Canine Hip Dysplasia - urgent advice needed

wornoutmumoftwo

I have a six month pup who went from being an active run across the field sort of dog to a hobble on his back legs dog in the space of a few days (after a fall). He's been x-rayed and I've been told he has hip dysplasia in both hips.

My question is, does hip dysplasia come on almost over night? (I've been googling, and still googling but can't find an answer to this question). From my research I thought it was a gradual thing but vet says that's what it is.

scaredy_cat

hip dysplasia is a hereditary condition in some pedigree breeds. it can get sorted with an op which removes the head (ball joint) of the femur. Dogs usually recover well from the op with no problems running or walking.

it is when the socket is too shallow for the head of the femur.

when i worked ina vet many moons ago, we had a king charles cav with it in both legs, he was operated on and was fine once everything was healed. he had to have cage rest and walks on leads for about 4-6 weeks.

wornoutmumoftwo

Thanks Scaredy_Cat, I've been reading up on this for days. There is no history in either grand/parents blood line, nor in any of the other pups from two litters (unless it goes back way further than the grandparents).

If he does have it I would consider the operation as I believe they can operate up to 10mths/year, I just can't see how it could appear so quickly and so badly, I can't help thinking that if he hadn't had that fall none of this would be happening. (Very confused at the moment)

scaredy_cat

his hobbling might be cos the ligament are sore and stretched if it's the first time they displaced, much like when we twisted an ankle.

gettingready

Is it a German Shepherd perhaps? They really are prone to HD poor things, expecially if parents were not hip scored to prevent or lower possibility of this ilness.

wornoutmumoftwo

It's a border collie.

jennyo

Prior to the fall he would already have had hip dysplasia just not displaying any symptoms, so it is a sudden onset of visable symptoms following a trauma. Many dogs have hip dysplasia without showing symptoms.

However most vets are not experts in reading hip X-rays and often get it wrong if it where my dog I would want the xrays scored by a panel of experts.

Once you know what you are dealing with then you can put together a course of action.

Waterfalls

if your pet is insured, my advise would be to ask to be referred to an orthopaedic vet. this is to get the best diagnosis and treatment plan

wornoutmumoftwo

I have insurance. £4K for his lifetime (not a 12 month limit), but I can see that getting used up quickly, so saving harder too now.

elsien

Mutt was diagnosed with mild hip dysplasia a few weeks after I got her when she was one-ish - she'd developed a limp out of the blue. She was found on the street as a stray so had no past history, but had shown no signs of limping while in Battersea where she'd been for a few months before I got her.
She's never actually needed an operation and still managed a pretty active lifestyle with lots of charging and bouncing around - we'd go on ten mile hikes with no problem.
I had metacam to give her when she was hobbling a bit, and was warned that it would lead to arthritis in later life (which it has) but overall it's had little impact on her lifestyle.
Your pup's may be worse, but I thought I'd post to let you know it's not necessarily all doom and gloom.

Caroline_a

What solutions or suggestions has the vet offered? There are varying levels of hip dysplasia - some need operating on, some are mild enough to be controlled by medication. Has your dog has x rays to see the level?

I had a border collie years ago who had hip displasia, it only became apparent when he got very old and his back end 'went' but he always walked with his back feet turned out.

I would say that the fall has probably caused ligament damage, so keep him very quiet for a few weeks, only lead walks and push your vet to provide a more accurate diagnosis to see if you can work towards a solution that works for all.