My puppy has severe Hip Dysplasia :(

[chloe770]

He's a very active 6 month old yellow lab. I feel so bad for him. The poor boy just moans most nights. We try not to let him over do, but how do you keep a lab puppy calm? Not to easy.

Tomorrow we are taking him to an orthopedic surgeon to see what can be done for him. Anyone have any advice or experience with this in such a young dog? I would like to hear it all, the good, bad and ugly so I know what to expect. Thanks

 

[Deb in IA]

Hip dysplasia is very common in Labradors.

Do you have hip (OFA) certification on the parents from your breeder?

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

I hate seeing that in a dog so young. Griffin (the silver German Shepherd in my sig) had horrible hips, but they didn't bother him until he was older.

They will probably recommend a TPO (triple pelvic osteotomy) because he is so young. It's a big surgery, but really seems to help most dogs. It is very important to keep him crated after surgery. You should ask about some safe sedatives for him during that time. After his recovery time, physical activity and good muscle tone is very important, as is keeping him from becoming overweight.

 

[paintnolish]

Do you have a veterinary college nearby? They can do the operation at a lower cost. My mom's dog goes to one for hus hip dysplasia. Right now, he is not bad enough for the surgery, but he does aquatherapy once or twice a week. He goes on a treadmill in the water!

 

[Mickey's Minion]

He's a very active 6 month old yellow lab. I feel so bad for him. The poor boy just moans most nights. We try not to let him over do, but how do you keep a lab puppy calm? Not to easy.

Tomorrow we are taking him to an orthopedic surgeon to see what can be done for him. Anyone have any advice or experience with this in such a young dog? I would like to hear it all, the good, bad and ugly so I know what to expect. Thanks

Hip dysplasia is very common in Labradors.

Do you have hip (OFA) certification on the parents from your breeder?

Go back to your breeder and talk to them about what can be done and check your health guarantee. This would be a very rare occurrence in a puppy whose parents' hips were certified good or better by either OFA or Penn Hipp. Usually, breeders will help you out and help you navigate good vets, etc.

If not - the bad....

Depending on how bad the dysplasia is, be prepared to spend major, major cash. Even a minor surgery can run into hundreds of dollars and usually well into the thousands.

Worst case scenario: A friend of ours had a puppy with severe dysplasia. Unfortunately, he did not do his research and bought a puppy off of Craig's list. No testing was done on the parents at all so no health guarantee.

He spent well in excess of $10,000 on surgeries (stopped keeping track since he didn't want to know how much he spent anymore) for the next 3 years and still had to put the dog down by the time he was 5 due to severe pain and arthritis that had set in at the surgery sites.

So, worst case - big money, possibility of having to put the puppy down humanely to save it from severe pain.

Moderate case - big money, but surgeries are successful and dog will live a pain free life, although mobility might be limited.

Best case - medication can help keep the dog pain free and only minor or no surgery needed. Still will be a life time of meds, so some cash outlay each month. And mobility will usually be affected in some way.

And the above recommendation to go to a vet school for the surgery is excellent! Not only do you get the most up-to-date knowledge of the Vet professors, but you usually get reduced rates due to it being a teaching hospital.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Most breeders have a health guarantee. Unfortunately the way it is usually worded is that if it is genetic they will give you a refund and you will have to return the dog. That would probably result in them putting the dog down. If they are reasonable, they may offer to help you with your bills up to the amount you paid for the dog. They will probably require you (and you should) to neuter the dog.

I have never heard of dysplasia in a dog this young. I'm so sorry for you, I hope you can make him better.

I've had 3 labs, 2 as puppies and I have nothing to tell you to help keep them calm. Ours didn't mellow out until they were around 3. Maybe some doggie downers?

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

Go back to your breeder and talk to them about what can be done and check your health guarantee. This would be a very rare occurrence in a puppy whose parents' hips were certified good or better by either OFA or Penn Hipp. Usually, breeders will help you out and help you navigate good vets, etc.

Actually, it's quite common to see hip dysplasia even from OFA clear parents. I have had two dogs that were OFA 'good' bred to OFA 'excellent' and neither of them cleared. Granted, they didn't have horrible hips like the Shepherd did (and yes, his parents were radiographed, but not OFA), but they are far from perfect.

I'm not saying that people should ignore OFA ratings, but it's not a guarantee that you will get a dypslasia free dog, although it does increase the chances.

Most breeder guarantees will either let you neuter/spay the dog and get a replacement or to return the dog for a refund. Breeders rarely will pay any long term medical expenses or surgery.

 

[kacaju]

Go back to your breeder and talk to them about what can be done and check your health guarantee. This would be a very rare occurrence in a puppy whose parents' hips were certified good or better by either OFA or Penn Hipp. Usually, breeders will help you out and help you navigate good vets, etc.

If not - the bad....

Depending on how bad the dysplasia is, be prepared to spend major, major cash. Even a minor surgery can run into hundreds of dollars and usually well into the thousands.

