Updated facts explanations _ Eats free choice dog food Ð eating too much puppy food may allow her skeleton to grow faster than her musculature and the hip muscles may not be strong enough to keep the femoral head in the acetabulum, therefore contributing to the preexisting congenital condition. _ Reluctance to climb stairs and problem worse in morning and after exercise and increase in lameness over time are all common clinical signs of hip dysplasia _ Ortalani sign Ð test of hip laxity; positive result is heard as a snap as the femur moves back into acetabulum after being moved to rim of acetabulum _ Rimadyl is an NSAID used as an analgesic and an anti-inflammatory, used for long term therapy of chronic inflammation of soft and hard tissues, symptomatic relief through analgesic actions. As arthritis progresses the animal may become refractory to analgesics _ Pathophysiology of hip dysplasia Ð disparity between growth of skeletal elements and musculature. _ Hip dysplasia causes pain because smaller weight bearing contact area, increased load, diminished subchondral strength and loss of shock absorbing cartilage results in alteration in the shape of the subchondral bone table. _ After exercise, the abnormal bones of the affected joint have been rubbing together causing greater pain. _ When laying in one position for an extended period (as in sleeping), the animal gets used to the joint not moving. When the animal moves the pain of the bones rubbing seems worse than when the animal was not moving. As the animal moves around, it gets used to the movement and the pain appears to be less. With increased movement, there is increased blood flow which would draw away the pain mediators from the affected joint.