Sad Update on mysterious lameness

[MadeToFly]

I posted a while ago about my 8 month old puppy's mysterious lameness/injury where her leg would be hiked up and such.

Numerous vet visits came back inconclusive. Palpating, x-rays and ultrasounds and nothing seemed off.
However, the x-ray of her hips was sloppy (hard to explain) and the one vet basically BS'd it (and didn't actually show us the x-ray). So we had it re-done earlier today with another as a last ditch effort to find out what's wrong.

And my heart sank.
She's got level 2/3 bi-lateral hip dysplasia. Her right hip is level 2, her left hip is level 3. It's ugly, and I didn't think it could happen to an 8 month old puppy?

Surgery is necessary for both, at a devastating price. Thankfully the vet said we didn't need to do it right NOW but within the year atleast one leg (the left) should be done within that timeframe.
For now she'll be getting 500mg of glucosomine 2x daily. I'm also curious if I can give her baby aspirin on her sore days.

I feel horrible not being able to do the surgery immediately but it's a good chunk of change that I need to start mustering together. But I will get it done asap.

I'm so torn now though, what a horrible thing to have happened

 

[Barb04]

I would think aspirin would be okay but just double check with your vet.

Hugs to both of you.

 

[bubbatd]

I'm so sorry !

 

[Bigpoodleperson]

I am very sorry about the diagnosis! Hopefully you can have them done soon, and she will end up fine. I would say no to the aspirin. I can cause horrible stomach ulcers in dogs! I would get some dog specific NSAIDS (rimadyl, metacam, deramaxx, etc) if she seems in pain.

 

[Saeleofu]

I second the NSAIDs as opposed to aspirin. Remember that if you give aspirin, you shouldn't give NSAIDs with it. And aspirin ins a blood thinner, so you have to stop the aspirin well before surgery. Just start with NSAIDs and save the hassle.

 

[MadeToFly]

We did the Metacam previously and it didn't seem to have any affect at all on her, so we'll have to look at something else for that.

 

[bubbatd]

I hope that the gave the breeder heads up !

 

[Brattina88]

Ugh, I know how you feel! Here it was knees... then back...
((((hugs)))) and {{{{{++vibes+++}}}} for you and your pup!! Please keep us updated!

 

[colliewog]

I'm so sorry! Before you jump into surgery, I would get a second opinion. Not to say that won't be the route you have to take, but it would be good to be able to compare what type of surgery and when it needs to be done ...

Good luck to you!! I had an Am Staff diagnosed with moderate-severe HD at 7 mos. It can happen ...

 

[MadeToFly]

Unfortunately she wasn't a nice purebred dog or anything. She was from a farm that didn't spay their dogs, dog got bred and had 12 pups. They put all 12 pups in a 10x10 horse stall and most of the puppies were sick. I happened across them randomly when I rode at that farm. She was the healthiest of the bunch (and she wasn't that healthy..) so I took her home to give her a better life. It's just been a rash of bad luck.

colliewog - we only have 2 options for surgery. One is the hip replacement and the other is removing the ball joint so it won't rub anymore. And apparently both aren't a permanent fix so I have to sit and think real hard about what to do.
We were told it doesn't have to be done tomorrow, so to speak, but within a year. She's on glucosomine and omega 3 right now. But I have to figure if it's worth it to do the double surgery when it'll be a LOT of money and only a temporary fix.

I'm still in shock about all this and I'm trying to just push that brooding thought of euthing to the back of my mind. It's absolutely devastating.

 

[Saeleofu]

An FHO (taking the ball out and letting the muscle support her leg) is a very good surgery and usually has a very good prognosis. Most of the time you wouldn't know anything is wrong with the dog. We've done it on a cat too. There was a Vizsla that had to have bilateral FHOs before she was a year old (hips completely came out of place, first one then the other a couple months later), and she's doing great now, 3 years later. It has a shorter healing time than a hip replacement. It also IS a permanent fix. You're removoing the problem...what's not permanent about it?

Hip replacement on the other hand has a lot of possible complications. The implant can get infected really easily. If your dog needs a dental at some point, she'll need antibiotics beforehand to prevent infection in the implant. The only dog I've seen with an implant never used the leg again.

Honestly, I'd go for the FHOs. Cheaper, less healing time, less complications, and it IS permanent. I wouldn't do both at the same time. You can do one, then wait a long time to do the other. As long as she can bear weight on the leg that hasn't had surgery, she can heal, and once the first leg is healed, she shouldn't have problems using it while the second one heals.

