joel@qumix.UUCP (Joel Duerksen) (11/04/83)
In regards to several recent articles about dogs with hip dysplasia, I picked up a book entitled "How To Have A Healthier Dog" by Wendell O. Belfield, D.V.M. He has done extensive research and testing with hip dysplasia. Several quotes from his book: "Hip dysplasia is a dreaded crippler of large-breed dogs. It has long been thought to be a problem of genetics. Extra vitamin C, the same vitamin C that these animals are supposed to produce themselves in sufficient quantity, stops hip dysplasia. The veterinary community first thought it was nonsense when I published a paper on this connection in 1976. Now other practitioners as well as breeders all around the world are using it successfully." "One breeder I deal with in Southern California raises golden retrievers. She decided to put her animals on the supplementation program in an attempt to stop the hip dysplasia that had been a chronic problem for her. "After several litters she told me that she had not only been able to eliminate the hip dysplasia problem but now she was getting pups far superior to anything she had been getting before." "One breeder of German shepherds told me that sometimes she had to replace three and even four animals from a single litter because of hip dysplasia. Like the golden retriever lady, she tried supplementation and has no more problems." "Hip dysplasia has generally been considered to be a genetic problem. But I consider it an easily controlled biochemical problem. In a study I did of eight litters from dysplastic German shepherd parents or parents that produced dysplastic offspring, there were no signs of hip dysplasia when the bitches were given megadoses of vitamin C during pregnancy and the pups kept on a maintenance regimen throughout puppyhood." He also has a chapter devoted to hip dysplasia. He explains what it is, what causes it and why vitamin C helps it. Anybody else know anything about this? I'd like to know more about it since I just acquired a large (mixed) breed puppy. Joel Duerksen