Vitamin C and Hip Dysplasia

by Sylvia Hammarstrom
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As you probably know by now, I 'm a great believer in nutrition, "YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT". I feel strongly that a good natural diet will prevent many health problems later in your dogs life, eg; skin problems, cancer, arthritis, and most important HIP DYSPLASIA.

Hip dysplasia is actually a form of arthritis of the hipbones, which is often discovered as loose joints shown in an X-ray.

I have raised dogs here at SKANSEN KENNEL for 25 plus years. I have raised several working breeds like the German Shepherd and Rottweilers, as well as the Schnauzers. In all of these years, It have NEVER raised a clinically dysplastic dog . I 'm quite sure the general public would have a difficult time believing this. Statistically, I certainly should have ended up with at least one or two out of the hundreds of dogs that I have raised. The fact is, I never have and have often wondered why I was so lucky, or what factor was present for me that wasn't there for other people .

I have finally come to the conclusion that HIP DYSPLASIA simply is a lack of VITAMIN C in your dogs diet. Almost all dogs in the U. S . are raised on commercial dog food- with no NATURAL VITAMIN C. True, the manufacturers add ascorbic acid, but this chemical form of Vitamin C just isn't good enough. Your dog MUST get Vitamin C in his diet on a daily basis from a natural source, like fresh vegetables or RAW MILK or Vitamin C made from a VEGETABLE SOURCE .

Our puppies get RAW MILK daily (not homogenized or pasteurized milk ) and raw meat, rice and cooked chicken necks. Just that little addition of fresh raw food evidently provides enough Vitamin C to make a difference.

For many years I have recommended Vitamin C to my puppy buyers and they say they religiously give a big dose of Vitamin C daily, and still some dogs get Hip dysplasia. 1 had no explanation for this until recently. I learned from a top nutritionist in the U. S ., Dr. Don Lawson, that 80% of the ascorbic acid ingested is flushed through the kidneys within two hours of taking it. In other words, the body cannot utilize chemical Vitamin C properly. However if your dog is fed a natural diet, with fresh vegetables daily, some raw grated carrots and some cooked vegetables like potatoes, he can utilize the Vitamin C present and build proper COLLAGEN.

What is COLLAGEN? Collagen is the substance that keeps your body together. Without collagen you or your dog would fall apart. COLLAGEN NEEDS VITAMIN C. A severe Vitamin C deficiency can cause scurvy disease which has killed many sailors in the past. Typical signs of scurvy are loss of teeth and joints becoming loose- just like in Hip dysplasia. To prevent scurvy, which is a very painful deficiency just like SEVERE HIP DYSPLASIA, sailors were told to eat lemons or limes daily to prevent the Vitamin C deficiency.

Dogs manufacture some Vitamin C themselves, but obviously some do not manufacture enough . Like Dr. Earl D.V.M ., I strongly believe that a HIGH REQUIREMENT for Vitamin C may be inherited, rather than the disorder itself. This should come as no surprise, as dogs are not allowed to breed by natural selection, but rather at the whim of the breeder.

Since I am now aware that Vitamin C is the important factor in building collagen, I also feel this explains the many knee injuries you see in large breeds today- after all there is a lot of collagen in your kneecap .

I have, of course, raised some dogs that did not clear OFA on the X-ray . In every case, these dogs had some form of virus when they were pups and were given antibiotics for an extended period of time. I am convinced that the antibiotics interfered with the Vitamin C absorption. Had I known what I know today, I could have doubled the Vitamin C dose for these particular dogs .

So, to be on the safe side, I recommend that every puppy buyer give natural food with some kind of vegetables daily. Also I recommend that you give your pup at least one Vitamin C tablet in the morning and one tablet in the evening daily for the first two years of his life- and of course only Vitamin C made from a VEGETABLE SOURCE. IF IT DOES NOT SAY this on the bottle, don ' t buy it . The only company that we know of that makes natural Vitamin C is ROCHE COMPANY in SWITZERLAND, a world renowned company. In the U. S ., NEO-LIFE (GNLD) imports their Vitamin C from Roche . That is the company I buy my Vitamin C from exclusively.

