Hip Problem

['too crazy]

This week I took my 10 month old puppy to the vet and I told him how she limps sometimes. He said she has Hip Displasia. (sp?) I was wondering if anyone knows anything about it. I started her on Glucosamine (500mg) and Chondroitin (400 mg) right away. This is also in her food. (Nutro Natures Best) I know she will someday get arthritis. I guess what I'm wondering is how long before the arthritis kicks in and has anyone had this happen to such a young puppy. The vet didn't take any x-rays but he did feel her hips real good and I do like and trust him. I live in the country and he does mostly the farm animals anymore but I did catch him the day he was there. I guess maybe I'm hoping he' wrong. Does the Glucossamine and Chondrooitin really help? Is there anything else I can do for her? Is she hurting now when I see her limp? She usually does it when she gets up from sleeping and after shes up and walking for a bit, she stops limping. Any help would be great!

[dlaura]

Hi Too Crazy,
Hip displasia is something a dog is born with. It has something with how the bones fit in the hip socket and will inhibit the dog some. Our first Golden was diagnosed with it and the vet said she would be a good pet - but could not be used as a show dog or breeder. Since we only wanted a pet - it was OK. Apparently it was not OK with the people who bred them as 11 puppies were found in a wash basket in a local park. As she got older she limped a little more and was slower on damp rainy days. I now know that it also slowed her down in her younger days - as our second golden does not have it and is she ever active! She can jump straight up into air on all fours - to arrive on our couch - it is really funny to see. Other then being slower and less active - that is the only difference I see between a dog without it and a dog with it. ( + not being a show dog / or breeder)

Is this the puppy that was roaming the countryside for a few weeks? If so, and you only noticed the limp after her return, I would tend to think that she incurred some type of injury while on the run. Maybe got clipped by a car or something.

I am not familiar with the meds you mentioned..........what is she on them for?

['too crazy]

Yes, this puppy is the same one wondering around trying to find her way back home. Her limping happened before she left but I took her to the vet when she came back to have a small cut on her ear stitched and thats when I asked about the limping. He felt her hips and found nothing. He said hip displasia is common in big dogs. I just didn't think to ask if she was in pain. The meds he tried to sell me were the same thing but double the price but he mentioned I could get them over the counter. They are in the viamin section, and are supposed to help rebuild cartilage and lubricate the joints. Have you heard of Osteo Bi-Flex? It's the same thing only an off brand. You can get it anywhere but I was told Wal-Mart was the cheapest. That is horrible that someone would kill the puppies over it. People like that shoul not be allowed to have animals!!!

[dlaura]

Well, actually I guess they thought that by abandoning them in a local park that they were giving them a chance. They did not actually kill them - and when I found Brandy she was the only one left at shelter that was Golden. There were black puppies and golden in the mix. I wanted a Golden - because we had just gotten new wall to wall carpet and it was of course gold. However, my son was about 4 at the time and I had researched and the result of my research led me to wanting a golden retriever. It sure does pay to do your research. She was a wonderful dog and I still miss her.

[dlaura]

So, how is the puppy doing today?

['too crazy]

I'm so glad I misunderstood. I just assumed the puppies were dead. Well, today is a week since she's been home. we've been restricting her play with the neighbors dog and she hasn't limped since Tues. morning. She still runs around the yard pretty good. Does this hurt her when she's limping or does it just ache? It seems like after shes up and walking, the limp lets up, although like I said, she hasn't limped for a few days.

[dlaura]

I am not sure if such a young puppy should be limping because of hip displaysia. Usually the hip problem gets more noticeable as they get older. As I said, Brandy (our first -abandoned one) was just calm and not a bundle of activity as Amber our second Golden is. Brandy did not really limp so much as I remember as walking very stiffly and slowly as a person with arthritis. It would be hard for her to rise from a sitting or lying down position and she would do this very slowly. However, this is when she was much older - say 10 yrs or more.

Your puppy's limp sounds to me more like a sprained muscle or perhaps something is in her paw - you might check the paw of the leg she is limping on. Insert your finger in between the pads on the paw and see if you feel anything like a pebble or twig or such. If you do find and remove something - the puppy may still limp for a day or so just as we would if we stepped on something and bruised our foot.

Also, if her nails are long you might want to clip them as I know if the nails are too long this can also effect the walking. Let me know how you make out.

['too crazy]

The very first time we noticed her limping was after she played with the neighbors lab/setter. They love to play together but the other dog likes to throw herself into mine-like shes trying to knock her over or something. Anyways, she has limped on and off since then so I originally wondered if the neighbor dog had hurt her somehow. And when you mentioned the pulled muscle, I thought right away of that time at play. Although when she gets up, she does have that kind of stiff walk. I think I'll keep an eye on her a bit but I am thinking I might get her an x-ray.

