hip dysplasia in dogs

[Yonididnaedaethat]

I'm starting to think my GSD might have this........for the past year every 3/4 months she'll jump off the couch after a long sleep and her back legs can't take her weight for about 5 mins. At the start I put it down to cramp but as time goes on I'm thinking its leading onto something more serious .

She's 6 now, and this only happens once in a blue moon. I've googled other symptoms but she doesn't seem to be showing any ie she's happy to stand on back legs, chase a ball for ages, she goes up and down stairs fine.

If she's not showing other signs of hip dysplasia (bunny hop run, sideways sitting, things like that) I'd be more worried about CDRM tbh.

Thanks, I think you're right as I've just googled it I'm going to keep a close eye on her and write down how often she's actually losing the power of her back legs. We're at the vet shortly for boosters and kennel cough jab so will see what gets said.

:(

My dog has hip dysplasia which was picked up when she was about 2 - first symptom that I noticed was that she couldn't get up the stairs without taking a run at it. She has the other stuff too - bunny hopping and she only very rarely sits, she is usually lying or standing, etc. She has never had anything like you describe though.

I hope you can get some answers.

After comparing the 2 I think it's more likely to be CDRM as I've watched her all day and she's showing no signs of hopping, walking different....she has no problems crawling under beds or jumping up and down stairs with the kids. I'm crossing my fingers it's just a case of cramp as it very rarely happens and I have her sister from the same litter that doesn't have this problem.

Having just gone through the heart break of a dog with degenerative myelopathy I can only recommend that you go see a specialist ortho vet as soon as possible. It could be a number of things from a trapped nerve, to a slipped disc, to arthritis and some of these things can be treated or you can get medication for the pain. DM is very difficult to diagnose and your vet would need to exclude a lot of other conditions. I would not jump to a DM conclusion just like that.

Best of luck.