Mannys hips
 

Manny is 9 1/2 months old and 80 pounds. I had him neutered today and also had xrays done of his hips. The xrays were not for cert because Manny is from a puppy mill. I just wanted to know how bad they were gonna be. The vet said his right hip looks okay but the left is in bad shape. Wants me to give him glucosamine and hes not allowed to run or jump anymore. Just thought I would share and see if anyone had any opinions on how bad this looks. Manny shows no sign of pain right now.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...psfe0d1153.jpg

Thanks

Bumping

You should definitely continue to exercise him - running is great for him (within reason) because that will help to build the muscles and hold that hip in place. I don't have any specific guidelines or recommended exercises to do with him, but it is really to his benefit to keep active. Do agree that jumping won't help!

not great position, but it is clear that the left is not as good

I have seen hips that are much worse tho. There is a very good equine/canine supplement called "NEXT LEVEL" by Farnum, in a liquid - you can get it on Horse.com....it has a good combination of all the supplements normally cited for hips.

With proper management and good nutrition, kept lean, he can live a normal life....many many dogs with bad hips never have any serious issues

Lee

Really don't know what they will look like as he matures.

I would say that if you can get to a veterinary physical therapist they could give excercises to keep that head into the socket as close as possible by building muscle mass in those back legs. Keeping muscle mass and a lean dog is essential.

It would really be worth a few visits (they may try to sell underwater treadmill time but most folks don\'t have time and money for frequent treadmill sessions...I got advice to do a lot of uphill walking and walking in chest high water as well as range of motion excercises, but I was dealing with a grown dog and you have a puppy so there are probably lots of considerations.

I don\'t think denying an active breed from running is going to be a good long term solution though jumping and sudden sharp turns are best avoided.

You can already see the beginning of arthritic changes in the socket.

I would get him on a supplement, keep him LEAN, exercise him but nothing that involves repetitive pounding. Swimming would be ideal. Check the hips again as he matures to see how quickly they are changing. No jumping is a good idea but I wouldn\'t necessarily say no running. He needs to develop good muscle structure in the rear to support those hips, just don\'t over-do the exercise.

Thanks everyone!

The vet is still persistent that Manny not run until atleast 18 months old. In order to do that Manny would have to be on a leash even in his own backyard. His favorite thing to do is run! He loves chasing things and has allot of energy. Im gonna let him run if he wants. He is only off leash in the backyard which is grass and I dont run with him anywhere. Ive never had him jump and will follow this advice. He is lifted in and out of the truck and we dont throw a frisbee. The only thing I can see a problem with is our deck. Its about 3 feet high with 2 sets of steps. Manny would rather jump up and down all of them at one time. Sometimes at full speed he will run and jump up one set and then jump off the other. Just watching Manny grow and how hard he plays and runs I didnt think his hips were gonna show up bad. I only xrayed because he was gonna be asleep for his neuter and I knew there could still be a chance because of his background.

This is what Im doing for supplements. He has been on 4000mg of fish oil a day for awile now. This helped with his dry itchy skin and stopped him scratching but it is also supposed to help with joints. The vet said no to the next level franam because it has glucosamine sulfate. She recommended dasuquin at 1800mg for first 4 weeks then 900mg daily. This is on order and will be here shortly.

Here is another veiw of his hips. Do these tell us anything else about his condition?

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...ps5440a5a3.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...psaca3c3c9.jpg

Thanks!