@drstevemehler: When a poodle suddenly becomes severely lame—even without major trauma—check the hips. In a multicenter study of 627 dogs with hip luxation, nearly half of the poodles and poodle crosses had the uncommon ventral form, compared with approximately 17% of other dogs. Remarkably, 24 of the 25 affected poodles had no history of major trauma. Breed-related joint laxity or connective-tissue differences may contribute, but this study could not establish the cause. Treatment was challenging: seven of 17 hips initially managed without surgery reluxated, and five ultimately required surgery. Hobbles were not associated with a lower reluxation risk, although the small sample cannot prove they are ineffective. Have you encountered an apparently spontaneous hip luxation in a poodle? Source: Costa L, et al. Ventral coxofemoral luxation in poodle breeds: multicentre retrospective case series. Journal of Small Animal Practice. 2026. doi:10.1111/jsap.70130. #VeterinaryMedicine #VetMed #Poodle #CanineOrthopedics #HipLuxation
