Sadie has hip displaysia
My mom's sheepy Sadie (Callie's littermate) was diagnosed today with hip displaysia. She is just 2 years old, and my mom is so upset. I haven't done much research on this yet - I came here first. What should we expect? How long can she live like this? And is there anything we can do to help her? The vet gave her some anti-inflammatory drugs. [I should mention that my mom is most likely not willing to put her through surgery - and probably could not afford to do so anyway - and I'm not sure if that is even an option in her case. The vet did not seem to think so.] She has always been a little slower getting up and down, but the last week has been especially bad. She has had trouble to the point that she could not get up or she would fall down when she tried to stand. Also, when mom let her outside, she would do her business and then just lay down in the grass. We love Sadie so much, she has the sweetest personality and has always been such a calm loving girl. I am so sad, sorry if this is not the most coherent post... |
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| My dog lived for about 5 years on anti-inflammatory drugs, 4 of them were very good!
We had to stop to give his tummy a break, and he could no longer get off the floor. When we restarted, in three days he was fine again. The surgery is of course expensive, but for HD and a young young dog like this, I think they do an FHO, where they completely remove the top of the bone. The muscles are strong enough to support the dog. Of course now it's ESSENTIAL for Sadie's well being to keep her as light and underweight as possible. Starve her into shape if she's overweight. I hope the pills and/or the surgery can be effective for Sadie! Keep us posted. |
| I am so sorry. Our Katrina had hip displacia in one hip and lived over 10.5 years but it was her undoing. That sounds young to be having such extreme symptoms but I guess each dog is different.
If surgery is an option are you sure your mom won't reconsider? I would have given anything to have known then what I know now. If not surgery there are medications I'm sure your vet can recommend. Good luck I know it is very upsetting news. I'm sorry for your sweet sheepie. |
I'm so sorry to hear this. That is so sad that she is already having so much difficulty at such a young age 
Have you alerted your breeder to this? They should know... so that they don't breed the parents again, or any siblings they may have kept.... |
| I am really sorry to hear about Sadie. My heart goes out to you. Please keep us updated on her, because we really care. |
| That is positive news to hear that sheepies can live several years with HD. The vet suggested that she may only have a couple of years to go. I know that each dog is different, but good reports give us some encouragement.
As far as alerting the breeder, we have not yet b/c we just found out yesterday. I will try to find his contact information when I get home (I am out of town on business right now). Oh, if only we had known when we got the girls what we know now. The breeder is a really nice man who lives on a farm in the country and had probably 10 sheepies. He keeps one male and several females to breed. At the time, we thought this was really sweet and he seemed to know what he was doing. But I have learned so much since joining this forum - now I realize that what he is doing is really bad for the breed and getting our girls there was not a good idea. Of course we still love them like our own children - it's not their fault afterall. I guess I will try to find his number and call him this weekend. Hopefully he will respond in a positive way. |
| So sorry to hear about Sadie. It sounds like you and your mom do have options though.
Did the girls come with any sort of health guarantee from the breeder? If so, the breeder might be held responsible for paying for the surgery? Best of luck to you. This is a good reminder to educate our friends, coworkers and families about what we know and wish we'd known sooner. Hugs to your mom and Sadie. |
| I am so sorry to hear about Sadie. Our first sheepie, Quincy, had elbow surgery when he was 1 1/2 years old, due to elbow dysplasia. He then took Rimadyl and Cosequin for the rest of his life. I would just caution you to watch Sadie's reaction to the anti-inflammatory (Rimadyl, Deramaxx) very closely, especially for tummy issues. Quincy developed ulcers, and the vets surmise it was from the anti-inflammatories, but all we needed to do was give him Pepcid AC. You might even want to consider giving the Pepcid immediately, to stave off any ulcers before they have a chance to start.
Give Sadie a hug from us. Laurie and Oscar |
| Best of luck to Sadie. Just dealing with Chum's hips issues the past couple weeks has been hard. I can't imagine facing it with such a young pup. I hope she has a mild case and that anti-inflammatories will keep her happy and mobile.
