Dier-en-Arts 2019; Nr 5: 122-123.

Anton C. Beynen

Diet and canine hip dysplasia*

*Based on article in Dutch (1)

Main points

Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a developmental disorder of the coxofemoral joint. CHD is partly
heritable and particularly strikes the larger breeds. Radiographic diagnosis may be possible as from
the age of about six months. CHD is possibly caused by an unbalance between growth rates of the
bony and supporting tissues in the hip joint. Sometimes, HD manifests itself in young dogs through
joint pain and inactivity, but the condition mostly develops into later joint degeneration and
inflammation.

In various studies, growing, predisposed dogs were either fed ad libitum or given less of the same
food. Littermates of equal sex were paired. A pre-set fraction of the amount of food actually
consumed by the ad-libitum fed animal was offered to its pairmate one day later. In total, there
were 57 pairs of which the restricted-fed dogs ate on average 35% less than their ad libitum-fed
counterparts. Restricted feeding lowered the radiographically-determined CHD incidence from 67 to
37% and reduced body weight by 18%.

Lowering of body weight and growth rate, as brought about by food restriction, probably is not a
causative factor in curbing CHD. In individual dogs, body weight and gain did not correlate positively
with later development of CHD. Nevertheless, limiting growth and controlling body condition
through restricted feeding is indicated to decrease CHD risk. For further dietary recommendation,
the current data concerning the impact of food composition on CHD are too sketchy.

Body weight

A 1964 paper suggests a relationship between body weight at the age of two months and HD
determined radiographically 16 to 22 months later (2). The dogs studied were German Shepherds in
training toward assistance dog. Body weight at young age of the HB-positive animals (n=100) was
almost 10% higher than that of their HD-negative fellow trainees (n=122). Meanwhile, 37% of the
dogs with HD had a body weight lower than the overall mean.

The prospective study (2) and subsequent feeding trials (see below) form the basis for the general
view that heavier and faster-growing dogs have an increased risk of HD (3). A high body weight
would overburden the coxofemoral joints. However, in individual, privately-kept dogs, there was no
relationship between young body weight and later HD detection (4-6). That also holds for the growth
rate of four HD-susceptible breeds (6, Table 1). For the pooled data, a higher body weight at three
months was weakly, but statistically significantly, correlated with less HD (6).

Restricted feeding
Five articles, published between 1973 and 1992, deal with the impact of ad libitum versus restricted
feeding on HD in young, growing dogs of various breeds (7-11). Littermates of the same sex formed
pairs of which one puppy was free fed, while the other received a limited amount of food. Table 2
summarizes the five publications. Restricted feeding, at a level about 35% lower than the ad libitum
intake, reduced the HD incidence from 67 to 37%. Thus, out of 100 ad-libitum fed animals 67
develop HD, while 30 would be prevented from HD by limited feeding. Mean body weight of the
restricted-fed dogs was 18% lower.

At group level, food restriction clearly diminishes the development of HD in predisposed, growing
dogs (Table 2). That effect appears independent of the associated lowering of body weight. As
mentioned above, body weight and HD are not positively correlated. Between the five studies (7-11)
there was quite some variation in the dietary contents of protein (13-21 g/MJ metabolizable energy,
or 22-36 energy%), calcium (0.8-1.3 g/MJ)and phosphorus (0.6-0.9 g/MJ), while the amount of
carbohydrates (nitrogen-free extract) was relatively constant (35-43 energy%). It is unknown
whether the effect size of food restriction, as to CHD prevention, is influenced by food composition.

Food composition

As from the age of 12 weeks, three litter mates of a mixed breed continued to consume a bread-rich
food mixture, whereas three others were switched to an all-meat diet (12). The percentage energy
compositions (protein: fat: carbohydrates) of the diets were 19:29:52 and 28:71:1. By comparison
with the bread-containing diet, the all-meat diet had more protein and fat at the expense of
carbohydrates. After 41 weeks, the three animals on the bread diet had radiographic HD, but their
littermates fed the all-meat diet did not.

The outcome of the small-scale experiment with bread and meat diets (12) corroborates a
questionnaire-based study (13), but not a controlled feeding trial (14). In German Shepherds, feeding
BARF diets was more frequent in HD negatives (n = 103) than positives (n = 57): 15 versus 5%. In
Beagles (n= 7 or 8/group), HD did not occur more often on a carbohydrate-rich diet (25:13:62) than
on two carbohydrate-free diets (48:52:0 or 24:76:0).

