CLUMBER SPANIEL HIPS: ARTICLE

Managing Your Breeding Program for Maximum Improvement in Hips
Judy Hiller

In 1978 when my first Clumber was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, I began to read, and listen to, everything I could find regarding hips, nutrition, breeding and rearing of puppies, with the hope of improving hips and the long-term health of my dogs. I was fortunate to have met Sandy Blakeley [Sandiam Kennels] who had already done a tremendous amount of research in puppy rearing, which she generously shared with me (and anyone else willing to listen)! Her guidance was invaluable to me in moving toward a "plan" for breeding and, equally important, for rearing puppies. This approach has been very successful for me, as I have produced a total of only 27 puppies living long enough to x-ray; of those 27, 8 have been hip-certified (not all have been checked, as many pet owners aren't willing to x-ray)...and several of their offspring have now been certified, which makes me very proud and happy!

Consider that in 1988, only 12 dogs (in the USA) had received numbers. Perhaps more noteworthy--few had even been evaluated at that point. People used to believe it was not possible to achieve "good" hips in a Clumber, due to his conformation. Around this same time, several dogs were imported from Sweden who assisted in the improvement of hips in this country. By combining the best in this country with those new imports, we began developing a legitimate "pool" of certified sires and dams. We have seen the progeny of many of these dogs go on to be certified. There are now several dogs (and bitches) with 3 generations of OFA hips behind them

The first thing to recognize about hip dysplasia (after having selected the best dogs you can for breeding) is that it is a developmental disease. While it is believed there is a definite genetic component (many components, it appears), it is something that is not present at birth, but which occurs as the puppy grows. Having a "management plan" will help you minimize environmental influences which could negate any genetic gains your breeding selection might make.

The goal is to feed for "minimum maintenance." In other words, you feed to give the puppy adequate nutrition for development of his vital systems while keeping his growth as slow as possible. This helps build stronger, denser bones and provides less stress on joints such as hips and knees during that developing phase. Because gross hip changes occur around the same time as teething, it is important to keep the puppy on this regimen through teething--to approximately 5 months of age. After the main teething is done (5-6 months), you can begin to increase the puppy's food intake to allow him to grow into his genetic potential (however large [but not fat] that may be). Slow growth does not interfere with the dog's eventual size; his genes will determine that, so long as he has been fed a balanced diet which gives him "enough" minerals and nutrients to grow. What slow growth does do is keep him from looking the roly-poly puppy that everyone loves to see. He may be smaller, with "less" bone, than puppies his age who have been fed an abundance of food at an early age. Do not let that deter you; keep your goal in mind--the long term health and wellbeing of your puppies! He will get where he was going and be stronger for your efforts.

Here is an outline of what I feel are the important steps in rearing puppies for improved hips:

If you have fewer than 3 puppies in the litter, you will need to begin intervention while the pups are still nursing. The goal is to keep weight gain/growth to no more than 2 oz. per day. Thus you must weigh each puppy daily for at least the first two weeks; after that you can weigh every-other-day to be sure you are on target. If a pup is gaining too rapidly, each time that puppy begins to nurse, pull him off and put him on the opposite side of the whelping box--make him work to get to that feeding source. Without enough competition, puppies may just "latch on" and nurse constantly without any effort. If you have more than 3 puppies, you should still weigh every day for the first two weeks (at least) to be sure the weight gains are within a reasonable range.
At six weeks, depending on birth weight, the pups should ideally weigh about 7 lbs., but no more than 8 lbs. At this point, feed each puppy individually so that you are controlling exactly how much food that puppy gets. The ideal feeding schedule at this age is 4 meals per day, but if you can't manage that, 3 will do. As a rule of thumb I would start with 1/4 cup of puppy food at each meal so the maximum they would get would be one cup per day...but the way to verify how well you are doing is to weigh pups once a week. Weight gain should be no more than 1 lb. per week. After the adjustment to solid food, I might go up to 1/2 cup, 3 times a day (maximum) if weight gains warrant it. By 14 weeks I like to see puppies weighing no more than 16 lbs., which gives you a "little" latitude on the weekly gains.
Feed a high quality, highly digestible food which gives a nice firm stool. Usually I do feed puppy food for the first 8-12 weeks (up to 14-18 weeks of age), then switch to adult food. Feed with the weight goals (at the end of this article) in mind and adjust amounts fed accordingly. Each puppy may utilize food differently - or activity levels may justify more food to maintain weight gains.
Never "force exercise" a puppy by jogging or riding a bicycle with him. Also do not let him run with adult dogs for an extended period. He can run and play with puppies as much as he wants, but no "artificial" stimulus, which might cause him not to know he is tired and should quit!
After 14 weeks I usually allow for a little more rapid gain--1-1/2 to 2 lbs. per week -- IF they have stayed within the goal range during the first 14 weeks. I don't ever try to make a puppy "lose" weight--just slow down his rate of gain.
After the teething stage (5-6 months), you can increase feed for "growth" and "finishing." At that stage I usually also reduce meals from 3 to 2.

It is worth remembering that diet and exercise cannot "make" good hips, but an overdose of either of these can most certainly ruin what otherwise might have been reasonably good hips. In addition, it is very important to monitor the pups' health closely; vaccinations must be timely and checks for parasites frequent, as anything which happens to a very thin puppy can have rapid and potentially dangerous consequences.

So--pick your stud dog carefully and seek to breed better hips...but also do all in your power, once those puppies are on the ground, to maximize their potential through your good management.

Maximum Goal Weights

1 week 2 lbs.

2 weeks 3 lbs.

3 weeks 4 lbs.

4 weeks 5 lbs.

5 weeks 6 lbs.

6 weeks 7 lbs.

14 weeks 16 lbs.

20 weeks 26 lbs.