Perhaps swimming would strengthen the muscles that hold the joint in place? Of course, a new swimming pool is probably more expensive than the surgery. How are Callie's hips? |
| Oh Cristin,
I am so sorry about Sadie. Give your mom a hug. We found out about our Mopsy's hips when she was 8 months old, being treated for mange and they decided to do an x-ray to check her hips because I guess they could tell. I contacted the breeder ( I now know what a backyard breeder is) and asked her for the names of the two people who had her litter mates. I was able to get a hold of the one family and they had just been diagnosed with hip dysplasia too. So I got in touch with the owner of the sire and questioned her. She told me the sire did have a bad hip but it was because he had been "hit by a car". Yeah right. Too late I learned the hard way. Many times the only recourse you have with a breeder is that they will take back the dog and give you your money back. This is true with many breeders recommended by the OESCA. The problem is at this point you are attached to the dog so NO WAY are you giving it back. Mopsy didn't show signs of discomfort until she was over five years old and when I talked to my vet, he contacted the Vet school at the Univ. of MO of Columbia (a very reputable Vet school in this country). They recommended not doing surgery if she was able to get by with the medication. The first time she struggled to get up she was just nine years old. I cried and cried that morning. But she was my little engine that could and she figured out how to use her upper body strength to get her up off the hardwood floor (She had plenty of rug options but loved the feel of the hardwood). She surprised us by doing well for over a year more but about three months before she died I was helping her to get up. She lived for 10 1/2 years. Because Sadie is so young I would at least inquire about the surgery options. Also since they are litter mates you may want to have Callie x-rayed. Again I am so sorry but your family still has a sweet dog to love you and be loved. I always felt we gave our Mopsy a good life and we reaped the rewards a hundred fold. Take care. |
| I am SO sorry to hear about Sadie. My Drez also has hip dysplasia and we've been it all with her as well. Looking back with 20-20 hindsight, there were signs years before she was diagnosed, but never even having heard of the affliction, I didn't catch those signs. She was diagnosed at 11.
Both her hips are bad, but we opted for only one femoral head ostectomy (FHO), on her right hip, which was the worst one. They cut off the top of the bone so that there is no more bone-on-bone rubbing. The trick to recovery is that you have to keep the dog exercised so that the surrounding muscles grow strong enough to support the free-standing leg bone. Unfortunately, we didn't exercise her enough and as a result, her right knee locked - doesn't bend any more. We opted not to have her left hip done because her right side would not have been strong enough to support her through recuperation. She now gets cortisone shots in her bad hip every 3 months, is on Metacam (anti-inflammatory) and 2 Robaxin pills daily (muscle relaxer). Plus we give her Flexicose (a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement) on her food every night. Swimming is the BEST exercise. Drez LOVES to swim. Lets her move those legs with no pain. Just wish she could swim year round. If I remember correctly, I think her FHO cost $800. Plus now the meds every day for the rest of her life. At 13, she's starting to really slow down. If we hadn't had her one hip done, we would have lost her by now, I'm certain. Good luck. My heart's with you. |
| I'm so sorry to hear that you are dealing with this in such a young pup. As you said every dog is different so I wouldn't let you vet predetermine the outcome. I have a very good friend with a black lab who was diagnosed at about the same age with severe hip dysplasia. He is now 10+ and doing pretty well. They have had him on a regimine of Rimadyl and glucosamine since he was diagnosed. As Ron said keeping them slim is all important. My friend is also careful with activity, no jumping and although moderate exercise is important they are careful not to let the dog run full tilt for long periods. They use a ramp to get him in and out of their truck.
They also have been taking the dog swimming when ever possible, it is a good strengthening exercise that is easy on the joint. Additionally they have an orthopedic bed, I think that just means it's made out of some kind of memeory foam. They feel it is easier on his joints than sleeping on a hard floor. Good Luck |
Quote: Did the girls come with any sort of health guarantee from the breeder? If so, the breeder might be held responsible for paying for the surgery? No - he was a backyard breeder with no such guarantee, just AKC papers - which to the uneducated consumer seems like enough (of course I know better now). Quote: This is a good reminder to educate our friends, coworkers and families about what we know and wish we'd known sooner.
This is a very good point. Especially now that dogs are more popular than ever. I can only imagine the problems people will have with the puppies they are getting from 'nice people'. So far, so good with Callie. She has always seemed to be a little more agile. My husband used to set up obstacle courses and race her around them... I hope that won't turn out to have been harmful. She has to get her rabies vaccine in November, I will talk to the vet about it then. I will tell mom about the stomach problems with the anti-inflammatory. She's a nurse, so she probably knows that. But I wouldn't have.. Thanks for all the information and tips. I will keep you posted as we learn more. |
| about the swimming: That is a great idea. I can't really see my mom putting in a swimming pool -- but we have one, so I guess Mom and Sadie will just have to come to TN more often. Callie hates swimming, though, so I don't know how Sadie would feel about that.
Has anyone ever let their dogs get in a hot tub? It seems like that would be good for relaxing their muscles -- and a dog's body temp is naturally higher than a person's, so I wouldn't think that would be bad for them. Does anyone know otherwise? |
| The dog swimming facility that we go to has a hot tub for dogs. Haven't heard of any problems. I think they said they keep it at the same temp as the one at their house (human temp). |
| I would definitely look into the surgery option, the earlier the better for hip replacements. It has a high success rate especially if you do it when they are young. If you're not getting the answers you need from your local vet for these options, I would definitely pursue your major city vet colleges. |
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