Disappointing news...would love some opinions (xrays)

[KristiM]

I took Havoc to a 24hour clinic last Friday after his tail went limp when we were doing agility. The vet took a quick look at him and said that I should get his hips xrayed. His tail has stayed limp thoughout the week, gets better with rest and worse with exercise. So today I took him in, the vet did a thorough exam and said that his tail itself seemed fine and that she did get good extension on both legs. When she was palpating his lower spine I did see his expression change (he is a very tough dog and would never cry out even if it was very painful) She said that given the symptoms and his breed that lumbosacral disease is a concern.

The xrays showed mild to moderate dysplasia in the right hip and she is concerned with some findings in his spine that might suggest a lumbosacral problem, she also said that the tail being limp would point towards a possible back problem and not just a hip issue. The xrays were sent to a radiologist for further review (still waiting to hear back) but she said to know for sure they will likely need to do an MRI.

Needless to say I'm pretty heart broken, I know HD isn't the end of the world (know lots of dogs that are able to compete and live well with it) but that coupled with a spine problem is likely going to mean Havoc is going to see some pretty significant changes in his lifestyle. Can anyone offer any opinions on his xrays? Or anyone have any experience with this?

[Capone22]

No advice but just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know what it's like to receive news like that.


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[onyx'girl]

Sockets look shallow, so sorry to read this.
I hope there is a specialist in your area re: the spine.
Bad hips aren't as serious as the spine issue/ more of a worry, IMO.

[GSDElsa]

So sorry to hear that. I'm definitely not an x-ray person. His hips (to me) don't look TOO bad. But not sure I could tell the difference between moderate dsyplasia and mild hips. Excellent hips and really bad hips stand out! Elsa has mild HD in one hip and honestly we haven't made any adjustments to lifestyle and she's had NO problems. Maintain with supplements and that's it. Maybe it will catch up to her when she gets older, but for now we are going with it.

You've probably seen this website, but just in case
Degenerative lumbosacral stenosis in dogs - Veterinary Medicine

So sorry to hear this. Hope it ends up being nothing. The surgery to alleviate the lumbar issue sounds very successful, so at least that's promising :-/ And it sounds like in some dogs 4-6 weeks of medical treatment is all tha is needed?

[KristiM]

Thanks Capone22. I am really trying to not lose my head on this, but man all I keep thinking is WTH am I going to do with this super crazy high drive dog??? I had such high hopes for him in agility and now I don't even know if I will be able to continue with him at all. I also hike A LOT and he might not be able to do that with me anymore, sad day for me and Havoc

[KristiM]

Thanks Onyx'sgirl I am definitely more concerned with the spine! There are some good specialists around here...

Thanks for the website GSDElsa, I will check it out. I haven't had much of a chance to look into it, just got home...

[Jax08]

I would take him to an ortho and have xrays done of his whole spine. I've wasted alot of money and time on bad xrays, bad diagnosis that completely changed when the ortho redid it.

[KristiM]

Originally Posted by Jax08

I would take him to an ortho and have xrays done of his whole spine. I've wasted alot of money and time on bad xrays, bad diagnosis that completely changed when the ortho redid it.

Do these look like bad xrays? She is a rehab specialist (don't know if that makes her any better at xray postioning/reading.) The xrays have been sent to a radiologist for review. She did say that xrays were not going to be able to difinitively diagnose lumbosacral disease...he would need an MRI.

[Jax08]

When it was suspected that Jax had a back issue, the ortho tech made the comment that the whole back should have been xrayed. Ortho's have more experience looking for inflammation, disk space issues, etc.

The xrays look like decent positioning. Probably about the same as Jax's hips (mild).

I would personally wait for the radiologist to review. But would make an appt with the ortho in the mean time. It might be he just needs to go to a chiropractor for a pinched nerve from doing agility and twisting wrong. Is he on any anti-inflammatory?

[onyx'girl]

I'd not want a chiro doing anything until the rads have been read by an ortho. Unless the chiro can read them and know exactly where to go.