Hip Dysplasia and surface

Traction

This article was on my news feed this week.  The article took a different approach than most about the subject of Hip Dysplasia.  For a long time I have been researching Hip Dysplasia, it's causes and where it raise it's ugly head here and there.  Being someone who is a huge muscle building advocate both in humans and dogs I was enlightened to read the contest of the article.  

Hip Dysplasia article-common sense.

Hip Dysplasia is a very sad thing.  Yes, some puppies are predisposed to Hip Dysplasia; even when a litter's sire and dam are tested clear, it can arise.  It is extremely sad to see a very young puppy who has bad hips from the start of life.  But many environmental issues can induce hip problems as well.  One main issue is surface and that is what I want to talk about. 

Of course it goes without saying that only dogs with good hips should ever be intentionally bred.  Sneaking a dog into a breeding program with bad hips but other great attributes is inexcusable.  It is a very sad life for a dog who has to live with severe hip dysplasia.  

I see a lot of litters slipping and sliding around.  With the ability to video new litters and share with the world I view a great number of litter videos and pics.  The first thing I notice is surface.  Just imagine for a moment, a litter of wolf puppies in the wild.  As they pile on their mother to nurse; their little feet pushing and propelling them to the best spot to feed, they have traction.  With their tiny little feet and nails they are able to push themselves forward while building their little muscles.  

So now consider a litter of puppies in a slippery kiddie pool, wood flooring, linoleum, tarp or tile trying to get closer to feed.  If you watch them they look like little swimmers.  They cannot get any traction; their little joints are being impacted instead of building and using their muscles.  They move far less with more movement because there is not traction.  

As the puppies grow they slide around when on the same slippery surface.  Falling spread eagle style as they attempt to maneuver over the perilous surface.  I shudder when I see it and wish that more breeders and new puppy owners would focus on surface.  

Injuries can occur in very young puppies as they try to manipulate a slippery terrain.  Damage done at a young age can be debilitating as a dog grows and may plague them in later years.  It is a common sense approach that is needed.  If you understand that muscle, ligaments and tendons protect joints; it just makes sense that our dogs need muscle mass for joint protection.  Just like we do.  No muscle?  Then your joints are just an accident waiting to happen.    

                  Puppies need traction - the adhesive friction of a body on some surface.  

Dogs can manipulate slippery surfaces much better with an ample amount of muscle.  The less muscle a dog has the more prone they are going to be for joint injury, just like us.  Keep your dogs on a surface with traction as much as possible.  Build those muscles to protect their joints.  And for those who are raising litters, do you have sufficient traction for those babies?  They need it, slipping around is not cute when you know what is happening to their little joints.  

This of course leads to another subject of breeding dogs with poor muscle; but I'll save that for another blog.

Got rugs?

The beach is a great place to run and play; there is lots of traction in sand. 


Wood floors, aren't they gorgeous?  Many people want wall to wall wood floors in their home but our dogs can suffer from this decision.  Real wood and laminate wood floors can be extremely slippery.  I know, we had one put in a couple of years ago and it's horribly slippery.  It was not my choice, I chose a rustic rough tile floor but lost the coin toss; so we have one very slippery floor.  It looks gorgeous but is now covered with rug which sort of defeats the purpose of getting rid of the carpet in the first place.  It is just too slippery for the dogs to move around on safely, especially old dogs.

Surface is something that we canine guardians need to pay close attention to.  From the moment a dog is born, there needs to be concern for the surface that they walk on.  I see lots of photos of puppies running around inside plastic pools, on the kitchen linoleum  floor and sliding across the living room wood floor and it makes me shudder.  One of the most important times for puppies to be on a non skid surface is when they are nursing.  Those little feet of theirs attempt to dig in and move them forward as they fight for placement at the milk bar.  Once they latch on the digging continues as they nurse; they need to be on a surface that gives them traction.

Whelping boxes and play areas should have non skid surfaces placed in them.  That can be small throw rugs, thick blankets or rubber matting.  But it needs to be put down in all areas of the box.  Having just one small piece for Mom to lay on in not sufficient.  When the puppies are little and crawling around, they need traction to help to build their little muscles.  Without the ability to build muscle the slippery surface does even more damage.  So the old newspaper lined box of the past should remain in the past. 

Slipping is not good, not for us and definitely not for our dogs.  As much as I hate carpet, it is essential in the form of a throw rug for safety.  If a floor is slippery then our dogs should not be playing on it.  Walking across a slippery floor in a calm manner is one thing but our dogs cannot be guaranteed to do that often, right?  Hearing nails clamor and skids across a slippery surface is a sound that causes me to cringe.  It may be only a matter of time until something is torn and the dog then requires surgery, plus an unbelievably long recovery time.   

I've got throw rugs everywhere in my home.  You can get throw rugs for next to nothing; making them easy to switch them out when needed.  A throw rug is only as good as it's non skid backing so as they wear, replace with new.  I actually need to get out and buy a few new ones to replace those that have been on the floor past their prime.  Place throw rugs in prime traffic areas and where corners can cause a wipeout.  We have two huge area rugs in the family room that cover the flooring and make for a great play place for Luke and Elsa. 

Slipping can cause all sorts of problems; from hip dysplasia to serious tendon, muscle and ligament tears.    When a dogs slips all their muscles cannot kick in to save the tendons, ligaments and joints.  They feel the full brunt of the slip and can suffer serious wear and tear.   Wear and tear can then cause a damage to tendons, ligaments and joints which then are susceptible to serious damage.  DO NOT play with your dog on slippery surfaces. 

Build muscle and offer traction.  This is the best way to avoid injury to tendons, ligaments and joints.