Hip Dysplasia
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Hip Dysplasia is a developmental disorder of the hip joints. It commonly occurs in young dogs and larger breeds, but this inherited ailment has known to find its way into Cocker Bloodlines. This condition is due to a hip socket malformation that does not allow for the proper fit of the head of the femur. Hip Dysplasia results in painful inflammation of the hip joint, which leads to permanent physical damage, including lameness and loss of the use of the back legs. Because this ailment is genetically linked, you must never breed a Cocker who has it. At birth the hip usually looks fine, the signs of the disorder to not appear until the dog is at least five months old. The best age for diagnosis is between 24 and 36 months. It is now possible for veterinarians to surgically correct the shape of the hip socket or have a total hip replacement, both are highly successful. Unfortunately these procedures are only performed by a limited amount of specialists, and can be quite expensive. |