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6 Month pup with hip dysplasia? Please help!

38K views 40 replies 24 participants last post by  BowWowMeow 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, I noticed that for the past few days my puppy has had a limp in his rear legs. The limping occurs on and off. Some days he does not move very much and limps when he walks, and other days he looks perfectly normal and runs very fast. I decided to take him the the vet and the vet thinks he may have hip problems. He recommended that x-rays be taken and that he will need to be sedated for the process.

My question is, can puppies develop hip dysplasia this early? Will sedation be detrimental to his health this early in age? My girlfriend, who is more knowledgeable in dogs than I am, suggests that maybe his limp is caused by his fast growth. She noticed that his hind legs are currently a little longer than his forelegs and that is causing the awkward limping. She also thinks that the puppy may grow into his longer legs...ie, eventually the problem will fix itself. What do you guys think? Any experiences similar to this?

Also, my vet was talking about a new procedure called "Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis" and that my dog needs to receive this treatment before 20 weeks of age if he has hip problems. The vet gave me a little pamphlet on the procedure and states the following:

"This surgery is performed on young puppies before age 5 months, so it generally done as a preventive procedure before it is known if the puppy will indeed have dysplastic hips. The pubic symphysis is the cartilage seem connecting the right side of the pelvis to the left side. As an individual matures, this cartilage converts to bone and the two halves of the pelvis fuse permanently. This surgery prematurely seals the symphysis, which in turn results in rotation of the developing hip sockets into a more normal alignment. While studies show promise, because this procedure is done on puppies who do not yet actually have hip dysplasia, it is hard to evaluate success."

What do you guys think of this? Any opinions on this treatment? Sorry for the very long post, I am just worried about putting my pup in surgery this young in age.

Thanks in advance!
 
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#3 ·
actually very common. some vets sedate, my vet doesn't. I don't like to sedate esp. that young. xrays can be taken by a good vet tech who can position right without putting them out. it's probably just pano considering his age. You can check for hd after 4 months. some dogs might be loose, but really bad hips would be obvious. i find it more disturbing the vet is wanting to talk about surgery without even knowing what he's looking at.


pano aka growing pains
welcome to puppyhood, lol
 
#4 ·
Could just be Panosteitis...the vet I was using when I had Onyx spayed at 6 months mis-diagnosed her pano, and positioned her terrribly for her x-ray. Told me she had "severe" HD. I posted the x-ray here, and luckily was told position was horrible. It was only Pano. She had two other bouts and it went from rear leg the first time to the fronts on the last two bouts. She is long legged and her rear is higher than her shoulders.
 
#5 ·
Our Old Bitch was dx'd with hip dysplasia very young. She developed front limp and we went to the ER. Since we were to going to have her spayed a few days following and since she was going under (a little before being 6 months) we asked that they xray her hips (I was a worry wart, I had no real reason to request this) along with the front. Our regular vet broke the HD news (front was pano). We saw an ortho.. and she immediately had a triple pelvic osteotomy (sp?) (and since she was under a needed nose biopsy- see we maximize the time under
). She was probably 7 or 8 months old. Post surgery we were told that if he saw the xrays he would tell us our dog had sever hip dysplasia- that is how bad she was before surgery- that there was really little correction possible. He told us that only one side was even able to have surgery and that we would look at another surgery when she was older. We had her checked and xrayed every year to keep an eye on things. Fast forward to last year when she was 8.... her limp was back and she was slowing. We consulted an ortho and discussed hip replacement vs femoral head removal...we did one on one side and another on the other based on their thoughts of what would work best for her. She is still slow (but she is old and has other health problems) but seems pain free- AND she is frisky.

Finding out early was good. We were able to take extra care and treat as we went. I think it has been very helpful.
 
#6 ·
Angela that was my first thought also. Pano is a pain but they do outgrow it. Rocky had bouts for about 6 months when he was a puppy.

Anyways you can get a second opinion before you try to xray him?
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the replies!

Angela_W I hope you are right. I remember when I was a teenager, I had some aches and pains in my legs from the growth spurts, I am hoping its the same for Kylo (my puppy).

I noticed that my puppy is very nervous around the vets and makes the check ups difficult. Kylo tends to struggle a lot when the vets try to take his temp or his heart beat. The vet said, that sedation would be needed for this case because he needs to be perfectly still for the x-rays. What do you recommend? Should I go ahead and let the vet take the x-rays with sedation? Or should I find a vet who can do the x-rays without the sedation?

Also, I agree, I found it disturbing as well when he mentioned surgery. He talked about it almost as if he was 100% sure Kylo would need it. Now I am starting to doubt the validity of my vet. The vet kept wanting to schedule the x-rays as soon as possible. I took Kylo to the vet earlier today, and the vet wanted Kylo back no later than Friday! I am a little worried that the vet is in it for the money since he quoted me at $281.28 for the x-ray and sedation.

Dsudd, excellent suggestion! I think I will have another vet take a look to get a second opinion before the x-ray.
 
#8 ·
I would look for another vet-maybe an ortho.Your pups pic in the avatar is absolutely adorable!
 
#9 ·
The fact that the irregularity to the gait is intermittant really suggests that this is pano I would get another opinion, and ask that pano be ruled out prior to committing to any surgery. On x-rays, pano is very obvious, so if they are looking at the hips, it can be done at the same time.

