Would you adopt a (teenage) dog with hip dysplasia?

[DebbieBustamove]

I am in touch with a rescue about a year old dog who has been diagnosed with hip dysplasia that currently does not require treatment or medication. It does mean he is limited to moderate exercise and low impact activities which is fine with me.

But I've never had a dog with this issue before. Is there a set path for this diagnosis or does it depend on aging or breed? Does it always end up with a hip replacement? I've been told it won't be covered by insurance so I have a lot of unknowns to consider. Just wondering if anyone can give me their experience. Thank you!

I'm awfully sorry for the young dog, but unless you are already emotionally engaged with him I'd step away and keep waiting for the right dog who isn't disabled.

Hip dysplasia is never easy. He may get away with pain relief and activity management - or he may not. Without insurance this will go well into five figures.

No, not emotionally engaged with him at all - just feel sad for him and was wondering how difficult and expensive it would be before I went any further. I suppose it's the unknown of how bad his condition might get in the future, isn't it?

No I wouldn’t.

Unless he’s already insured his Hip Dysplasia won’t be covered as it’ll be pre existing and if he is insured you will be stuck with that particular insurance company for his entire life.

Hip Dysplasia is progressive, it gets worse over time, eventually the dog will probably need a hip replacement and if dog hip replacements are the same as human hip replacements, they only last a few years and the operation is big requiring lengthy crate rest I believe.

I am extremely dubious about the claim it doesn’t need treatment or medication.
HD is a painful condition, it needs treatment!

If he allegedly needs no treatment his HD must be very mild (for now), if that is true then how was it diagnosed..?

Hip Dysplasia presents with signs like bunny hopping, sloppy sits, wiggling gait etc because it’s painful.

Presumably a dog with HD so mild they are not needing treatment isn’t in pain, if they aren’t in pain/showing signs then why check him for hip Dysplasia?
Was he supposed to be a breeding dog who failed his hip score screen I wonder 🤔

The rescue I work with would cover any medical treatment for such conditions.

Also, HD can present in both hips so potentially you are looking at £10,000+ for both replacements, plus pain relief for the inevitable arthritis and he’d need joint supplements too

Thanks, Powertothepetal. No idea of his history but the rescue are quite well-regarded and breed specific - I was just looking through their pages when this boy caught my eye. I think they are vet checked when brought into the rescue which is presumably when this issue came up? That's all I can think of.

You're right of course. It's the progressive nature of the problem and the slow deterioration that would bother me I think. I was just hoping if it wasn't too bad now that maybe it would stay unproblematic IYSWIM but yeah, I think it will have to be a no.

I was looking into hydrotherapy as well which is meant to be good for hips but honestly, it's going to be a problem for me to financially manage that + supplements + pain management + operations for the rest of his life.

If I could give him a few months or a year of good life I'd take him. As a nation we are far too obsessed with length of life and far too unconcerned with quality of life.

JayAlfredPrufrock I know some rescues do this - it hasn't been mentioned, but as the PP said, it could run into tens of thousands and I presume most rescues can't afford it. I saw a pup at another rescue with an uninsurable grade 6 heart murmur and they're looking for someone to take on the costs of that which would destroy the average bank account I would imagine.

We adopted a one year old dog who had been returned to his breeder as hip dysplasia had shown by then. At two years he was on glucosamine & rimadyl. At just over 3 he had one hip replacement. Both hips were bad but the advice was to operate on one side only and see how he coped. He made a full recovery and lived to be 14 ½. Recovery from the hip op involved 5 min walks every hour for the first few weeks. He did not have hydrotherapy but did swim regularly with us.

I already knew him and his sister before he was returned to the breeder, it was a small community and I knew his original family. The breeder knew we wanted a dog of that breed and was not sure when they would breed again. Two of his littermates also had hip dysplasia, one was run-over and made a full recovery, his hips were better after his accident.

LizziesTwin Blimey! 14½ is a great age. Did he need both hips done in the end or was it only ever the one?

My rescue german shepherd was diagnosed at 9 months as having moderate HD and he’s still running about now aged almost 13.

He’s been on anti inflammatories for the past 6-7 years and only recently needed some other drugs added. Otherwise he was managed with careful exercise, hydro and acupuncture at one point. He did develop arthritis of the spine, elbows and carpus too once he got older though, presumably from compensating for so long.

I fully expected to have put him to sleep long before now but actually it hasn’t effected his life as badly as I presumed it would.

