[MBurdman]

Hi everyone, thanks in advance for reading and for any advice from your experiences.

My boy GSD Franklin just turned 1 years old and a few months ago I felt what was a pop in his back hip when walking / playing with me on the floor. It made me cringe and immediately think the worst, HD. I waiting until he was 1 year old to get some xrays under Anastasia as the vet said he could still be growing and it could just be puppy stuff, etc. additionally he couldn’t feel it since Franklin wouldn’t let him touch his hips when he was walking.

So we got the xrays done and they came back negative. He has great hips, everything is in order in that regard. However, the hip is loose and the vet said while he was sedated that he was able to move it around and that it pops in and out of the hip easily, even though the hips themselves are in great shape and the femur fits in nicely.

The vet is going to speak with an orthopedist, but he thinks there was a round ligament tear or that it never developed properly. , the one that holds the femur into the hip socket and says surgery might be the only option as it most likely won’t heal by itself. I’ll hopefully hear back from him in a few days.

So my question is if anyone had had any experience with this type of injury or surgery. Any others able to heal? A year old seems very young to be operated on. Looking to hear what you all have to say and recommend.

 

[ausdland]

It it were my dog and does not cause the dog pain, I would start strengthening the dog's backend in a controlled way, sit/stands, down/stands, walking up and down stairs controlled on leash no hopping, walking up and down steep hills controlled no hopping. Then swimming. That's what I've done for the better part of a year to rehab and strengthen my dog from injury. If those exercises cause your dog pain, it has an injury or orthopedic problem.

 

[MBurdman]

Thanks for the advice. Franklin doesn’t appear to be in any pain at all. Runs 100 miles an hour. Jumps, plays, is on command. He’s a great dog, just the loose hip popping which doesn’t seem to bother him. I’m defiantly going to be swimming him more.

 

[Fodder]

HD is a blanket term... and a dog can be diagnosed / scored low based the shape and fit of the bones themselves, or as you’re finding, the movement or looseness (laxity) of the joint. This is also the difference between having x rays taken and reviewed by OFA and PennHips.

It’s great that his bones look good but I would certainly seek counsel on exercises to avoid or help strengthen his ligaments.

 

[MBurdman]

Planning on sending out another set of xrays to OFA when he’s older to get a better idea. Probably at 18 months.

 

[Fodder]

Planning on sending out another set of xrays to OFA when he’s older to get a better idea. Probably at 18 months.

Well that’s the thing... I’d probably use the opportunity to do PennHips instead, since you already have information about the bone. Research the differences and see which is the best fit for you.

 

[ausdland]

I'd limit or eliminate jumping until you know. Laxity could be because he's young and will firm up as he develops or it could not be.

 

[GSDHealth]

PennHip and OFA would definitely be a good idea. I would highly recommend having an actual orthopedist review the x-rays as regular vets are not the best with hip x-rays.

 

[MBurdman]

At what age would you suspect he’d be done being so loose? Having a hard time figuring out how to keep him from jumping. He’s so active and loves to run and play hard. If you looked at him you’d think there was nothing wrong.

 

[ausdland]

Shouldn't really be after 12 months, maybe some a little longer. Sounds like you'll find out if anything is wrong soon enough.