Hi All!

[owned by dogs]

Hi, I'm new here, and was wondering if anyone here would be willing to help me on a project.

I'm writing a "pet owner" guide on Hip Dyplasia, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment options, etc. to help people who have gotten this terrible diagnosis, and are trying to figure out what to do next.

I went through this with my Lab puppy 4 years ago, and spent countless hours researching hip dysplasia, and found lots of "inconclusive" information on both why it happened and what is the best treatment.

I finally decided to do a Total Hip Replacement of the worse hip, and anticipate that I will still have to do something with the other hip. The largest hole in information was other dog owners experiences, recovery, and what I would have to do after I brought her home. Somehow, confine her for 3 months did not prepare me for those 3 months.

I was expecting to do THR on the 2nd hip, but, I seem to encounter a lot of people who opt for the FHO and seem pleased with the results, but everyone seems to have done it in the last year or two, and have been unable to locate anyone who has done it at least 5 years ago.

So here's what I'm asking, is there anyone here who has ever gone through either of these surgeries who would be willing to share their story. Specifically:
1. Breed of dog (if mixed, dominant breeds)
2. Size & weight of dog
3. Age of diagnosis
4. Symptoms
5. Treatment option selected and why plus age of dog when surgery was done
6. Details of recovery - what would you wish you had been told before the surgery
7. Current age of dog, or how long did dog live after surgery
8. Were there complications? - for example, infection, artificial hip dislocated, physical therapy was needed, etc. etc
9. If faced with the same choice today, would you make the same decision?
10. Last but not least, do you want your and/or your dog's name included?

I am willing to provide anyone who helps in this project a copy of the finished guide, if they want one. You can either post here, or email me directly.

Many thanks!
Sally

 

[Dakotah_2009]

I have never gone through any of that before. I'm sorry you and you Lab have and I hope she gets better soon!
I myself have golden retriever and I know they are prone to H.D. and I hope to never go through it w/ him. I wish you the best in your research as well.

 

[milo]

aww sorry to hear about tht! but welcome to the site neways!!

 

[Fuzz Puppy]

I'm sorry to hear about that for both you and your lab. But welcome all the same.

 

[gunnerzmama]

Sorry I never had to experience that and I'm so sorry to hear that you have. Gunner was tested for HD as a pup and I have the Hip Placement numbers on both his parents. My old lab Jessie had to be put down 4 years ago due to bone cancer and she had also suffered arthritis. With Gunner I really watch his weight and body shape so that he won't get "Too" heavy which would cause undue strain on his hips and joints to try to avoid the arthritis later in life. Hope to talk to you again soon.

 

[Manchesters]

Puppy Test

Sorry I never had to experience that and I'm so sorry to hear that you have. Gunner was tested for HD as a pup and I have the Hip Placement numbers on both his parents. My old lab Jessie had to be put down 4 years ago due to bone cancer and she had also suffered arthritis. With Gunner I really watch his weight and body shape so that he won't get "Too" heavy which would cause undue strain on his hips and joints to try to avoid the arthritis later in life. Hope to talk to you again soon.

What kind of test did they do on Gunner as a puppy? Anything done before at least 2 years of age would have to be considered "incomplete" or inconclusive. I read way back that the Penn Hip manipulation test had been proven to be quite accurate when compared later on with xrays of the same dogs. There was something like an 85% correlation between the Penn Hip results and the degree/incidence of those same dogs when finally xrayed. I found the whole concept of Penn Hip to be fascinating!

 

[gunnerzmama]

I will have to check with Teresa (breeder) I didn't know that about the age though so thanks for the heads up. I find the whole thing a great tool so that problems can be spotted before they possibly get out of control or damage is done

 

[oc_spirit]

Sorry I too haven't had to deal with HD as of yet though SIbes are prone to it. As a dogsledder, I watch my team's hips very closely and always keep an eye on how they're moving so that if they ever seem "off" I can pull them and figure out what's going on.

I wrote an article on HD last year for biology class but I can't seem to locate it right now...One key thing I do remember from my research is that HD is not caused by one single gene, it is caused by multiple genes together which is what makes it so incredibly hard to breed out.

 

[owned by dogs]

Testing on Puppies

I just wanted to mention that when I first encountered Hip Dysplasia, my puppy was about 6-7 months old, and it was very obvious that something was wrong....she bunny hopped, she limped if she played more than 5 minutes, she laid "army style" all the time, never with her legs bent next to her body. She was also the most docile puppy I'd ever had.

My vet said "you can't tell conclusively before the age of 2", but xrays showed her leg bone was definitely not in the hip socket. Her hip socket was so shallow it couldn't keep the leg bone in place. Which is why the vet school where we ended up strongly encouraged hip replacement vs. FHO....it included a new socket as well. Both parents were OFA rated, but the vet school predicted that most, if not all puppies from that litter would eventually have problems.

Anyway, thanks for the well wishes everyone, and hopefully, none of you will ever have to deal with this. What I want to do is present enough "parent" stories to show the options & what to expect from those options....the good & the bad.

 

[sylvia liebrechts]

here in france also in germany and holland too a lot of people stopped giving puppyfood after 4 months of age . as a supplement we give a (flexivet ,nupro,J-B,etc ) a dose of glucosamine,chondrotin to avoid joint problems etc!
also a "quick flash" (x-ray) at age of 6 months could indicate if there are problems etc or problems to expect! i will mail you some special info about eventuel surgery to be done ... but a complete hip replacement ........ would consider other ways!
and as "oc-spirit wrote ... just keep a good eye on your pups ! we breed labs for more then 35 years now ... had dogs with problems too, but there is a lot of knowledge nowadays to keep dogs healthy and even when prone to get HD there is still a lot you as an onwer can do to minimize eventuel problmes!