One hundred twenty-three radiographs of German Shepherd dogs (47 females and 76 males) from Military Police of Minas Gerais State were studied from April 2001 to july 2004, with the purpose of establishing the frequency and asymmetry of hip displasia. The radiographs were taken with the animals in the ventrodorsal position, with the limbs parallel and the pelvis symmetric. The average age of the dogs was 33.8±23.5 months-old. The study indicated that 89.4% of them had hip dysplasia (91.5% of females and 88.2% of males), being 6.3% unilateral, 17.3% bilateral asymmetric, and 76.4% bilateral symmetric. The frequency of hip displasia in the studied population was high, indicating the necessity of an efficient control program of the disease.
dog; hip dysplasia; asymmetry