Signs may be noted as early as four months of age. Many affected animals will go through a period between six and about twelve months of age, during which the clinical signs will be the worst. After this period, most will show some signs occasionally but they will not be as severe. As these dogs continue to mature, there will probably be permanent arthritic changes occurring in the joint. This will cause many obvious problems and it may become necessary to utilize oral or injectable medications to make the animal more comfortable.
Elbow dysplasia is therefore a life long problem for the affected animals.
Some of these patients can be helped with surgery. In some, surgery can even eliminate the problem totally. As stated, most affected dogs will have two, and most probably all three of the elbow dysplasia disorders present at the same time. Additionally, a majority of these animals will have both their right and left elbows involved. The symptoms of front leg lameness and pain in the elbow lead us to think about elbow dysplasia as a diagnosis.