I really want to know why anyone would tell you those surgeries aren't a permanent fix. They are.

 

[AGonzalez]

I second the NSAIDs as opposed to aspirin. Remember that if you give aspirin, you shouldn't give NSAIDs with it. And aspirin ins a blood thinner, so you have to stop the aspirin well before surgery. Just start with NSAIDs and save the hassle.

Aspirin is a NSAID (it's just short for Non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drug - which aspirin is in the family of). NSAID's are known for causing bleeding issues (because they have things like aspirin and ibuprofen in them) - with those you can't take aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, etc - tylenol only. Not because it will make you bleed worse, but for the risk of overdose because those are already in most NSAIDs like Mobic and Feldene.

I take Feldene 20mg a day, and I bruise and bleed very easily...either way (aspirin or a perscription NSAID), you should consult the vet on if they need to be weaned off before surgery and such to reduce bleeding.

 

[JennSLK]

I have hear FHO's dont work so well on larger dogs?

 

[Saeleofu]

Aspirin is a NSAID (it's just short for Non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drug - which aspirin is in the family of). NSAID's are known for causing bleeding issues (because they have things like aspirin and ibuprofen in them) - with those you can't take aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, etc - tylenol only. Not because it will make you bleed worse, but for the risk of overdose because those are already in most NSAIDs like Mobic and Feldene.

I take Feldene 20mg a day, and I bruise and bleed very easily...either way (aspirin or a perscription NSAID), you should consult the vet on if they need to be weaned off before surgery and such to reduce bleeding.

Yes, you are right. Brain fart lol


I've never seen a dog, even a large dog, have an issue with an FHO. That Vizsla was pretty big for a Vizsla.

 

[MadeToFly]

Yes, I also heard that there's still complications with FHO and that even after surgery, in big dogs, the dog can still end up being in pain and susceptible to tearing the muscles/ligaments in the legs.

I'm weighing on my options, and one of them is just to let her go, keep her supplemented and comfortable and when the day comes that she'll only go down hill, then it's time to euth. But that could be 6 months, that could be 4 years.

Another is to get the surgery done on both legs (one at a time) and her life would be prolonged. But also have to worry about trying to keep her quiet/still when she's a very hyperactive dog. It was a struggle to keep her inactive when she had the splint; I can't imagine how hard it'll be with surgery, stitches, preventing infection, etc.
And if something goes wrong, we've put her through the pain of surgery, the pain of post surgery and then complications which could lead to euthing after a miserable time. And then I'd have stretched myself painfully financially thin to the point of possibly putting me in trouble money-wise.

But I know I'd sit and think "what if" with either decision and I know it's going to eat me up for the rest of my life. This is my "first" dog (my parents have a dog too, but Maddie is solely mine) and I feel like I've just completely failed her though I know I couldn't have done anything to stop it. She was supposed to be the dog I could try agility with, that'd be my partner on walks, my partner during the dark times, my buddy when I take my horse on trail rides, basically the best friend I don't have. I was never a fan of dogs until I took her out of the bad situation she was in, and she's changed that view for me. She's my "heart dog".

 

[Xandra]

Gosh that's rough

I don't really know any way to help but I'm really sorry to hear about your pup. I know of a GSD from a pet store that got really bad HD at 8 months, and his owners just took him to the pound and left him.

Your pup has a loving owner no matter the outcome, and that is probably the most important thing... more important than how much money you can spend. Try not to beat yourself up and good luck with her!

 

[puppydog]

I am so sorry. Only you know what is the right thing to do.
This is why I hate hate hate bad breeders!!!!!!

 

[MadeToFly]

Even through all this, I don't ever regret getting her out of that situation. Not one teensy, tiny bit. She's happy, alert and almost doesn't even seem aware of the problem I'll slowly be facing with her. As long as she's like that, she'll be able to have a good life with some supplements. I'm just trying to weighing the option of surgery and the chances of it making things better, or in the end making everything worse (ie. keeping an active pup still, having to crate her all the time, possible complications, etc.)

 

[Lolas Dad]

How many of these surgery's has the vet performed so far?. Is their any specialists that you have consulted with in your area? Have you gone for a second opinion that specializes in orthopedic surgery's?

 

[DanL]

You have a tough choice to make- an expensive surgery for what might be a temporary fix, in such a young dog. How will it change when she's full grown? What kind of quality of life will she have if the surgery doesn't take? It's a hard choice to make but you have to think about what's best for the dog and best for your bank account if spending the $$ on this is going to be any kind of hardship. You did a great thing in taking the pup in but sometimes things are not meant to be.