| [quote]Originally posted by JFred:
Studies at Penn State showed that dysplasia could be eliminated in 3 generations using PENN HIP and breeding ONLY for good hips. The only problem was that the dogs resembled Greyhounds. That's a direct quote.
If you look from the top down on a Greyhound you will find that they are shaped in a wedge with a narrow front and a wide rear. Dogs that are shaped just the opposite with a wide front, and narrow rear have larger problems with hips. Now a Rottie should not any way appear like a greyhound, but it is my beliefe that Rotties with strong wide rears have better hips. Another indication of this is the better the hips the more the dog uses the rear for movement. When I say "better" this includes the angulation as well as how the joint fits. So Rotties with more massive rears in general will have better hips that Rotties with more massive fronts. So moving our dogs slightly towards the wedge shape of a Greyhound is not all that bad. |