Is it true that environmental factors can cause hip dysplasia?
Genetic hip dysplasia can not be caused by environment but environment (diet, exercise, supplementation) can make hip dysplasia more or less evident or problematic. While there are certainly other problems that can mimic the symptoms of hip dysplasia (hip or pelvic injury, crutiate ligament tear, panostiotis, normal arthritic changes due to age or excessive wear and tear on a joint etc.) a dog will not develop genetic hip dysplasia if it does not have the genes necessary to produce the trait. There are countless ongoing HD studies that are examining everything from the role of nutritional and environmental factors to the time of year that a dog is born. Environmental factors can definitely contribute to the age of onset of lameness and the severity of changes or lameness. It is very clear from the existing studies that there is a higher incidence of HD in overweight dogs but more information is definitely needed to determine if the obesity is the cause of the HD or if the obesity simpl