To get GNLD VITAMIN C TABLETS or a powdered Vitamin C, all made from vegetable sources, you have to order it from a GNLD DISTRIBUTOR- it is NOT available in stores.

Every time some one calls me and tells me about a dog they had for 17 years and more, I ask them what they fed their dog . It is always table scraps, apples, carrots, broccoli stems-all convincing me they got a diet rich in NATURAL VITAMIN C. Also ranch and farm dogs are seldom known to get hipdysplasia. As you know, dogs will eat horse and cow manure with gusto, I'm convinced they know they need the digested grass or alfalfa, probably a very high source of natural C. Every day, when I take my dogs for a walk on the ranch, they seem to find it .

I know of an older gentleman that used to be the kennel manager for one of the largest German Shepherd kennels in the U. S ., in the 30 ' s and 40 ' s . He told me that back then no one had ever heard about dysplasia . He never knew of any shepherd that was crippled. Then, in 1950, a few cases were recorded and it was said it was typical for German Shepherds, because of their long body and extreme angulation. In the 1960 's - 1970 's it became so common in Shepherds that almost everyone worried about it. Even worse, it started cropping up in many other breeds. So now, one was told, it was typical for all large breeds because they grew so fast! Then I remember hearing that almost any breed could get it, except Greyhounds. A case had never been recorded in this breed . It was impossible for them to get it! Well, I now know, Greyhounds that are afflicted as well as Pomeranians, Cockers and little Schnauzers . Almost every single breed!

It has been documented, by going back into the early 1900's that no dogs had hip dysplasia during this time, a quote I read in the book "HOW TO KEEP YOUR DOG HEALTHY THE NATURAL WAY", by Pat Lazarus . Yet today it is rampant . I ask myself, What have all these breeds in common except hip dysplasia?

Commercial dog food is definitely one answer . Most every breeder and dog owner in countries like the U.S. and Europe feed almost exclusively commercial dog food, as it is so convenient. Commercial dog food, by it's very nature, has no natural live VITAMIN C available . Food has to be fresh to provide natural Vitamin C, like raw carrots and apples .

This theory of VITAMIN C being at the heart of the HIP DYSPLASIA epidemic is not new. Many veterinarians have written articles about their great success with natural foods and how they have completely eliminated hip dysplasia in their clients' dogs. Yet, few dog owners are aware of how easily they could prevent this unnecessary painful problem.

I see a great increase in knee cap injuries in all large breeds, and I strongly feel this is also a weak collagen problem stemming from a lack of natural Vitamin C.

My personal opinion, after 40 years of breeding large breeds of dog, is that hip dysplasia is not a genetic factor . In fact, the well known Wendell O. Bellfield D.V.M. says, "canine hip dysplasia is a NUTRITIONAL and BIOCHEMICAL imbalance". He continues to say "the concept that the key to the disease lies in genetics has failed miserably. The "experts" have failed to prove the existence of a gene that causes hip dysplasia; they have also failed to determine the action of the alleged gene . "

Due to my personal experience of the last 40 years as an active breeder and all of the information available about Vitamin C and how it stabilizes collagen, I have included it in the guarantee on the pups I sell. I will not only guarantee against this disorder if the new owner feeds his dog natural food with lots of vegetables and some natural Vitamin C from a vegetable source daily. However, for those of you who did not know how to prevent it and now your dog has developed lameness which your veterinarian diagnoses as hip dysplasia, I have very good news.

