Hip DysplasiaTraditional methods such as extended-leg radiographs are satisfactory for diagnosing hip dysplasia in advanced cases, yet they are more variable at diagnosing mild to moderate hip dysplasia, especially at a young age: ie. they are less likely to diagnose hip dyslasia in a mildly affected young dog.A stress radiographic technique such as the PennHIP technique now has a lot of evidence as a more reliable tool to determine the degree of hip laxity as a measure of the degree of hip dysplasia in animals of any age over 4 months of age. The PennHIP technique is a useful tool for tailoring breeding programs to lower the severity of hip dysplasia in a line of a breed, thus making a line more valuable in terms of it's overall contribution to the breed, and hence improving the breeders reputation and sense of satisfaction;
as well as being a useful tool to a person acquiring a dog, by predicting potential problems or lack thereof in an individual dog.
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