Signs of hip dysplasia?
I was wondering if anyone could tell me some of the early symptoms of hip dysplasia. I have heard that a sheepie has to be about 18 months in order for him to be officially checked out for his papers. Mine is only 7 months old, but I recently found out that he came from a puppy mill, which worries me, and he has some worrisome behaviors with his back legs. It has been happening since we've had him (about 5 weeks) but I really noticed it last Friday after our walk. We were in the kitchen and he was lying on his side and when he went to stand up, he used his front legs first to sit, and then it seemed like his back legs weren't working at all and it took him several tries to stand up. This happened several times over the night and he seemed to be walking very stiffly. He looked like an old dog trying to stand up and walk. My father (who has owned several sheepdogs) and my fiance both said that I am probably overreacting, that he probably pulled a muscle or was just slipping on the slick floor, but I am worried. Does anyone know the early signs of hip dysplasia? He seems to be in fine health otherwise (vet says so) and I hadn't even thought of asking about the hips since I thought he was too young... |
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| He could've just pulled something, but if he came from a mill, there's a very good chance that it's because of his breeding. You're lucky you caught it now though, you may be able to fix it. Many health problems show up later in life in mill dogs.
Good luck with your boy!! Keep us updated. |
| I would take him to your vet. He can xray the hips, and it may be nothing. Since you probably don't know much of your dogs health history I think it better to err on the side of caution. Good luck.
Holly |
| Thanks for the suggestions. I am such a worrier in general that I didn't want to put him through the stress of going to the vet if I didn't have to but I also don't want to not take him in if I should. In order to get him I had to fly him across country which meant that I had to have a (fairly) thorough physical to let him fly, which he passed with flying colors. Originally he was purchased from a pet store and then I adopted him from that woman, so I am not sure of what his life was like. She breeds small dogs, so I know he most likely wasn't mistreated, but since he was so big I don't know how much love he got because he interfered with the little dogs she was raising... |
| I agree that you should get him to your vet for x-rays. My 11 1/2 year old Drez has hip dysplasia, and I never caught on to the signs. She was always a sitter - didn't stand much if it was for an extended period of time, would sit instead. Looking back on that, it should have clued me in to a back leg/hip problem, but I was naive and just thought it was so cute.
Better to be safe than sorry, especially since your pup is still so young. Chris |
| Pooh is 9 1/2 months old now and was diagnosed with HD in December. He is a slow riser and is usually a bit stiff but then after walking around a bit is fine. Runs and runs and runs but after a while you can see that something just isn't right. He won't stand or sit for a long time, he prefers to lay down as it is probably easier. He also never really laid in the "frog" position.
These are just a few of my observations. If you suspect HD, a sprinkle of glucosomine over each meal can't hurt. |
| Please be persistant if you don't like the answers from your vet. My personal story is this: Several years ago Beau, then age 7, began to limp and have trouble getting up. I had just had a spinal fusion and could not even leave the house. I found a vet who made house calls and he told me Beau had arthritis and gave me some stuff to give him. After several weeks he wasn't better and my husband come home from up north and we found a new vet. Beau was diagnosed with synovi sarcoma, undergoing surgery and radiation, neither helped. I wonder all the time if I had done something sooner he would have had better results. The time from the first vet and his surgery was several months...so who knows? You never know what you are dealing with. |
| Thanks so much for all the help. It is so hard sometimes to tell if I am overreacting or not with this sort of thing--talking myself into it because I have heard such bad stories about puppy mill puppies. I'll definitely take him to the vet to see about this--better safe than sorry, for sure! |
How are things guest? I hope you'll let us know how things turn out, and I'm hoping for the best for you and your pup  |
| Thanks for asking, Willowsprite! Things are okay--he seems to have his moments of where it seems that something might not be quite right, but he has so much puppy energy that he bounds right through it despite any possible discomfort. My fiance thinks that I am crazy for thinking that he has problems possibly, but I am still keeping a close eye on him. When we take him in to the vet in the next week or so to get neutered, we are going to have the vet look at his hips and see what he thinks. |
| Well, hopefully everything is fine and he is just being a silly puppy! Good luck! Please let us know how it goes. |
Well, for anyone still checking in on this thread, my little  Barney went to the vet today to get neutered and I wanted to get him checked for his hips while he was there. So, I get a call from the vet about 2 hours after we drop him off and she asks if I had ever noticed anything about his hips before at home. I didn't know if she was asking this because on the chart there was a mention that we wanted Barney's hips checked, or if this was out of the blue, but I said, yes, I had noticed some things, and told her my suspicions, and then she said that they had noticed a strange hiccup in his gait and she wanted to have x-rays taken. So, she called a little while ago with the x-ray results, and sure enough, he has bad hips.  I am very sad and upset now and don't know what to do, since surgery is so expensive and we can't afford something like that right now. But since he is still such a puppy I'm sure it doesn't hurt him yet, but I am just afraid for him for the future...