Dr. Terry Durkes D . V. M . from Marion Indiana, and other veterinarians around the country, have developed a technique using a form of acupuncture, actually a gold bead implant, with which they can eliminate the dogs pain 100% in one visit for less than $200. It also stops the progress of the arthritis! It 's an incredible technique which takes one veterinarian visit and no surgery. If you'd like to find out more about this technique, you can contact DR. DURKES at 1-317-664-0734 or even better, buy a video from AMERICAN DOG- the video magazine, where DR. DURKES is interviewed by RICK ROUTLEDGE. It's fascinating to see severely crippled dogs get well literally in front of your eyes. The video cost is $22.45 shipping included and all you do is write to: AMERICAN DOG PO BOX 127, 7215 E. STATE RD. 18 MONTPELIER, IN 47359 or call 1-317-728-2144 ASK FOR AMERICAN DOG VIDEO VOLUME ONE, NUMBER THREE .

Anyone who has ever considered surgery for hip dysplasia should look at this procedure first. It 's quite incredible. Something one has to see to believe.

By the way, I know of several severely crippled dogs who became completely well when switched to natural diet with natural supplements.

Meanwhile, I myself continue to monitor the hips of my dogs, as well as educating my puppy buyers on how to prevent dysplasia . I predict that in 20 years these theories will be commonly accepted worldwide. For now, there are still many people who believe genetics is at the heart of the problem only because that 's what they been told for so long. I pray these people will give VITAMIN C in a natural form a chance to work for their dog .

For my puppy buyers, in case your dog injures himself, here is a list of veterinarians who are skilled with acupuncture. Contact anyone of them for help with any lameness, whether knee injury, hipdysplasia, or other pain your dog might have. Give him a chance to recover quickly, easily and cheaply instead of getting involved with expensive surgery . These veterinarians are specially trained, I.V.A.S. certified members. If one is not directly in your area, it might be well worth the trouble to travel to the nearest one.

THE FOLLOWING VETERINARIANS ALL DO GOLD BEAD IMPLANTS .

DURKES, TERRY D.V.M. 1-317-664-0734
WESTERN ANIMAL HOSPITAL
909 NORTH WESTERN AVENUE
MARION, IN, 46952, U.S.A.

ALLISON, CHARLES C., D.V.M. 1-512-476-9191 1-512-452-2036
AUSTIN ANIMAL ACUPUNCTURE CLINIC
1005 EAST 30th ST.
AUSTIN, TX 78705, U.S.A.

ANDERSON, ROBERT H., D.V.M. 1-503-623-8318
POLK VETERINARY CLINIC,
1590 EAST ELLENDALE ST.
DALLAS, OR 97338, U. S .A.

CAIN, MARVIN J., D.V.M. 1-513-522-3883
7474 GREENFARMS DR.
CINCINNATI, OH 45224-1210, U.S.A.

CARREN, DON J., D.V.M. 1-301-881-6447 1-301-757-2555
12200 ROCKVILLE PIKE
ROCKVILLE, MD 20852, U.S.A.

CLEMENS, PAULE., D.V.M. 1-216-543-1311 l-216-543-4961
17701 MUNN RD.
CHAGRIN FALLS, OH 44022, U.S.A.

LIMEHOUSE, JOHN B., D.V.M. 1-818-761-0787
L ' HOUSE VET. CLINIC OF HOLISTIC MEDICINE
10742 RIVERSIDE DR
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA 91602, U.S.A.

MARTIN, WILLIAM., D.V.M. 1-704-684-4244
BREVARD ANIMAL HOSPITAL
ROUTE 3 BOX 1402 ASHVILLE HWY
BREVARD, NC 28712, U.S.A.
 

NELSON, YVONNE, D.V.M. 1-205-626-3771
PO BOX 759, HIGHWAY 98
DAPHNE, AL 36524, U.S.A.

SAFFEN, EUGENE E ., D.V.M. 1-2 0 5- 457 -1247
2940 HWY 45
EIGHT MILE, AL 36612, U.S.A.

STAJICH, MICHAEL H ., D.V.M. 1-313-434-5800
4618 PACKARD
ANN ARB0R, MI 48104, U.S.A.