[Squawksx3]

'too, Im sure the only way to tell if a dog has HD is by x-rays.... could be wrong, but my step-son has a Lab that had HD and the vet discovered it by x-raying. The Lab was only 2 yrs old and he had surgery to correct it and is fine. He's about 7 yrs old now. The surgery is very costly, I think they paid around $5,000.00. I cant believe your vet didn't x-ray your dog to begin with. My 7 yr old German Shepherd was playing one day and blew out his knee a few years ago. He was limping and in alot of pain. The vet immediately took x-rays and scheduled surgery. He still limps a little to this day. I hope yours is just a pulled muscle, but you might want to get x-rays to be on the safe side. Please let us know what happens.

['too crazy]

Your sons dog had surgury? I asked about that and he said there was nothing they could do. I think I will go to a different vet and get an x-ray. I will keep you posted.

[Squawksx3]

Hmmmm... you might want to get a second opinion. There are things they can do for HD... I went searching and found some sites that might help. They say severe cases may be diagnosed as early as 7 weeks of age, others may not show up in radiographs until over 2 years of age. Its mostly the larger breeds that get HD.

Here are a few links for info:

http://www.petsurgery.com/caninehipdysplasia.htm

http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0090.htm

http://www.offa.org/hipgeninfo.html


Good luck to you.

[dlaura]

too-crazy,
how is the puppy doing? I have been thinking about you all!
Please update us.

['too crazy]

I haven'y taken her to the vet yet...I've been really sick with the flu and my husband's Dr. thinks he maight have MS. But I still have been giving her the meds and she hasn't been limping which is good. Once things calm down a bit here I still want to take her for an x-ray to know for sure. I will be sure to keep you posted! Thanks for asking.

['too crazy]

Just wanted to let you all know that I have an appointment for my dog on Monday. Her limping has pretty much stopped for the most part but I still want to have it checked out. I will let you know what they say when we get back!

[Squawksx3]

Please let us know how it goes... best of luck to you.

['too crazy]

The vet doesn't think she has a hip problem! I am SOOOOO happy!! :D She didn't take any x-rays but she did feel both hips and legs really good and she had her walk outside and she seems to think she has some kind of soft tissue injury. About 4 months ago she was outside playing with the neighbors dog and that dog likes to throw herself up against my dog to try and knock her off balance. Well it was right after that, that she starting limping. This vet feels that since I can pinpoint when the limping started and the fact that the limping has lessened over time, that she could have a soft tissue injury or a tendon injury and that can take longer to heal than the bone. She is on an anti-inflammatory for 3 weeks and if she isn't better she goes back but the vet feels she will be fine. She said if she did an x-ray, she wouldn't even know where to do it because she can see the dog favors the right side but not a perticular spot. If she has to go back, she will take x-rays from the hip all the way down her leg. Thanks for all the info and concern. I'm glad to have good nws to report.

[dlaura]

That is GREAT news! I am glad you had it checked out by another vet. Bet you feel better too.

[Squawksx3]

Yaaaaaaay!!!... I'm so happy to hear this... hoping the anti-inflammatory does the trick!. Thx for keeping us updated :)

[RWDVM]

Hello. I am a veterinarian. Based on what you wrote, it is likely your puppy may have hip dysplasia. However, a diagnosis and porognosis should never be offer based on clinical symptoms and examination alone. X-rays should be taken to confirm disease, observe the magnitude of disease present, and deterimine if the puppy is a surgical candidate. There are a variety of surgical options, depending on the degree of arthritis presence, age of the dog, and financial availability.

Starting the dog on glucosamine and chondroitin was a very good idea. I have had success with this combo in the past. However, the combination I favor now is glucosamine, perna caniculus root, MSM, and anti-oxidant. This combo increases joint fluid production, regenerates damaged cartilage, and decreases inflammation. Please refer to the arthritis management page of my veterinary advice and health management web site for information regarding the supplement that combines all of these products in one formulation at http://www.askdvm.com Best of luck to you. Feel free to e-mail me or reply to this post if you have any further concerns.

Roger L. Welton, DVM

['too crazy]

Thank you so much for your advice. WOW! You are more helpful than both of the vets I went to. I will start her on all the other things you suggested. She just turned a year on Nov. 10th so she's still only a puppy and I want her to spend as much of her life as she can pain free. Thanks again and welcome to the board. I'm sure we'll keep you VERY busy here!! lol Sherry