The general care and wellbeing of your Rottweiler requires more than just grooming, feeding and housing of them although these are the basic requirements and responsibilities of all pet owners. Owners of this breed must pay particular attention to their needs and qualities and work towards keeping them active with some training to develop their natural abilities.
One of the most common disorders in Rottweilers is Hip Dysplasia, which causes lameness of their back end. This stems from the structure of the hip joint. In normal hip joints the thigh bone sit in the hip socket quite solidly but with hip dysplasia the loose ligaments surrounding the ball joint begin to work free. There are some environmental factors that can contribute to the outcome like weight, poor nutrition and rearing practices that lead to poor development. With the right muscle tone surrounding the joint as well as tight ligaments and broad pelvis assist towards reducing the risk of hip dysplasia. By giving your dogs the proper training while a puppy, with frequent exercise, and a good balanced diet should keep this breed in good shape.
Unfortunately it can also be a heritable disorder which is common between siblings in the litter if one of the parents has the disorder. But even non dysplastic parents can produce puppies with the disorder. Generally an xray is the only way to make a proper diagnosis of this condition even if the puppy looks perfectly fine.
Symptoms of hip dysplasia may appear during its first developmental year where growth is generally quite rapid. This could be around 4 - 10 months old in Rottweilers. A tell tale sign maybe when a puppy starts walking with a swaying gait or limp. Sometimes they may yelp and show signs of pain. When running they may bunny hop or find some difficulty in getting up, so they tend not to move around too much.
Hip dysplasia and its degree of severity are generally diagnosed by conducting an xray and having a specialized vet view them. In most cases during this procedure they are heavily sedated or completely anaesthetized. The severity is gauged by the changes in the joints seen in the xray. With the variation of movement out of the socket and erosion of the joints, arthritic changes are seen which characterizes moderate hip dysplasia. In sever cases the socket has become extremely shallow or possibly flat and the ball joint is rough and flattened, which causes more movement out of the pelvic socket. When viewing and then gauging the severity a score is given by assessing 9 particular aspects of the hip in the xray. A score of 0:0 means perfect for both right and left hips. The lower the score is out of 15 the better.
The general treatment given is directed at relieving the pain and discomfort and to enhance the function with medication used to treat degenerative joint disease known as arthritis. Another option is surgery generally two procedures - removing the femoral head or ball joint and the division of the pectineaus muscle. Most individual Rottweilers may feel some relief and improved functioning of their hips.
So when looking at purchasing a Rottweiler for your family make sure to take a look at their parents health and bloodlines, to reduce the possibility of your pet having or developing hip dysplasia.
About Author / Additional Info:
Camille Goldin, discusses about Hip Dysplasia in Rottweilers. Learn more about taking care of Dogs from TrainPetDog.com
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