But in good news, at least the other surgery went well and he is now resting comfortably and going to spend the night at the vet and we can pick him up tomorrow... |
| Dear Guest (BTW- no need to continue being a "guest"- please do join as a member! We love to have new members, and then I can bug you for Barney pics!!!! 'scuse me, I think I might be channeling Ron!)
I'm so sorry to hear about Barney's hips. There are a few dogs on the forum who have HD- I know Josh's pooh, and Drezzie both have HD. My folks 2 year old cavalier spaniel also has it. They have not needed to get surgery for him yet, he plays and jumps around with no problems. Obviously talk with your vet, and I hope that some of our HD oes owners will chime in, but perhaps surgery is not needed on Barney right away, so that you can save up for when it is! Karen |
| Keep an eye on Barney. The good thing is that he's so young yet, so it won't be too debilitating yet. The bad thing is that since he's so young, he doesn't know anything else and so may grow a higher tolerance for it and the pain as he grows. Definitely start him on a chondroitin/glucosamine supplement. There are many out there. We give Drez Cosequin, which we get from the vet. There's also Glyco-Flex, which a friend of mine uses for her St. Bernard with bad hips. He was also diagnosed very young in life, and she thinks he's doing pretty good now on the Glyco-Flex (he's about 3 now).
The femoral head ostectomy (FHO) operation is what we had done on Drez's right hip. Cost about $800. Her left hip is afflicted, too, but we won't get that one done. Although the surgery was a success, it took a little longer to heal than the vet originally thought, probably because of her age. And seeing how much emphasis she put on her left hip while her right hip was healing, we really don't think her right hip could handle the extra duty if her left hip were done. She'll never be perfect, but she's so much better even just with the one hip done. I can see the difference in her eyes. She's not in pain, she's happy again. I don't regret it for an instant and would do it again in a heartbeat. In very severe cases, vets recommend total hip replacement, but that surgery has to be done by a vet orthopedic surgeon, not a general vet. Very expensive, too (about $4,000 per hip). 
So - keep an eye on Barney. Make sure he gets enough exercise to keep his surrounding muscles strong. That will take a lot of pressure off the hip joint. Give him the supplement. And just love him to death, because basically, that's all he wants from you! 
Feel free to ask anything. We're all here to help. Chris |
| I'm so sorry to hear about your Barney. Thank goodness you followed your instincts.
At what age can you get meaningful x-rays for hips?? I too thought you had to wait 2 yrs. Our 91/2 week puppy sometimes does "funny" things--I've seen her trot like a horse and intermittently hop like a bunny. Sometimes when she's walking her right rear leg looks like its coming up to scratch herself in the middle of walking. I am still undecided about whether she's just silly, uncoordinated or waxy. At her vet check, I asked but the vet didn't really get a chance to observe her and was somewhat dismissive. K. |
| To have hips certified the dog has to be age 2. If you think there's a problem you should talk to your vet, if he/she is dismissive I would find another one. Trust your instinct. |
| K-
Barney does that little hop thing, and he also walks and adds that move that looks like he is trying to scratch with his back leg. I think that might have more to do with being a puppy--I think that he (Barney) wants to walk and scratch himself at the same time, since usually after he is walking and lifting his leg looking like he wants to scratch, he'll sit down and actually scratch--so your puppy might just be uncoordinated and trying to multitask before he knows how! But I would keep an eye on your puppy. We got Barney when he was 6 months old, so I didn't get to see what his little puppy behaviors were, so I can't say if your puppy's actions are going to lead to anything more serious. My understanding about the 2 year rule for the hips is that it is at 2 years that they can receive their official certification about their hips, so if they were to breed, they could be officially registered as having good hips, but they can check at earlier ages by x-ray to and are able to see if there is a problem already. So, by Barney's age 8 months, they were able to tell that something was wrong with his hips, but he would still not technically be able to be certified as poor or good hips until age 2. I hope this helps. Keep us informed about your puppy! |
| Dear Guest. Is there a vet in your area that practices acupuncture? It would be well worth it to see one. Acupunctre opens the blocked energy pathways that cause disease. It can help him now and prevent problems in the future. The vet can also show you points the do acupressure to do at home. It is very simple. Good luck with your guy.
Angel |
| Just a note of interest, here in Canada, hips can be certified at 18 months of age. |
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