Hip Dysplasia and Catahoulas
Hip dysplasia is an abnormal formation of the hip socket that, in its more severe form, can eventually cause crippling lameness and painful arthritis of the joints. It is a genetic (polygenic) trait that is affected by environmental and hereditary factors. It can be found in many animals and sometimes in humans, but is most commonly associated with dogs, and is common in many dog breeds, particularly the larger breeds.
Hip dysplasia is one of the most studied veterinary conditions in dogs, and the most common single cause of arthritis of the hips. Hip dysplasia is a very complex subject. There are no hard and fast rules and no easy answers.
Most of the blame has been placed on genetics, however, it does not have a simple mode of inheritance. Most research indicates that it is "polygenic", that is, there are a number of genes that combine to result in dysplasia, as well as multi-factorial meaning that there are non-genetic factors including nutrition and environment that factor in. Add to this growing evidence that it is a systemic disease not limited to just the hip joints. This makes the task of planning a breeding to eliminate it almost impossible. Even when the parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. show no signs of dysplasia, the offspring can still show up with it. So even under the best of conditions there are no absolute guarantees against dysplasia, however conscientious breeders will screen their dogs hips for dysplasia to minimize the risks and breed only animals that have been found free of dysplasia.
We know after testing Catahoulas for hipdisplasia it is more common than we would like. When we look into the results of tested Catahoulas with OFA. 503 dogs tested, 11.7% passed the hip test in Excellent, 22% was dysplastic.The other dogs passed in Good and Fair. This is only a small number of dogs tested. Therefore we will always test our dogs which will be used for breeding. Never breed down but breed up. This is one of our main goals.
With OFA you have rates as: Excellent, comparable to HD A1, Good, comparable to HD A2, Fair, comparable to HD B1, Borderline, comparable to HD B2, Mild comparable to HD C and Moderate comparable to HD D, severe comparable to HD E.
Hip dysplasia is an abnormal formation of the hip socket that, in its more severe form, can eventually cause crippling lameness and painful arthritis of the joints. It is a genetic (polygenic) trait that is affected by environmental and hereditary factors. It can be found in many animals and sometimes in humans, but is most commonly associated with dogs, and is common in many dog breeds, particularly the larger breeds.
Hip dysplasia is one of the most studied veterinary conditions in dogs, and the most common single cause of arthritis of the hips. Hip dysplasia is a very complex subject. There are no hard and fast rules and no easy answers.
Most of the blame has been placed on genetics, however, it does not have a simple mode of inheritance. Most research indicates that it is "polygenic", that is, there are a number of genes that combine to result in dysplasia, as well as multi-factorial meaning that there are non-genetic factors including nutrition and environment that factor in. Add to this growing evidence that it is a systemic disease not limited to just the hip joints. This makes the task of planning a breeding to eliminate it almost impossible. Even when the parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. show no signs of dysplasia, the offspring can still show up with it. So even under the best of conditions there are no absolute guarantees against dysplasia, however conscientious breeders will screen their dogs hips for dysplasia to minimize the risks and breed only animals that have been found free of dysplasia.
We know after testing Catahoulas for hipdisplasia it is more common than we would like. When we look into the results of tested Catahoulas with OFA. 503 dogs tested, 11.7% passed the hip test in Excellent, 22% was dysplastic.The other dogs passed in Good and Fair. This is only a small number of dogs tested. Therefore we will always test our dogs which will be used for breeding. Never breed down but breed up. This is one of our main goals.
With OFA you have rates as: Excellent, comparable to HD A1, Good, comparable to HD A2, Fair, comparable to HD B1, Borderline, comparable to HD B2, Mild comparable to HD C and Moderate comparable to HD D, severe comparable to HD E.
Radiographs (X-rays) of a normal dog's pelvis and hips.
The head of the femur (arrow) is seated deeply within the acetabulum, indicating excellent hip joint congruity.
The head of the femur (arrow) is seated deeply within the acetabulum, indicating excellent hip joint congruity.
Radiographs (X-rays) of a juvenile dog with subluxation of both hip joints
secondary to hip dysplasia. The head of the femur is poorly seated
within the acetabulum, indicating poor hip joint congruity. There is no
evidence of degenerative joint disease (arthritis).
secondary to hip dysplasia. The head of the femur is poorly seated
within the acetabulum, indicating poor hip joint congruity. There is no
evidence of degenerative joint disease (arthritis).