It plausible that high intake of calcium and/or vitamin D activates CHD development (15), but there
is no direct, experimental evidence. A smaller dietary cation-anion difference (Na + K - Cl = 350, 230
or 100 mmol/kg diet) coincided with less laxity in the hip joint of English Pointers, Saint Bernards and
German Shepherds, but not so in Labrador Retrievers (16). The three responding breeds did not
become free from HD (16, 17). The dogs (n = 5-25/breed per treatment) received the test diets
(30:26:44) ad libitum, during the age of 6 or 8 to 28-31 weeks.

Tables

Table 1. Relative growth rates (RGR) for dogs with versus without HD (6). The growth rate concerns
the age around three months. Presence or absence of HD was determined radiographically when the
dogs were aged 12* or 18 months.

Breed Females Males

n % HD RGR n % HD RGR
Irish Wolfhound* 36 14 0.96 27 4 1.04
Labrador Retriever* 66 24 1.00 67 16 1.11
Leonberger 97 28 0.97 81 22 1.02
Newfoundland 63 40 0.94 62 32 1.02

Table 2. Effect of ad libitum versus paired, restricted feeding on group-mean hip-dysplasia scores and
radiographically-determined presence/absence of hip dysplasia in young, growing dogs. Pairs
consisted of littermates of the same sex.

Ref Breed Age, Feeding Period, n BW, Hip dysplasia

wk regimen wk kg Score* Yes No
7 Labrador Retriever1 5 Ad lib1 23 8 27.1 7 1
,, ,, ,, 70% ,, ,, 20.5 6 2
8 Great Dane 5-8 Ad lib2 12 8 22.2 4 4
,, ,, ,, 66% ,, ,, 16.7 1 7
9 German Shepherd2 10, 12 Ad lib3 30-43 7 30.3 2.7 3 4
,, ,, ,, 50-70% ,, ,, 23.5 2.0 2 5
,, Golden Retriever2 10, 11 Ad lib3 25-52 5 28.8 6.6 5 0
,, ,, ,, 60% ,, ,, 26.3 3.4 3 2
,, Labrador Retriever2 12 Ad lib3 36 2 27.0 7.0 2 0
,, ,, ,, 60% ,, ,, 23.2 1.8 1 1
10 Great Dane 6 Ad lib4 32 3 39.0 1 2
,, ,, ,, 60% ,, ,, 33.2 1 2
3 5
11 Labrador Retriever 8 Ad lib 96 24 31.7 4.7 16 8
,, ,, ,, 75% .. ,, 24.5 3.3 7 17
Ad libitum, overall: score, n = 38; HD, n = 57 5.3 38 19
Restricted, overall: score, n = 38; HD, n = 57 2.6 21 36
1 2
Information given on the puppy’s parents: At least one parent had HD; Both the sire and dam had
dysplastic hip joints, except for three pairs of German Shepherds. Parents of the latter three pairs
had a grandfather with high frequency of HD in his offspring; 3Family lines of the dogs had a high
prevalence of HD.

Feeding and diet characteristics: 1One dog of each pair was fed ad libitum for 15-20 minutes, two
times/day; the other was fed 70% of the quantity consumed by the paired mate. On a dry matter
basis, the diet contained 35% protein, 13% fat, 1.9% calcium and 1.4% phosphorus; 2Dogs were
either fed free choice twice a day or were fed 66% of the amount consumed by their paired mate
during the preceding feeding. On a dry matter basis, the diet contained 36% protein, 14% fat, 2.1%
calcium and 1.4% phosphorus; 3In fact, the feeding regimen indicated as ad libitum was a feeding
guideline with increasing add-ons over time. The dogs fed restrictedly received 50 to 70% of those
amounts. The diet consisted of commercial dry meal supplemented with canned food, a multi-
vitamin preparation and calcium phosphate. For about half of the pairs the diet was also
supplemented with extracted fish meal; 4The unrestricted dogs were fed twice a day with a weighed
quantity of food in excess of their anticipated appetite. The other dogs were given 60% by weight of
the food eaten by its paired member in the previous feeding period. A mixture of two parts by
weight of commercial canned food and one part of dry food was fed. On a dry matter basis, the
mixture contained 30% protein, 14% fat, 2.3% calcium and 1.6% phosphorus; 5All dogs received a dry
extruded food. On a dry matter basis, the food contained 30% protein, 13% fat, 1.5% calcium and
1.1% phosphorus. Each dog fed ad libitum was provided with an unlimited food supply for 15
minutes a day. Seventy-five percent of the amount eaten was fed the next day to the restricted-fed
pairmate.

*Group-mean HD scores are based on a 1-7 scale, with 1 for an excellent hip and poorer joints being
assigned higher scores with a maximum of 7 (11). As a comparison, the scores on a 1-5 scale, as
reported by Kasström (9), were multiplied by 1.4.

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