Doberman Hips & Elbows Health Testing and Common Health Issues
Joint issues are one of the top concerns of those who own a large breed of dog. The major joints causing this worry in European Dobermans are the elbows and hips. The shoulders and knees are usually only concerns when an injury has occurred. Elbow and hip dysplasia are unfortunately too common of a problem with bigger dogs and are, understandably, issues owners would prefer to avoid! When we receive inquiries about our European Doberman puppies, elbow and hip dysplasia are big topics of discussion, and for good reason!
When looking to add a puppy to your family, the desire to bring home the healthiest puppy with the least potential for future health problems is of course the biggest priority! And it should be for the breeder of your choosing as well! Proper joint health not only ensures your dog is able to remain active throughout their lifetime, but also contributes greatly to the overall health, wellbeing, and happiness of your pet.
We would like to share with all current, potential, and future European Doberman puppy owners everything they should know about elbow and hip dysplasia in the Doberman breed and in our specific breeding dogs.
|
What is Dysplasia?
Dysplasia, or when the joint is loose, causes the bones to come out of place when the joint is moved. This abnormal movement over time causes the joint to deteriorate. This further worsening of the joint can then led to injury or further complications such as arthritis in the bones (osteoarthritis). The overall main concern for dysplasia is the pain it causes the affected animal.
Hip Dysplasia
The hip joint is made up of the femoral head of the femur (the ball area on the long thigh bone) and the acetabulum of the hip (large round indent). The femoral head sits in the acetabulum and forms the hip joint. The femoral head is able to rotate inside the acetabulum which allows for the dog to move the back legs - not only back and forth with walking, but rotation is able to be done as well which assists with other movements).

This illustration depicts the hip joint in three different conditions. The first (left) is a normal hip. This normal hip is classified as so because the majority of the femoral heads are in the acetabulum. This normal hip joint is tight and the bones are properly formed as well (smooth and rounded). The second (middle) hip is one with dysplasia. We can see the dysplasia in the hip joint because a good portion of the femoral head is outside of the acetabulum. The third (right) hip is one that has dysplasia which has caused secondary arthritis. The arthritis has further changed the shape of the femoral head (bumpy) and the joint isn't smooth or tight. The femoral head has also gotten further out of the acetabulum.

These radiographs (x-ray) show the actual difference between a biologically perfect set of hips and one with severe dysplasia. With the excellent hips, the femoral heads are almost all the way inside the acetabulum. The joint is tight and the bones are smooth. With this healthy joint, you can notice how straight the rest of the hips, spine, and legs are. The radiograph of the severe dysplasia shows loose hips, a slightly curved lower back, and the femurs are at two different angles. This shows just how crucial proper hip joints are for the rest of the body. Misaligned hip joints can alter the rest of the structure of the dog and led to pain in other areas.
What is Elbow Dysplasia in Dogs?

The medial epicondyle of the humorous (rounded end portion of the upper arm bone) and the osteochondritis desicans (OCD) of the ulna (one of the two bones of the forearm) form the elbow joint. This joint only allows for bending which creates the movement of the front leg moving up and down when the dog is walking. The elbow joint is critical for walking, but does not support as much weight as the hip joint.
This illustration of the elbow joint shows how the joint should properly appear. Like the hip joint, we are looking for smooth bones and a tight joint. Elbows with dysplasia have the medial epicondyle farther away from the OCD of the ulna and/or have a lack of smoothness and tightness in the joint.
This illustration of the elbow joint shows how the joint should properly appear. Like the hip joint, we are looking for smooth bones and a tight joint. Elbows with dysplasia have the medial epicondyle farther away from the OCD of the ulna and/or have a lack of smoothness and tightness in the joint.
How to Prevent Hip & Elbow Dysplasia in Your Dog
Dogs can have just elbow dysplasia, just hip dysplasia, or both. To avoid both dysplasia in your European Doberman puppy, it is important to keep these four topics in mind:
Proper Structure or Conformation