Worst case scenario: A friend of ours had a puppy with severe dysplasia. Unfortunately, he did not do his research and bought a puppy off of Craig's list. No testing was done on the parents at all so no health guarantee.

He spent well in excess of $10,000 on surgeries (stopped keeping track since he didn't want to know how much he spent anymore) for the next 3 years and still had to put the dog down by the time he was 5 due to severe pain and arthritis that had set in at the surgery sites.

So, worst case - big money, possibility of having to put the puppy down humanely to save it from severe pain.

Moderate case - big money, but surgeries are successful and dog will live a pain free life, although mobility might be limited.

Best case - medication can help keep the dog pain free and only minor or no surgery needed. Still will be a life time of meds, so some cash outlay each month. And mobility will usually be affected in some way.

And the above recommendation to go to a vet school for the surgery is excellent! Not only do you get the most up-to-date knowledge of the Vet professors, but you usually get reduced rates due to it being a teaching hospital.

I agree with the above.
I just pulled out our contract for our dog. Our dog came with a 2 year health guarantee from date of contract. The guarantee includes any hereditary disease which is life threatening (andthen lists all the common problems for collies)
A replacement puppy would be given in the event something bad happened. We were faced with our dog getting seriously sick 4 months after we got him and I had to seriously consider the what if's and what if we had to send him back. It is not fun, yet if you got your pup from a breeder who does offer this type of contract I would seriously consider talking to the breeder and getting a new pup.

You (unless money is of no concern to you) you will be faced with high Vet bills for this pup. At 6 months old this dog can be around for a long time Are you willing to take on this kind of expense for the rest of the dogs life??

 

[WDWBarb]

My GS suffers from severe dysplasia. A few years back she became suddenly worse and my vet sent me to a University (about 3 hours away) to have a hip replacement done. I was given paperwork that told me to be prepared to spend around $5,000 for the initial surgery (and more for follow-up visits, X-Rays, etc). That was only for one hip.

Then they gave me extensive instructions on how to care for her post-surgery. I had to make a huge commitment of time and patience.

Thankfully, when I arrived for her surgery, the vets found she had torn her ACL and that's really what had suddenly gotten so much worse (my vet felt terrible about the misdiagnosis). Since we were already there, they went ahead and repaired her ACL (TPLO, which has a longer recovery time).

The recovery wasn't as bad as with a hip replacement, but it was still horrible. Keeping her confined to a crate (and, after that, we bought a small yard-kennel and put it in the living room) was the most difficult thing I've ever had to deal with (with my dogs, anyway). It really put a strain on our relationship.

But I'd do it all again. And when it's time for her hip replacement (which will be inevitable), I'll do that, too.

 

[chloe770]

Unfortunately our dog was a rescue, so no breeder was involved. We have been told by our vet that he could be a candidate for the Triple Pelvic Osteotomy surgery but because of his age and they severity of his Dysplasia our vet does not feel he is qualified to do the surgery, hence the orthopedic surgeon. We are aware that this could/will cost us in the thousands. It's going to be a struggle but I think we are willing to give it a try. I keep telling myself and DH that God brought this dog to us for a reason(we weren't looking for a puppy when he was given to us) and that reason could be to give him a chance at a good life. Besides, it would break my heart to have to put him down and explain that to DS6. DS loves this dog soooo much...and so do we.
We'll keep everyone posted.
Thanks.

 

[terri01p]

Godspeed to you, I know exactly how you feel, all things all possible though Christ Jesus, keep the faith and I beleive that all things will work out ! My prayers will be with you and the pup please keep us updated!!

 

[FayeW]

Our first dog was a lab mix who was diagnosed at about 6 months old with severe hip dysplasia, just like yours. Daisy was diagnosed as being at a "Grade 5" level (most severe was Grade 6, I believe). The vet said he'd never seen it so advanced in such a young dog.

This was in '91, and the procedure they recommended was called a Pectinectomy. I believe they cut the pectoral muscle as well as some of the femur bone and use the removed muscle tissue to "cushion" the inside of the hip socket. We did consult a second vet, and he described this procedure as basically a band-aid solution, as eventually the muscle tissue would flatten and be less effective.

We chose a different procedure called an Excision Arthroplasty. Again, they cut the femur an maybe part of the hip (I don't exactly remember), but it re-postions the bone into the hip socket. We were very pleased with the surgery we chose, and Daisy went on to live to the age of 12. She could run,swim and play with no problems (she did tend to run a little "sideways").

She did develope severe arthritis later on, but she might have had that anyway as larger breeds are prone to that.

 

[koolaidmoms]

We had a St. Bernard with severe hip dysplasia. We knew it when we got him as he was hard to place because of this and several other health problems.

Simon lived a full life. We were able to control most of his issues with medication, weight control and an exercise plan to strengthen all his muscles. He would never run and play all day but he could run and play for bursts of time and then would rest. If he over did it we could help him control the pain.

Some areas have swim programs and masseuses especially for dogs.

Good luck with your baby!

