Prevalence of Developmental Skeletal Abnormalities in the Dog in Bulgaria: a 6-year Survey

A 6-year survey (1 October 2006 – 1 October 2012) on the prevalence of developmental skeletal abnormalities in dogs was performed based on patients’ records of the Small Animal Clinic to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. From the total number of 6,097 dogs with surgical disorders, developmental skeletal disorders were diagnosed in 230 dogs (3.78%). The incidence of diagnoses was as followed: hip dysplasia (64.35%), panosteitis (16.96%), elbow dysplasia (12.61%), hypertrophic osteodystrophy (3.48%), osteochondrosis (2.62%). The most commonly affected breeds were German shepherd (33.4%), Central Asian Shepherd (7.83%), Golden Retriever and Rottweiler (6.52%), Labrador Retriever (4.78%), and the least frequently – small canine breeds and hunting dogs. Male dogs were more frequently affected. Most of the patients were under 3-years old (91.30%) and all recorded panosteitis cases were in dogs younger than 3 years of age.