Conformation, or how accurately a dog conforms to its breed standard, is critical in preventing issues in all the joints. The structure of European Dobermans is very square - the spine or back is straight, level, and parallel to the ground and the hips and shoulders are aligned. If you draw an imaginary line from the hip to the shoulder to the elbow and to the knee and back to the hip of your Doberman, you should be able to see a perfect rectangle. If you do, your Doberman has a square structure which not only makes them a great representation of their breed as they have proper conformation, but also means they are likely to have healthy joints.
Beware of "oversized" or "Warlock" Dobermans. This increase in size increases the risk of joint issues in Dobermans.
Beware of "oversized" or "Warlock" Dobermans. This increase in size increases the risk of joint issues in Dobermans.
Overall, Dobermans are fortunate that their breed standard allows for healthy joints because of the breed's torso shape. Other breeds are not as fortunate. Due to the type of conformation Dobermans have, dysplasia is not super common. However, because of how square the Doberman is, those that dysplasia does affect, they are affected severely. It is because of this, that we and puppy buyers should be concerned with both hip and elbow dysplasia.
Avoiding Intense Exercise at young ages to prevent hip & elbow dysplasia in your Doberman
Not only is genetic health of great importance in preventing joint issues in Dobermans, but there are equally impactful environmental factors to consider as well. The biggest concern is how exercise can negatively impact the joints.

By far, the most damage exercise can cause a large dog, is when they are a puppy. This radiograph image shows the hips of a very young dog. Notice the large gaps or spaces between each of the bones. The joints are barely formed at this age. In fact, it takes the entire time your puppy is growing for the joints to completely form.
European Doberman Females on average take 24 months to finish their growth. European Doberman Males take as long as 36 months.
When the puppy or young dog is exercised heavily, the normal growth of these bones and the formation of the joints is altered. Bones aren't able to reach full length, the joint is worn prematurely and never forms a tight or smooth joint. Exercise can easily change a perfectly genetic hip into one with dysplasia, even one with dysplasia in a young dog.
When we refer to exercise that can be damaging to a dog before they have finished growing, we are not advocating for keeping your puppy immobile or inactive for those first two or three years. Not only would your puppy be bored, but you would be equally miserable as an owner. Instead, we are referring to high intensity and high impact types of exercises. Examples of these strenuous and potentially harmful exercises include: long walks or hikes, on leash runs, leashed treadmill or pool exercises, and playing games such as fetch for too long.
European Doberman Females on average take 24 months to finish their growth. European Doberman Males take as long as 36 months.
When the puppy or young dog is exercised heavily, the normal growth of these bones and the formation of the joints is altered. Bones aren't able to reach full length, the joint is worn prematurely and never forms a tight or smooth joint. Exercise can easily change a perfectly genetic hip into one with dysplasia, even one with dysplasia in a young dog.
When we refer to exercise that can be damaging to a dog before they have finished growing, we are not advocating for keeping your puppy immobile or inactive for those first two or three years. Not only would your puppy be bored, but you would be equally miserable as an owner. Instead, we are referring to high intensity and high impact types of exercises. Examples of these strenuous and potentially harmful exercises include: long walks or hikes, on leash runs, leashed treadmill or pool exercises, and playing games such as fetch for too long.
For puppies and young dogs, we recommend exercise off leash and following the puppy's body language. When s/he lays down to rest, the exercise is over. As long as the puppy is in charge of the intensity and duration of the exercise, then the joint is being protected. It is when they are forced to continue (such as when they're on leash and cannot communicate their tiredness) that the damage begins. Light on leash walks at farmer's markets or at Home Depot where they can get socialization is the best type of on leash "exercise" for a young dog.
Notice on these radiographs the difference between the knee joint and the long bone shown on puppy (left) and the adult (right). There is so much potential for damage in a puppy that the benefits of strenuous exercise are far less than the potential risks. Once a puppy has reached maturity (24-36 months), they are ready to become a "running buddy" or to be truly exercised and pushed physically. Waiting for the growth plates to close and the joints to be finished forming is one of the best things you can do for your European Doberman pup. They will thank you for it as an older adult without painful joints!
|
Excellent Nutrition
A properly fed dog is able to properly grow. There isn't much more to it! If your dog is fed a balanced diet with enough calories, they will reach their physical potential and their joints will be able to be formed as nature intended (which in a genetically healthy dog, means genetically healthy joints)! If you would like specific dietary recommendations, please do not hesitate to reach out to us!
Supplements
Many supplements exist for those dogs who have been diagnosed with joint issues such as arthritis and dysplasia. However, we are more concerned with supplements that can be given before an issue develops. These supplements act to further protect genetically healthy joints. At six months of age, we start all of our dogs on a small fish oil and glucosamine supplement.
Glucosamine is the most popular joint supplement for both people and canines. Glucosamine is found naturally in the body (in the joints)! By supplementing more, we ensure the body always has a supply of this much needed material that protects the joints.
Fish oil is a wonderful supplement for a long list of things! One being, protecting joints!
Chondrin and MSM are other supplements proven to provide excellent joint health in large breed dogs.
Fish oil is a wonderful supplement for a long list of things! One being, protecting joints!
Chondrin and MSM are other supplements proven to provide excellent joint health in large breed dogs.
Health Testing
Radiologists can evaluate hip and elbow joints by looking at radiographs (x-rays). Unbiased radiologists at the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) or eVetSourceDiagnositics not only evaluate the joints, but they are able to give them a score. All reputable breeders should have a x-ray taken of their dog taken around 2 years of age (this is when the dog has finished growing and the joints are fully formed). Dobermans who fail to pass these evaluations of their hips and elbows should not be bred.
For hip evaluations, the hip can score one of the following (1) excellent, (2) good, (3) fair/poor, or (4) fail. Most Dobermans pass with one of the top three scores. Elbow evaluations are just pass (normal score) or fail.

