Bird Dogs - Health Matters

Canine Hip Dysplasia and PennHip

-  Dr. Shawn Wayment

SHAWN K. WAYMENT, DVM, knew by the age of 7 that he was obsessed with bird dogs. After serving a stint as a parachuting medic with the 82nd Airborne Division, he enrolled in Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 1997. Shawn practices in Castle Rock, Colorado, specializing in the veterinary care of sporting dogs. In the fall, he can be found roaming the uplands of North America, chasing his cover-dog English setters. Shawn can be reached at birddogdoc@ uplandways.​com.

Robert G. Wehle, who developed the famous Elhew line of pointers, wrote something in his book Snakefoot: The Making of a Champion that has really struck me. To paraphrase, his idea is that if you breed a dog for athletic function and not for structure or conformation, you are less likely to see orthopedic diseases such as canine hip dysplasia and other genetic orthopedic developmental diseases. Bottom line: If you breed dogs with tight functional joints, their offspring will have tight functional joints and are less likely to develop hip dysplasia.

This is an extended OFA view of a dog with severe hip dysplasia indicated by the arrows.