Ok "loose hips" Is a term that I have been hearing lately. Remember the Mastino is a loosed skinned dog everything on the dog is loose. People say "loose hips" because if you where to X-ray a Mastino as a pup you will see the dog has "loose hips" the bone is not tight with the hip. However you should not see soft tissue damage and the top of the bone should have no damage as well. You have different types of HD mild, moderate, and severe. Where "loose hips" fall into to the OFA score or applies to the Mastino Napolitano I don’t know. I have my own scoring of hips I know scare huh loose, damn and God Damn! Lose to me is breed able to a male/female with a nice rear-end when the hips have been cleared of another problems. Damn and God Damn well take a guess. Why breed unsound dogs? Ok if you look at Mastino from all around the world you will find that different country's breed for different things. Type and mass is sacrificed in other country's for a more sound dog less type=tighter hips, better eyes, and so one! However is a Mastino with tighter hips less type still a Mastino? This is what I have been told and I have read over the years and experience. Doc Allevamento Del Vincenzo Click me
Pam, Let me ask you a question! When you see a obese person walking and rolling from side to side, are they hip dysplastic? A heavy person hip joints lossen up to accomadate the weight. They roll from side to side to redistribute their weight. A mastino basically does the same thing. If you compare the hip joints of an obese person to a slimmer person you will notice the hip laxity in the fat person and tight hips in the slimmer person. This is the best way to describe the movement and hip joints of the Mastini!
Type and mass is sacrificed in other country's for a more sound dog less type=tighter hips, better eyes, and so one! However is a Mastino with tighter hips less type still a Mastino? This is what I have been told and I have read over the years and experience. This is not always the case with hips, tighter/non typey equal better hips. Back in the 70's, 80's, and 90's there were much more of a problem with hips than now. The dogs back then were lighter and didn't carry as much bone or type.
I think the problem was breeders bred dogs with bad hips to others with bad hips. This was the case because of what came to the U.S. by means of imports.
Colour Key:
