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Should I have them checked?

2K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  Liesje 
#1 ·
So in a couple months I'm going to have Ammo fixed, he will be 18 months. I was wondering if I should have his hips checked of if he is still too young? Both his parents have good hips so I have no major worries, but I would still like to have them checked just to be safe. If I don't have them checked when he is fixed at what age should I have them checked? Let me know. Thanks
 
#2 ·
If your not planning on doing any specific high impact activities, I would have them done when you neuter him.

Reason being, you will get status of hips now, and you will have an xray for future reference if anything crops up down the line. I also suggest, since your xraying, do the elbows/spine/knees.

I always xray the whole picture, so later on, if the dog comes down with something going on physically, I have something to refer back to , to compare with any changes occuring.

Now if you want to OFA the dog, that has to be done after he's 2, altho at this age you can get a preliminary finding.
 
#4 ·
Can you wait another 6 months for the neuter and do OFA's and the neuter at the same time? Just from a breeders perspective, I would rather see final x-rays rather than prelims done. If you are spending the money on the x-rays, why not? I have never looked into PENNHIP, so cant speak on that, but they do the officials younger. Does your vet have a digital x-ray machine? Having seen regular films and digital images, I will never do regular films again. I agree with getting as much x-rayed as possible too. The expensive part is the anestesia, registering with OFA is the cheapest part.
 
#6 ·
You'll do fine if you get him neutered now, he's done growing.

And I WOULD have his xrays done at the same time. Just good to have a baseline to KNOW how his hips are now.

:)
 
#7 ·
So I just called the vet to kind of get an idea on how much it will cost for everything. The woman basically refused to do the X-rays saying that I would simply be throwing my money away because the baseline for X-rays was 2. She said the hips would change so much in the next couple months that the X-rays at 18 months would be worthless.


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#8 ·
She doesn't know what she's talking about.

A recent publication* compared the reliability of the preliminary evaluation hip grade phenotype with the 2 year old evaluation in dogs and there was 100% reliability for a preliminary grade of excellent being normal at 2 years of age (excellent, good, or fair). There was 97.9% reliability for a preliminary grade of good being normal at 2 years of age, and 76.9% reliability for a preliminary grade of fair being normal at 2 years of age. Reliability of preliminary evaluations increased as age at the time of preliminary evaluation increased, regardless of whether dogs received a preliminary evaluation of normal hip conformation or HD. For normal hip conformations, the reliability was 89.6% at 3-6 months, 93.8% at 7-12 months, and 95.2% at 13-18 months. These results suggest that preliminary evaluations of hip joint status in dogs are generally reliable. However, dogs that receive a preliminary evaluation of fair or mild hip joint conformation should be reevaluated at an older age (24 months).

*Corley, EA, et al. Reliability of Early Radiographic Evaluation for Canine Hip Dysplasia Obtained from the Standard Ventrodorsal Radiographic Projection. JAVMA. Vol 211, No. 9, November 1997
 
#9 ·
I agree she doesn't know what she's talking about, hip status isn't going to change in this two month period.

I hope it wasn't a "vet" you were talking to..

One other thing, this is YOUR money, YOUR dog, Insist they do it or find someone who will, I'd tell them it's YOUR money to throw away..If you wait, they will charge you for more anesthia, more office visit..
 
#10 ·
If you wait, they will charge you for more anesthia, more office visit..
I really think that is what they are trying to do. If I get him fixed at 18 months and then go back at 2 for xrays they can charge full price for both. I am going to be looking for a different vet. I won't take him to one who refuses to do what I ask.
 
#11 ·
MY HEAD HURTS! I just got off the phone with a vet clinic and was asking about having the hips and elbows checked when I had him neutered. I had just explained to the person that I was wanting them checked when he was NEUTERED so he was only under once. The person then ask me "Well, are you planning on using him for breeding?"
 
#12 ·
My vets do what I ask but still get confused when I am asking for hip prelims or just checking a non-breeding dog. They just aren't used to that. I had my older dog in before Christmas for his 3 year rabies and the vet commented about his "hips being bad". I said, "uh nooooo actually his hips are really nice!" and she said, "oh, but he came in for x-rays a few years back?" Um YEAH hence why I can say for a fact his hips are really nice! *der* I try not to let it bother me because they are so used to people not caring, not wanting to spend the $$$ up front, or pet people that don't do sports and never check.

In your shoes, I would do the x-rays during the neuter. Since he's NOT a breeding prospect, the OFAs are kind of pointless unless the breeder really wants the dog rated. I'd rather have everything "done" at once while the dog is under, saving the money and also the time of doing twice and the stress on the dog. The actually x-rays are NO different whether they are taken just for a look-see or then submitted to OFA. When I do prelims or am checking a non-breeding dog I simply ask for "OFA positioning" and then when I pick up my dog, I ask for a vet to show me the films and give their interpretation, then I take the films with me rather than having them sent to OFA. They are mine so I keep them on file at home.
 
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