Laxity of the hip joint is a frequent disorder in dogs. The disease is of multifactorial origin, which means that the symptoms are a combination of genetic factors as well as the environment.
Hip Laxity has two main characteristics:
• Laxity: This can be defined by ‘an abnormal freedom of movement of the bone in the hip joint’. As a result, the hip is less stable compared to healthy dogs.
• Ossification and bone formation. In younger dogs, the normal process of bone formation can be slowed down.
Both Laxity and Ossification disorders lead to the development of artrosis when dogs mature. Dogs which are affected most can already express symptoms after a few months. Other affected dogs develop artrosis at later ages.
This marker is part of a panel of genetic factors influencing hip laxity.
The disease is of multifactorial origin, which means that the symptoms are a combination of genetic factors as well as the environment. The marker is part of a panel of genetic factors influencing hip laxity. Examples of environmental factors are feeding patterns and exercise.
For each genetic factor of a multifactorial disease, the results can be reported as ‘Normal’, ‘Carrier’ or ‘Affected’.
Animals with the favourable variant are indicated as ‘Normal’. Animals carrying one copy of the undesirable genetic variant are indicated as ‘Carrier’, whereas animals carrying two copies of the undesirable genetic variant are indicated as ‘Affected’.
Each individual test is part of a multifactorial disease. An animal may be normal for Hiplaxity 1 and affected for Hiplaxity 2 at the same time. This information may be applied when breeding.
Regarding the actual development of hiplaxity in dogs, these markers should be interpreted as risk assessment. Dogs ‘Normal’ for Hip Laxity 1 and 2 have a lower risk compared to dogs being ‘Affected’ for Hip Laxity 1 and 2.