 

[Feralpeg]

I had a golden retriever, Scout, who was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia at 6 months. The vet said she would need hip replacement surgery. I went back to the breeder and asked for money to help cover the cost of the surgery because she was supposed to have a health guarantee. The breeder told me that she would not give me money, but would give me a new dog if I returned Scout so she could destroy her. I told her no way and contacted the Kansas Attorney General's Office. In the end, I kept Scout and she had surgery. The breeder gave me a new puppy which I sold to a good friend. I used that money to help offset the cost of Scout's surgery. Sadly, Lilly, my friend's puppy also had hip dysplasia. She managed to get by with medication. What a horrible breeder.

Scout did get by, but she was never able to deal easily with stairs.

 

[luvwinnie]

before jumping into surgery, ask if they think adequan injections will help. Our bulldog Winnie was dx at age 11 mths and she was on adequan her whole life and did ok, just some limping now and then. Also, weight control is key/ Iv'e also read that Vitamin C (Ester C) can help. Praying for your baby.

 

[JoBird]

Put the dog on Cosequin DS immediately. You can get it from here-- http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=929

Our bulldog was Dx at 8 months-- he literally wouldn't raise his back legs up to stand and instead would drag his back end to go anywhere it hurt so bad. For awhile, we thought he was just lazy. Bulldog trait...

The Vet took xrays-- instead of his hip joint head being round-- they are both square shaped. The vet put him on Cosequin immediately and there is so much improvement. He's been on it now for 5 years and he plays for short bursts of time.

The only time he wasn't himself was when we ran out of it in the middle of a cross country move. Soon as he started back, he was SuperDog once again.


Good luck with your pup.

 

[luvwinnie]

Put the dog on Cosequin DS immediately. You can get it from here-- http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=929

Our bulldog was Dx at 8 months-- he literally wouldn't raise his back legs up to stand and instead would drag his back end to go anywhere it hurt so bad. For awhile, we thought he was just lazy. Bulldog trait...

The Vet took xrays-- instead of his hip joint head being round-- they are both square shaped. The vet put him on Cosequin immediately and there is so much improvement. He's been on it now for 5 years and he plays for short bursts of time.

The only time he wasn't himself was when we ran out of it in the middle of a cross country move. Soon as he started back, he was SuperDog once again.


Good luck with your pup.

Yes! Our bulldog Winnie was on this also.

 

[mamamary]

Sorry about your pup

 

[Mickey's Minion]

Actually, it's quite common to see hip dysplasia even from OFA clear parents. I have had two dogs that were OFA 'good' bred to OFA 'excellent' and neither of them cleared. Granted, they didn't have horrible hips like the Shepherd did (and yes, his parents were radiographed, but not OFA), but they are far from perfect.

I'm not saying that people should ignore OFA ratings, but it's not a guarantee that you will get a dypslasia free dog, although it does increase the chances.

Most breeder guarantees will either let you neuter/spay the dog and get a replacement or to return the dog for a refund. Breeders rarely will pay any long term medical expenses or surgery.

I don't recall saying it can never happen. What I did say was that in a 6 month old puppy, dysplasia this severe would be a somewhat rare occurrence with OFA'd good or better parents.

And I will contest your theory that it is "quite common" to see hip dysplasia with good or better parents. Yes, it happens, but it certainly is not "quite common." And no, it is not a guarantee, but severe dysplasia, requiring surgery at 6 months is not common at all in a dog with cleared parents. But that is why researching your breeder is so important. The OFA is a searchable database. It is rather easy to pull up a breeder's dogs and see how they scored.

I am sorry you have had a bad experience, but in a related example, our breeder has been showing/breeding for over 35 years. They require all puppies, even the pet puppies, to be OFA'd so that they can keep track of what their dogs are passing on. (They pay for it.) Out of 35 years of litters, you don't even need your toes to count how many dogs have had severe dysplasia. And their incident of borderline or below is also way lower than "quite common."

OP - kudos to you for wanting to do everything you can for this rescue puppy. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[daisax]

A golden in my neighborhood had to have both hips replaced as a juvenile -- he recovered quite well and has gone on to live a happy life, but the recuperation time was extensive (they did one hip at a time, so they had to go through the complete rehab process twice).

I know humans who have had hip replacements and are overjoyed at the instant pain relief, so I can imagine the dog will be very happy to have the surgery done, and the main struggle will be limiting the typical puppy exhuberance for months afterwards. Long-term, however, the results should be good.

OFA is (or used to be) only as good as the ethics of the breeder. I can't recall if they have instituted the rule stating that the dog must be microchipped/tattooed and the identification verified before the OFA # is given, but in the past there were people who would OFA the same dog with good hips under the name of all the dogs with crappy hips in their breeding program. Or they would test all the dogs, but only submit the ones who tested Good or better. I've been out of it for a while and they seemed to be taking steps to prevent that kind of thing, but knowing the breeder well and their overall ethics is the most useful.

I agree that a dog with this degree of severity from parents with good OFA results would be surprising. Not so much if the parents were "Fair" and the parents' siblings were poor, of course. That's why having a broad spectrum of results across the entire breeding program (not just the dogs kept to breed) is so important.