No idea of his history but the rescue are quite well-regarded and breed specific
What breed is he?
Some of the breeds prone to hip Dysplasia are prone to elbow Dysplasia too.

I think they are vet checked when brought into the rescue which is presumably when this issue came up?
Hip Dysplasia is confirmed with an x Ray, I very much doubt they x Ray all the incoming dogs.
Though I suppose if it’s say, a specific golden retriever rescue, maybe they do as it’s such a common problem in goldens, but even then I’d be surprised.
I would expect that the dog showed symptoms that made them suspect HD which they confirmed via x Ray but in order to show symptoms I would assume the dog is in pain so I am very confused and suspicious about the whole ‘needs no treatment’ stance.

I was just hoping if it wasn't too bad now that maybe it would stay unproblematic
I mean, it will get worse because it’s progressive, and arthritis is pretty much a given, but it might end up still being very mild.
Or, it could get very bad, impossible to say unfortunately.

Those of you with some expierence of owning a dog with hip dysplasia what does moderate exercise mean to you? I'm assuming no six mile walks or high impact games ?

Powertothepetal He's a setter. English Setter, I think? Bouncy and active but obviously, that would need to be curbed. It's the elbows I worry about too, in the future. Such a shame!

I think there are four setters; English, Red, Red and White and Gordon.
I don’t know about the other setters but I know English are indeed predisposed to Elbow as well as Hip Dysplasia

I don’t know how I feel about dogs going through big operations like multiple hip replacements etc. They don’t understand like we humans do and can’t put their pain into perspective or even explain how painful it really is.

I personally wouldn’t take a dog like this on because of the quality of the unknown. The dog may have such a mild case that it lives a good quality of life. It may not and cost you thousands in vet bills, but you just have no way to tell.

I think you're right, Powertothepetal that he must have been displaying some signs of discomfort for him to be checked in the first place. The rescue do say 'nd he may need treatment later in his life' which I think from you've said is pretty much guarenteed. I was actually looking for an older dog, it's just this one caught my eye and I wondered if it would be possible. If it had been insurable and I could make his life comfortable and fun I would do it in a heartbeat.

Kanaloa - that's exactly what I was fearing people would say and I'm glad I've got some opinions here first. I wasn't sure how progressive and damaging it has the potential to be - not sure I'm strong enough for it!

@DebbieBustamove mine could have walked 6 miles in his younger days but couldn’t do high impact activities without being painful. Ball games, agility etc were out.
I also tried to keep his walks consistent and roughly the same distances each day as I did find longer walks as a one off weren’t good for him.
He also is more painful in the cold so he wore a coat in colder weather.

Other than that I would say he was pretty normal. We did discuss hip replacement at one point but decided to just wait and see how it went and he did so well I didn’t ever feel it necessary. Hes far too old now of course!

Mine was diagnosed as he was ever so slightly lame at times when he had been over exercised but providing he was kept sensible then he wasn't painful enough to need medication. I did have some at home I would give him on off days or days he had overdid things just incase but he rarely needed it until he got to middle age.

My dog was diagnosed at a year old. Got him checked because he was bunny hopping, dragging his back feet and had a swagger....all signs of HD. He was not showing any signs of pain.
Xrays showed it in both hips but not requiring surgery just joint supplements.
He's now 9 years old and still runs around like a puppy ( he's never grown up, lol).
I wouldn't take him on a 3 hour hike or such like but he manages an hours walk no problem.

That wouldn't put me off, some rescues help out with bills and ongoing medical treatment.

I'm a sucker for a sad dog story though and want to save them all.

Yup, me too SerenShine - that's why I'm forcing myself to be realistic!

Lots of food for thought here think you! I might go back to the rescue to try to get a more rounded prognosis. I know they can't predict what will happen in the future but I'd like to know what made them check in the first place.

IME moderate exercise because of joint problems (I’ve owned and fostered dogs with elbow dysplasia and fostered one with hip dysplasia) actually means very restricted exercise compared to a health dog.

About 20-30 minutes, being careful about offlead time and yeah, no high impact games at all... but what’s tough about it is, you’re the one having to set the limits because they don’t pace themselves at all... it’s not like with an older dog who develops age related issues and they slow down.

I wouldn’t take him because of the cost over the years. You may be able to afford the 5 figure vet fees now, but life changes. In my case I got divorced and keeping up with the vet fees would have been absolutely devastating financially as a single mum.

We were ok because the dog was insured but there is no way we would have coped without the insurance and, as the dog is already diagnosed I doubt very much you will find a company happy to insure him for the condition.