[tedhoek]

Hello,

I bought a puppy 1 month go at a age of 3 months. It is a working line puppy When the puppy walks his hips looks unstable and hey bunny hops when he runs. Today i made x rays and it looks very bad to me. Can someone please tell me how bad it is and give a diagnose? I live on Bali (indonesia). There is no sepcialist on the island to judge the xrys.what is the prognosis of my puppy?

I am so sad bout the bad news. it is my first german shepard. I specally bought a working line dog from a good breeder to avoid this problem.

Thank you

 

[DWP]

Looks bad, but there is hope

I am not a vet or expert, but one of our girls had severe HD. We opted for FHO. Can't remember what it stands for but it is a surgery where they cut the ball off the top of the femer (?) and smooth it. The healing process creates a false joint. Our girl is as right as rain and no pain. Search FHO on this site and see what you find. Much cheaper than hip replacement. Good Luck!

 

[wyominggrandma]

Those hips are really bad for such a young puppy. One is sublexated out of the socket, the other has no acetablem to hold the femoral head and both femoral heads are squared off. I have never seen hips this bad in a 4 month old baby.
At 4 months old, this is severe. I imagine he will have major issues as he grows up.
You can opt for FHO surgery(Femoral Head Ostectomy) on both hips. I admit to never seeing this surgery done at such a young age, although I am sure it does happen due to injuries, I would work with my vet on that situation. Until and if you do have surgery, keep your puppy from jumping up and down off things, keep him light in weight. Have you talked to his breeder? Personally a good breeder should be willing to take this puppy back and refund your money or replace him. I know you are attached to this puppy, but hips this severe at 4 months will only get worse and painful as this youngster grows.

 

[Mooch]

Being in Bali makes things very difficult for you!!.
Is there any good Vets there? Is surgery an option for this puppy?

I can give you an email address for a vet that does hip scores in Australia but he charges around AU $90 to do the hip score and it's plain to see that your puppy has VERY bad hips, you would be better to put that money toward a possible surgery. Any vet that sees those x-rays should be able to tell that they are bad

 

[NancyJ]

I know there is a veterinary college in Western Australia.......He may be young enough for a TPO as well but I don't know nor do I know the restrictions for flying him in but.... agree a specialist should give you options.

I would talk with the breeder as well. For something this bad, maybe you can get a refund to offset the cost of the repair ......

 

[arycrest]

I can't comment on the x-rays but it sounds like your pup has a definite problem. However, I can tell you about my experience with Abbey, my OES.

When she was 8 weeks old you could hear her hips popping and feel them. She was x-rayed when she was young, forget how old she was, and it showed sever HD. Back in the 60's they didn't have all the surgical options that are available today but she got along pretty good, didn't seem to be bothered by them. She lived to celebrate her 16th birthday and was put down due to complications which were not related to her HD (it's a long story, but my parents owned her for almost her entire life).

Not sure what type of vets are available on Bali (a place I've always dreamed of visiting) ... but your vets should at least be able to perform the FHO procedure which is a major hip surgical procedure that has been around for many decades.
Femoral head ostectomy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PUP!!!

 

[Gwenhwyfair]

I am very sorry for you puppy. Lots of good advice so far, so I wish you the best and only can add this -

In blue, see, there are no guarantees with HD and other genetic issues in GSDs, yet you see this message perpetuated over and over again about working lines, sometimes by the less then honest WL breeders too.

I know a smallish 40 pound mix breed (some pit bull in her, no GSD at all in her) and goodness knows what else she has mixed in that has very bad hips at just over one year old. So even getting a mutt is not a guarantee.

Again so sorry, I hope there will be a positive outcome for you and your puppy, please come back and update.

Hello,

I bought a puppy 1 month go at a age of 3 months. It is a working line puppy When the puppy walks his hips looks unstable and hey bunny hops when he runs. Today i made x rays and it looks very bad to me. Can someone please tell me how bad it is and give a diagnose? I live on Bali (indonesia). There is no sepcialist on the island to judge the xrys.what is the prognosis of my puppy?

I am so sad bout the bad news. it is my first german shepard. I specally bought a working line dog from a good breeder to avoid this problem.

Thank you