This is the hip radiograph of our Beatrice. It was taken just before her second birthday. Her hips scored as an "excellent". We attribute this score to her structure (conformation), excellent genetic health, and our diligence to ensure she was and continues to be exercised appropriately. Genetically, her puppies should continue to have wonderful hips so long as they too are given all the opportunities to live a healthy life.
Our Beatrice is just one of our dogs to have scored so well with the hips. Her older sisters, Anastasia and Novella Jr., both scored "excellent" as well. Her littermate, Lily, scored "good" which is wonderful as well! Our puppies who have gone to breeding homes have also reported to us passing scores. We are proud to share all of our health testing results, but there is a particular happiness when we can share the good news about our dogs' joints!
Our Beatrice is just one of our dogs to have scored so well with the hips. Her older sisters, Anastasia and Novella Jr., both scored "excellent" as well. Her littermate, Lily, scored "good" which is wonderful as well! Our puppies who have gone to breeding homes have also reported to us passing scores. We are proud to share all of our health testing results, but there is a particular happiness when we can share the good news about our dogs' joints!
Questions to Ask Your Breeder
1. What testing do you do on your breeding dogs in regards to evaluating their joints?
If we were asked this question, we would point our potential puppy buyers to the OFA or eVetDiagnostic certificates/reports on our current breeding dogs. We post all of our health testing results on our website (with copies of all paperwork). All of our dogs of breeding age have their hips and elbows evaluated - and they pass or are not bred!
For our puppy buyers, we recommend free feeding (no portion control) their puppy 3-4 times a day to ensure they are consuming enough calories for their high metabolism rates. Not only is it important how much the puppy is being fed (quantity), but the type of food (quality) matters just as much! We also recommend they feed their European Doberman puppy a high quality, puppy specific formula, made for active breeds. We currently recommend Sport Dog Food's Cub Formula.
2. Is there a diet or supplement you recommend to help my puppy's joints?
We recommend a high quality diet with adequate protein levels. But, most importantly, we recommend allowing your puppy to free feed! A Doberman's metabolism is so high that we encourage owners to allow their puppy to eat as much as s/he desires. Even then, many European Doberman puppies appear thin the first year of life. Ensuring they are getting enough calories a day ensures their bodies are able to grow as they were genetically predisposed to do.
For supplements, we recommend giving your Doberman fish oil and glucosamine under the supervision of your veterinarian (they can recommend brands and dosages). A veterinarian may recommend further supplements as needed for your puppy depending on their lifestyle, age, diet, and overall health.
For supplements, we recommend giving your Doberman fish oil and glucosamine under the supervision of your veterinarian (they can recommend brands and dosages). A veterinarian may recommend further supplements as needed for your puppy depending on their lifestyle, age, diet, and overall health.
3. Are joint issues covered in your health guarantee?
In our 24-month contract, we cover both hip and elbow dysplasia. In our opinion, all breeders should!
4. What kinds of exercise should I avoid while my puppy is young?
We recommend letting your puppy be in charge! Let them set the pace and the duration! Otherwise, the potential for damage is too high! If you think it's too much, it probably is! Reduce your European Doberman puppy's risk by letting them take it easy (until they're two years old that is!).