Hip dysplasia is a heritable orthopedic condition causing chronic pain. Breeding screening programs, weight management, and multimodal treatment improve outcomes for affected dogs.
Hip dysplasia causes chronic, progressive pain that significantly compromises quality of life in affected dogs, often from relatively young ages in heavily affected breeds. The welfare case for breeding screening programs is strong — systematically selecting against hip dysplasia reduces the prevalence of this painful condition across future generations. Breeders who screen hips before breeding and select only from dogs with certified normal or good hips are making a direct welfare contribution to the breed. For affected dogs, early diagnosis before severe arthritis develops enables management that slows progression. Weight management, appropriate exercise, physiotherapy, and multimodal pain management can maintain excellent quality of life in many dysplastic dogs. Surgical options including total hip replacement provide excellent outcomes in otherwise healthy dogs with severe disease.