German Shepherd are a wonderful breed of dog, but are unfortunately famous for having terrible arthritis problems. Hip Dysplasia is the most common genetic disease in the German Shepherd dog. German Shepherds with dysplasia are considered standard in most studies.

German Shepherd hip dysplasia is a developmental orthopedic disease.  When a dog has dysplasia, it has an abnormal development of the ball-in-socket joint that makes up the hip.  In a dysplastic hip, the ball (the head of the femur, or thighbone) and the socket (the acetabulum, a portion of the pelvis), do not fit together snugly.  The result is a painful and damaging friction.  When a dog bears its weight on the joint, the friction strains the joint capsule, which is a fibrous tissue that surrounds the joint and produces joint fluid.  The straining  then damages the cartilage and leads to the release of inflammatory proteins within the joint.  Thus begins the cycle of cartilage destruction, inflammation, and pain the symptoms we associate with arthritis.

Among animals with hip dysplasia, the onset of arthritis will vary.  Some dogs will get it in early youth; for others, it may not present itself until much later in life.  Frequently, two types of hip dysplasia are described: acute and chronic.  The acute (early) stage, usually seen in young dogs, is characterized by intense pain in the hips and mild to severe lameness. This stage can last from weeks to months.  The chronic (late) stage of hip dysplasia is characterized by pain, decreased range-of-motion in the hips, and progressive arthritis.  Chronic dysplasia can develop in dogs less than one year old or it can take many years to occur. 

Hip dysplasia can result in a variety of clinical signs.  Dogs can have significant hip dysplasia and arthritis and show minimal or no outward signs.  Alternatively, hip dysplasia can and frequently does result in crippling arthritis.

Please explore our Arthro-Ionx for more information on our dog arthritis remedy.

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