Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a developmental orthopaedic condition causing pain and osteoarthritis in affected dogs, for which breed-specific screening programmes have successfully reduced prevalence in several breeds.
CHD causes chronic pain that significantly impairs quality of life — affected dogs show reluctance to exercise, difficulty rising, and reduced engagement with activities they previously enjoyed. The welfare tragedy of CHD is that it is substantially preventable through responsible breeding using hip scoring programmes. Breeds with high CHD prevalence should be selected with verified parental hip scores, and buyers should request documentation. Dogs diagnosed with CHD benefit from early multimodal management including weight optimisation, controlled exercise, and appropriate analgesia. Surgical options offer significant welfare improvements for appropriately selected patients who do not respond adequately to conservative management.