Читать книгу American Pit Bull Terrier - F. Favorito - Страница 19

The Pit Bull is a generally healthy breed and the closer a dog is to working stock, the healthier it will be. One situation that deserves special mention here is the condition of hip dysplasia as it relates to the working Pit Bull. While there is no doubt that this is a serious condition for many breeds, and selecting a pup should generally include questions about the condition of the breeding stock’s hips, in some situations this concern can become overdone. In the case of the working-stock Pit Bull, overemphasized concern is often the case.

Shortly after the United Kennel Club became very involved in showing their registered Pit Bulls in conformation shows, show Pit Bull breeders began having their breeding stock tested for hip dysplasia. An alarm was sounded throughout the United States because the vast majority of the Pit Bulls being tested were found to be very dysplastic. None of these dysplastic dogs showed any outward evidence of suffering from this condition, and all of the breeding stock from which these dogs had been produced had been hard- working, long-lived, super-athletic fighting dogs!

Hip dysplasia is a genetic fault that has been found in Pit Bulls. It can only be verified through radiographic observation.

There is a difference between what we can think of as “actual” dysplasia and “theoretical” dysplasia. If you will be selecting your pup from proven, highly game-bred, long-lived working stock, questions about medical evidence that the hips are tightly formed are not as imperative as they might be in other, especially larger, breeds.