1. A method of predicting a degenerative disease in a hip of a canine, comprising: applying a compressive force on at least one hip joint of the canine; obtaining at least one radiographic image of the at least one hip joint; determining, via computer software, centers of the acetabulum and centers of the femoral heads from the at least one radiographic image; measuring, via computer software, the distance between the acetabulum and the femoral head centers from the at least one radiographic image; calculating, via computer software, a compression index value for the at least one hip joint of the canine by dividing the distance between the acetabulum and the femoral head centers by the radius of the femoral head; determining the at least one hip joint of the canine is developing a degenerative disease or is at risk for developing a degenerative disease based on a non-zero compression index value.