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8 mth old Labrador and hip dysplasia.

10 replies

lulalullabye · 12/09/2012 03:41

I had a niggle and this morning took our eight month old down to the vets. He agreed and suspects dysplasia. She is booked in for xrays under anaesthetic on Friday Sad.
Any advice would be great.

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daisydotandgertie · 12/09/2012 15:37

Get yourself over to this forum and start searching. There are some fantastic threads with a lot of help available. I'd also suggest you visit this site which was set up by someone who had a dog with v poor hips and she has a good amount of experience of the problem. If you email her via the site, she may be able to help.

Where did you find her? Who are her parents?

It is perfectly possible that it won't be what you fear, and even if it is, it is often fixable. Are you insured?

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Happiestinwellybobs · 12/09/2012 15:49

My beloved lab was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia (both elbows) at 6 months. We had keyhole surgery and his was a very serious case of Osteochondrotis. Insurance will cover it, as it is costly.

We had a longish recovery time, but we discovered hydrotherapy, and he still goes 3 years later. There are options for a treadmill form of hydro, but ours swims in a fabulous indoor heated pool. He adores swimming.

We also feed him a dog food (Oscar) that contains Glucosamine and Chondroitin.

The only thing that we have to consider, is going on long walks. He can manage a mile or so, and then needs a break, before we continue. We aren't able to do long treks (but my DH isn't up to that either!).

Fingers crossed - all this seems to have done the trick.

You should advise whoever you got your pooch from them, as it is genetic, although can skip generations. If they are a reputable breeder, they should be concerned.

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lulalullabye · 13/09/2012 02:20

Thanks for your replies. We live in Australia and worked last night so only just getting back. Daisy, I will def look at that site. We did a lot of research and both parents have perfect and near perfect hip scores. I spoke to the breeder yesterday and she is very upset and concerned as if she is diag, she will be the first puppy they have ever had with it. She I guess may be just one of the unlucky ones.
Happies, we are shortly moving to a new house that we have bought and it has a outdoor heated pool, so she will be a happy puppy there!
Yes we do have insurance and I am guessing we will get our moneys worth.
I worked last night and DH says that she was very miserable. Yesterday she went to the dog park and after 10 mins sat by the gate wanting to go home. This is what spurred on the vet visit as this is unheard of Sad.
Anyway, we will see what tomorrow brings and keep our fingers crossed. We have an excellent specialist referral centre around the corner so all local.

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daisydotandgertie · 13/09/2012 11:29

Did the vet feel movement in the sockets when he examined her?

One of mine had awful growing pains at about that age which looked just like dysplasia and gave a great deal of pain. She just couldn't walk at all. She now has excellent hip scores. Is your dog very leggy? Or having a growth spurt?

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lulalullabye · 13/09/2012 11:58

she is not over leggy but her mum was. he never felt any movement but he couldn't extend them as much as they should. she walks with a real waddle and it appears with her feet together.
That would be a great diag and I guess we just need to wait for tomorrow.
She may be having a growth spurt so fingers and toes crossed !

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lulalullabye · 13/09/2012 11:59

p.s i read the blog! he looks great now so the is light!

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lulalullabye · 14/09/2012 11:04

Yay, the xrays were clear!!!!! It seems that it may be a growth spurt. The xrays did show that her growth plates which fuse as they get older are very wide still which apparantly means she is going to be huge!!!
The vet was over the moon as we are.
Thanks all for your advice, we are a very happy family Grin

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daisydotandgertie · 14/09/2012 13:09

I so hoped that would be the case!

It didn't sound like hip dysplsaia - especially when you said her Mum was very leggy.

Brilliant, brilliant news - and I am sure you already are, but make sure she doesn't overtax those joints for the next 6 months. Labs tend to finish growing at about 18 months, so once that's happened all should be well.

Swimming would be excellent exercise to help muscle form around the growing joints to support them nicely.

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Happiestinwellybobs · 14/09/2012 16:22

Great news - I'm sure she will still love the pool though. It is the one thing I always say I would have if we ever won the lottery - a pool for me and one for pooch!!

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lulalullabye · 14/09/2012 22:57

Thanks, I expect the pool filter will have a tough job!

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