"Consequently, elbow problems and sometimes hip dysplasia can be environmentally caused through injury to these areas at an early age."
Sorry -- can't just let this go -- we have newbies on our list all the time and they deserve the straight scoop. Too many are made to feel responsible when their dogs are dysplasic. >From the OFA website: "Hip Dysplasia is a terrible genetic disease..." and "Elbow dysplasia is a general term used to identify an inherited polygenic disease in the elbow of dogs." Hip and elbow dysplasia are genetic diseases. The OFA website also explains, "There are multiple environmental factors such as caloric intake, level of exercise, and weather that can affect the severity of clinical signs and phenotypic expression (radiographic changes)." So environmental things can make it worse or better, but do not cause hip and elbow dysplasia. Certainly hips, elbows and other body parts can be injured but hip and elbow dysplasia, according to the experts, is in the genes. Mary-Ann Bowman Utah
