HD and bone problems

[GalomyOak]

Originally Posted by solowolf

i get all my dogs tested at 14-16 mths aand i have looked into hips for a long time, now my wolfdogs are very active, and i mean very, they live in large pens and they get out into a field every day, the run about and play, so if my friends dog lives in the house and goes for a walk every day and get to run in a small garden, you will agree that my dogs will get a lot more running about, so in your oppinion would this have any affect on a hip score? i have had 2 dogs hip scored 3 times at different ages to compair results with age and both dogs lived in different types of homes one was pet one was working and very active, both dogs where from same parents and had very similar results at first test, at 3rd test there was a significant difference in the results, my dogs are active 24.7 so they get done at 14mths some 16mths, inherited hd we can test for and do our best to improve in breeding stock, but lots of other factors contribute to hd results as well, some bone disorders like HODS disease which is similar to OCD can be caused by in one case i know of by an Akita puppy being fed on Hills Sience plan dog food, if puppies can damage the Patella by going up and down stairs then it can also affect the hip joints, so lots of things can affect the hips before any test is done,with the Czech wolfdogs in last 10 yrs has become an unslought of health problems, every time i visit is new topic for something else, it becomes more like an inbred show dogs health case every day,look at the breeds that suffer from people breeding, i love my czech wolfdogs very much but now you know why i have only bred 3 litters in 10 yrs and why i keep my other type of wolfdogs as well.

HD is genetic - but the severity in which it is shown can be influenced by environmental factors, such as diet, exercise, etc. We can see it as genetic by looking at certain breeds (especially some sighthounds, such as Borzoi, Italian Greyhound) who have virtually no HD within the whole breed, and also in populations of dogs where it has been virtually eliminated by selective breeding (such as the Seeing Eye Labrador Retrievers - a closed colony). A dog (Dog A) that develops HD had the genetic predisposition obviously; a dog (Dog B) that does not develop HD may have the predisposition, but it may not show up. But Dog B can still pass on HD in genetics...this is why I like PennHip so much - it does an actual measurement on a body part (ligament) and gives a numerical measurement with breed specific probabilities attached - not just a look to see if HD is actually present (but it does that too). Like all genetic diseases, it is likely you will see affected dogs, and non-affected dogs within the same litter when affected dogs are bred. The point is to pick the puppies for breeding who don't have those genes - or, if they must be used in a very rare case, to match the affected dog with a very healthy match.

Of course there are other diseases that can affect structure too. Most of these are rare/sporadic - but should definitely be noted and considered. HODS disease (since you mentioned it) isn't generally thought to be genetic - but probably caused by a bacteria (since fever usually presents with the initial onset), diet or possible vitamin deficiency. Could this present problems similar to HD? Maybe. Is there a way to know for sure if HODS caused the problem or if it is genetic? Probably not at this point in time, I would guess. I have very, very serious doubts that I would take the risk in breeding such a dog with any major structural disease, genetic or not - it would have to be an exceptional situation to account for the risk involved in breeding a dog with disease of unknown origin.

I can only think of some very rare cases where waiting to breed a dog until 24-36 months would be a bad thing (especially a male, who are statistically prone to more bone/structure problems) - maybe if a bitch was older and ready for her final covering, and the particular, incredible male was only 12-18 months...but that is all I can really think of. So, why not wait to get the most reliable results at an older age, even if it might only make some small difference in results? I see breeding as a patient, carefully calculated process - not something to be done in haste.

It's hard to say if more diseases are showing up in the breed, or if they are just becoming more public. I think a big problem in this breed/breed community is that people have been afraid to announce their dog's health problems. Now that fear is - maybe - slowly starting to fade (I hope!), so we start to see more problems when people announce them. But I think this conversation is going on in other threads. So I will leave it there.