant breed dogs. A shallow groove may be inherited but expression of the problem is dictated by growth rate, muscle strength, and weight. Most large and giant breed puppies are overfed and under-exercised. Roadwork is only for adults but large grassy paddocks in which to run and play naturally are vital for puppies.

We are all born with a pattern which inherently shapes our bodies, from eye, hair, and skin color, to height, bone structure, longevity, and of course, any predisposition towards genetic diseases. 

No species is born with bad spinal, hip, elbow, or knee joints.

While most breeders strive to produce sound, healthy dogs, we usually put more emphasis on features of type than on sound structure and common sense.  Forcing puppies into early development is as detrimental to bone and joint health as is substituting fat for substance in order to appear more "mature" in the show ring.  No wonder we have an “epidemic” of hip, knee, spinal and elbow problems!

Pushing puppies with corn-based “nutritious” formulations guaranteed to insure maximum growth and development insures bone and joint deformities. As Pat Hastings points out, we can accelerate bone growth but NOT muscle and tendon development. If your litter develops bowed front legs, stop using that dog food because invisible damage to hips and knees is also occurring.

The last place you should see overweight dogs is in the vet’s office. Dogs that were born with good hips and knees suddenly turn into opportunities for hip, patella, or cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) surgery. Diet food for dogs? Ridiculous! Feed a dog the way nature intended and you will have a structurally sound dog well into old age.

Knee joints meant to hold up 30 pounds can not possibly support 40 pounds of blubber and flabby muscle!!! Let me repeat that. A Labrador bred to be an active hunter at 65 pounds can not remain sound at 80 pounds.  As a group, most Sighthounds are sound compared to Working Breeds which are often shown overweight (to give the appearance of substance) whereas an overweight Saluki wouldn’t be in the ribbons.  And what about toy breeds? What is the incidence of hip and knee problems in Pugs as compared to Minpins?

Just like dogs, humans are born with hip and knee joints capable of supporting a genetically predetermined weight. I don’t know a single obese person who doesn’t have knee problems.

O’BJ Akitas were virtually free of knee and hip problems but it wasn’t due to our superior genetic knowledge, it was the way they were raised. Puppies were fed kibble, fresh veggies, meat and fish. They enjoyed regular exercise in one-acre grassy paddocks.  They founded breeding programs on five continents because they were known world-wide for type and soundness. 
Likewise, my position on ii hip dysplasia  is/was grounded in fact. Long before computers were invented (much less the internet), I published the Rottweiler and later, the Akita Handbooks, both of which involved painstaking research. During the 60s and 70s, it became evident that x-raying might be a good selling point but had little to do with hereditary hip soundness.

No fan of OFA, Barden or Corley:

faulty X-ray results based on a faulty concept

Dr. Corley (OFA) and I had more than one contentious conversation due to cited inconsistencies and risks associated with the dogma of the day. I also kept up with Jerry Schnelle, DVM (one of the founding OFA vets) after he publically resigned from the board, stating in JAVMA that he could not fairly evaluate an xray of a dog he had not seen and evaluated for overall muscular condition, whether the bitch was in estrus, had recently whelped, etc.   In years of seminars and columns, agreeing with Dr. Schnelle, I also pointed out that hips were only two out of a hundred joints that could cripple a dog. Finally, due to OFA’s declining financial health; OFA began certifying elbows. Having a true dog person at the helm now (Eddie Dzuik) is the best thing that’s happened to OFA.

When Dr. Barden’s fulcrum x-rays became the rage, I exposed the false logic and associated risk. Some of you have been around long enough to remember but for others, this isn’t self-aggrandizement. I offer these references because I have no veterinary degree with which to impress you. My degree is 50 years of in-depth clinical experience and hundreds of top ranked AKC Chs.

So when I suggest that nature has an infallible plan (discounting the platypus) and that it is commerce which upsets the balance of canine structure and soundness, I hope you will think about what you are feeding your dogs, their growth rate, weight, and type of exercise.

Now if only someone would invent a kennel run with a retractable low top to prevent dogs from hopping up and down I’d be ever so grateful but until that happens, I’ll continue to apply common sense to feeding, rearing and maintaining my super-sound Toy dogs.

http://www.thedogplace.org/HEALTH/prevent-knee-hip-patella-problems.asp #0911.1112