Pets

Hipster rehabilitation brace aims to treat hip dysplasia in dogs

View 16 Images
The Hipster rehabilitation brace provides support and important rear leg exercise for dogs with hip dysplasia
The Hipster rehabilitation brace provides support and important rear leg exercise for dogs with hip dysplasia
The Hipster rehabilitation brace provides support and important rear leg exercise for dogs with hip dysplasia
The Hipster rehabilitation brace provides support and important rear leg exercise for dogs with hip dysplasia
The Hipster rehabilitation brace provides support and important rear leg exercise for dogs with hip dysplasia
The Hipster rehabilitation brace provides support and important rear leg exercise for dogs with hip dysplasia
The Hipster rehabilitation brace provides support and important rear leg exercise for dogs with hip dysplasia
Eva in aquatic mode at the park
Eva: born creamy white, but a dank muddy brown at heart
Eva expresses interest in snack-sized chicken
Eva snuggles up with her favourite oinky pig toy
Eva: redecoration attempt #6552
Eva with tiara and 1st birthday meat cake
Eva makes improvements to her leash
Eva: shameless hussy
Eva snuggling with mum
The Hipster rehabilitation brace provides support and important rear leg exercise for dogs with hip dysplasia
View gallery - 16 images

Nothing can break a dog's spirit – but hip dysplasia can sure ruin your best friend's mobility and make life very painful. That's why the funky-looking Hipster rehabilitation brace could end up being such a significant product. It's designed to hold the hip in place to prevent further dislocation and injury, while providing resistance to strengthen the dog's leg muscles and connective tissue to the point where your pup doesn't need the brace any more.

Hip dysplasia affects different breeds of dog at different rates, but either way, it's a painful and nasty condition that restricts mobility for our four-legged friends. Mind you, it can't squash their jubilant spirits, can it? Eh? Eh? Who's got a jubilant spirit? Is it you? Oh it's you!

Ahem. Hip dysplasia develops when the muscle and connective tissue around the hip joint loosen up enough to let the "ball" in the ball-and-socket hip joint arrangement dislocate itself slightly and start damaging the hip socket itself. Over time, bone-on-bone contact can cause pretty sever damage to the socket, resulting in painful, arthritic hips. Eventually, some dogs lose all muscle tone and the ability to stand up unassisted. It's a real heartbreaker.

There are numerous slings and walking aids you can get to try to assist affected dogs, but we haven't come across an actual rehabilitation harness before, which is why we find the Hipster brace by Israeli designer Galia Weiss so intriguing.

The Hipster is designed to do two things. Firstly, it lifts and supports the dog's rear end, holding the hips in place with a rigid frame. Secondly, it provides additional resistance that the back leg muscles have to work against.

Developing those rear leg muscles is the key point here. Low-impact exercise that strengthens those rear leg muscles can help tighten up the muscle and connective tissue in the hip area and help the dog's hip get back to a condition where it's mechanically stable again. The Hipster brace provides a safe way to exercise those muscles while keeping the hip in place to prevent further damage.

The Hipster isn't a product yet – Weiss is doing some testing to prove the concept – but the idea seems sound, and Weiss is hoping to commercialize the idea if there's enough interest. I suspect there's going to be a lot of interest.

With that, I'd like to dedicate a section at the end of our photo gallery to my goofy lab Eva, who has between 8 and 11 percent chance of developing dysplasia according to OFFA statistics, and who wants you all to know that nobody ever feeds her, ever. She classes herself as an interior decorator, but her mother and I don't recognize her credentials.

Eva: redecoration attempt #6552

Source: DesignBoom

View gallery - 16 images
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flipboard
  • LinkedIn
8 comments
Majkers Borkers
This is amazing! Please hurry up and start selling it. My dog needs one!
Patrick McGean
My Shepard was 17 and could not walk of jump into the car, but pick up a tennis ball and she off until she dropped, use it or loose it. This therapy for big dogs could be a winner if fashion colors were used, in the mean time add one teaspoon of organic sulfur to your dogs waters once a day, or as often as wish and watch what happens when you try to touch their hind quarters. We have 4,000 dogs in study, 7 pounds to 200 pounds none of whom have hip dysplasia, though their owner who don't add sulfur to their diet still limp. Other than their bark the eye contact between a dog and his human becomes intense, "let's go play!" in a glance. If you understand cellular regeneration ask your dog if can add sulfur to your diet as well.
Heather Stevenson
I hope this does get developed and start selling it in pet stores across the world. I am from Canada and everything has to be shipped from the US which just gets too expensive. My dog desperately needs something like this. There is something very similar to this idea already being sold in the US. http://orthodog.com/index.cfm/products/hip-hound-brace/
atramarta
Please please please how could I purchase one of your dog hipster rehabilitation harness?

Please let me know!

Martha
Karl
I have to say it's hard to imagine my dog actually wearing this thing and not being completely annoyed by it... If it really works for dogs with severe hip dysplasia it could be a great product for dogs and their owners alike. However in my case, my dog has mild-moderate hip dysplasia and for now we've been able to keep it under control by feeding her a specific diet and giving her joint supplements. We also bought the Ortocanis dog hip brace which is I guess a "played-down" version of this harness. What it does is provide support and slight compression to the area, reducing pain and inflammation. http://www.ortocanis.com/en/technical-helps-for-dogs/128-hip-and-back-brace.html
I almost always notice a significant improvement in my dog's gait when he has it on. And it's already available to buy from the US..
BiancaConnelly
Were can i get one from.
Carlos Soto
o far, there seems to be a lot of interest in purchasing this brace, yet the inventor/manufacturer doesn't want to sell it. Why tease all of these dog owners with something that can help our beloved family members? It is a very cruel thing to do. Either advertise and sell it, or not, but don't give us hope that it will be available sometime in the future. It looks like it has been advertised going on 3 years and NOTHING. I have not found it sold anywhere, but I could be wrong. Thank you.
Nana
We’re can I buy one of these ?