Lee
 
#10 ·
Originally Posted By: onyx'girlI would look for another vet-maybe an ortho.Your pups pic in the avatar is absolutely adorable!
Thank you! I was lucky to get that shot when I pulled the camera out and he tilted his head lol.

I think I will do that then. I will get a second opinion and ask about pano before the xray. Thanks guys!
 
#12 ·
Originally Posted By: White GSD

Also, my vet was talking about a new procedure called "Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis" and that my dog needs to receive this treatment before 20 weeks of age if he has hip problems. The vet gave me a little pamphlet on the procedure and states the following:

"This surgery is performed on young puppies before age 5 months, so it generally done as a preventive procedure before it is known if the puppy will indeed have dysplastic hips. The pubic symphysis is the cartilage seem connecting the right side of the pelvis to the left side. As an individual matures, this cartilage converts to bone and the two halves of the pelvis fuse permanently. This surgery prematurely seals the symphysis, which in turn results in rotation of the developing hip sockets into a more normal alignment. While studies show promise, because this procedure is done on puppies who do not yet actually have hip dysplasia, it is hard to evaluate success."

What do you guys think of this?
Personally I find this very disturbing.
 
#13 ·
I vote Pano as well. It seems early to start mentioning surgery. Oddly enough the surgery you mentioned was done on a foster dog (ok, foster failure) I had. His surgery was done in Japan. (Originally, he belonged to a military family) He had quite a strange gait when he ran, but he was ok. At the time, our surgical vets had never seen a dog who had this surgery. I don't know how bad his dysplasia was prior to surgery. That option seemed extreme to tell you the truth.
 
#17 ·
Originally Posted By: LisaTIf you have xrays, I would have them under sedation by an ortho vet - you want good info on which to base decisions.
Absolutely. Rudy was dx at 8 months with severe HD. Went straight to a board certified ortho surgeon.
 
#18 ·
Hey everyone, I go the X-rays taken of Kylo's hips about a week ago but I wasnt able to post pics of them because my photobucket account was having some problems. I finally was able to fix the problems!

Anyways, the vet says that Kylo has HD. Hey says that his hips are not the worst he has seen, but they are not the best either. I was hoping that you guys can take a look and give me your opinion, I know that GSDs are supposed to have loose hips when they are young, so maybe that explains the small gap? The vet says there is a small chance that his hips might get better as he grows. What do you guys think?

I also asked about pano, the vet says its definitely not pano as this conditions is described by "dark stains" on the bone where the veins enter the bone.




Thanks!
 
#20 ·
I agree that the x-rays look distorted. His bones look way THICK towards the bottom. Was this a digital x-ray or did you take a snapshot of a film? If so, make sure the film is flat when you take the picture. If it was a digital x-ray maybe the dog wasn't flat when being x-rayed? Or maybe photobucket distorted it...

I'm not an expert, but I think his right hip reminds me of Djenga's when I had them done at 7 or 8 months old. Hers may have been a little worse, I need to dig up the photo to look. As an adult there is a lot of arthritis in the joint, but she's never shown signs of pain. Just a slight irregularity when she trots. But her other hip is great, and she is a smaller female, so that must make it a lot easier on her.

I do think both of his hips look pretty loose. Is there a vet hospital or orthopedic specialist in your area? I would see if you could get a consult, I would trust them over a regular vet. I don't like the sound of the surgery your vet mentioned, but there are other options.
 
#21 ·
Yep, if that is what they really look like, they are bad.
The femoral heads are misshapen, and the femoral necks are short, thick and not really "there."
The hip sockets look bad with lots of remodeling and changes.

IF those xrays are representative of the hips, then I would get that pup to an orthopedic specialist.
 
#22 ·
I agree that you should go to an orthopedic specialist. Even if it isn't the greatest pic of the x-ray I still see lots of problems there.

Massie, my first dog, was diagnosed with severe bilateral HD at just under a year. She had two different surgeries and lived to be almost 12. There are more surgeries available now than there were then (21 years ago!) and also lots of great supplements you can use to help build healthy joints and keep arthritis in check.
 
#23 ·
Thanks for the replies! I compared the two pics to the original and the first one is pretty distorted. The first pic has been "smooshed" somewhat. The second pic is distortion free, it looks just like the original. So based on the second pic, it is pretty obvious that Kylo's hips are bad?

I have also been looking for an ortho specialist in AZ but I have had no luck finding one! My vet said that he submitted the x-rays to a radiologist for a more accurate analysis. I called my vet this morning and they said they have not heard back from the radiologist. So I am crossing my fingers that I will hear good news, but at this point I am starting to lose hope :(.
 
#26 ·
Quote:I have also been looking for an ortho specialist in AZ but I have had no luck finding one!
I don't know where in Arizona you live but here are some places to check out:

http://www.vscot.com/services.asp?frame=Surgery
http://asgscottsdale.com/
http://www.azvs.com/practices.asp?PID=7&pname=sur_services

This is a list of surgeons in AZ, some of them are large animal but you can look and see if someone is close to you. Good luck with your puppy.
http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/FindaSurgeoninYourArea/index.cfm?flShowForm=0

Michaela
 
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