Reducing the Risk of Hip Dysplasia in Dogs

Hip dysplasia is a complex issue and has many facets. I get the feeling that because it is complex that most veterinarians find it easier and less time consuming to just tell people that the problem is hereditary. I have set out to prove that environmental factors such as nutrition, exercise, and early spay / neutering all have an affect on hip and elbow dysplasia. That is not to say that I don't think the problem is hereditary. I do, but for different reasons than most veterinarians. I now believe that it is the heredity of genes responsible for the dog’s ability to naturally produce its own vitamin C. And that these genes have mutated or do not function as well as they have prior to the 1950s. My "study" is a minuscule one, but has returned some very positive results in both the area of hips and elbows. In the area of elbows, the reduced protein levels to 18% - 20% from 12 weeks to 9 months has resulted in all puppies, from 8 litters, over a 5 year period, kept on my diet and x-rayed having scored 0:0 on elbows. More recently I have found success with reducing hip scores on puppies that were fed a minimum of 450 mg molecularly natural GNLD Neo-C Vitamin C from 5 weeks to a year old. 2 puppies that were Penn Hip scored at 16 weeks of age, scored 11 points better than expected at a year old. More information on this subject check out my book on dog breeding -- How To Make A Puppy! Available through Trafford Publishing at http://www.trafford.com/07-2884 or the eBook available at http://www.homespunpress.com/ .