As you can see Goldens are presently at the 13.2% affected rate (X-rays sent to them by breeders). The improvement rate in Goldens is greater than the Labs so we will perhaps eventually catch. When we first started in Goldens in the 70's 39% of Golden had bad hips. This meant at least 3 pups in a litter of 10 would be mild to severely affected. No breeder wants to breed a pup with health problems so it was very hard and upsetting to hear a pup was ill. Today you might have one out of ten turn up with hip problems and most of the times it's not severe hip problems. With the help of Glucosamine most of these dogs live a long pain free life. Also please read the California Davis Study on early spay and how they saw 100% increase in HD in Golden Retrievers that were spayed or neutered early. So please wait until your dog is done growing before de sexing your dog. Keep your puppy thin during growing stage. Feed good food and treats. Let the pup self exercise. No jogging until growth plates close at 18 months 24 months for many males. Too much crating can cause problems. Knee issues are often seen in neutered dogs and never seen in breeding dogs.
| Breed25 | Rating Total Dogs |
Born to 1980 |
Born 1990-92 |
Born 98-2000 |
Born |
Born |
All DATA |
Change 2006-2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOLDEN RETRIEVER | Excellent Dysplastic Total Dogs |
1.8% 23.2% 17655 |
2.9% 18.2% 12669 |
5.5% 15.0% 9862 |
4.8% 14.7% 11414 |
5.4% 15.9% 5474 |
4.4% 20.1% 145173 |
8.9 14% 7373 |
| LABRADOR RETRIEVER | Excellent Dysplastic Total Dogs |
10.6% 14.2% 14905 |
15.9% 12.3% 21488 |
20.6% 10.6% 22373 |
19.1% 9.4% 26976 |
19.4% 9.5% 12102 |
25.3% 8% 29798 |
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Remember your vet works for you not the other way around. Always get a second opinion when it comes to hip issues. Ask your breeder to recommend a vet known for taking excellent hips with no sedatives. There is a reason why breeders will travel hundreds of miles, not all vets are good at taking hip and elbow x-rays. We've seen some pretty poorly taken hips that were not returned by OFA. Don't trust that they will pick up on this all the time. Vets in Canada only get a week of training and learn the rest on their own.
You're talking about pretty expensive surgery if the dog has grade 3 and up. If the dog has grade 2 or grade 1 slimming down and glucosamine will do the trick. Remember the grading system is to guide the breeders to choose better stock not to actually say the dog has the disease. Many grade 1 and two dogs never show symptoms of limping or pain as they get older.
If your vet is making you feel guilty for choosing another path beside surgery find a new more understanding vet. Many vets are so busy they do a rush job when doing hips some even have their technician do the job with very little training. So it's important that each owner's makes sure that the position was done properly before accepting the result. Don't be afraid of getting a second opinion. Remember if the hips were not positioned properly for the x-ray a HD free dog can look like he has bad hips.
Did you know that hips done in the fall look better than hips done in the winter. Why? Because your dog was exercised more in the summer and muscles tighten hips. Do you know that a female in "season" will have loose hips? Most breeders wait three months after the season before doing the hips.
To make sure your dog's hips were done properly educate yourself. Visit this site: Leeburg.com Reading Hip X-rays
Hip problems will be around for a long time since only a % of the problem is genetics. How do you prevent hip problems? Here are a few do's and don'ts.
Happy puppy growing :)