Hip Dysplacia in a lab puppy

[ArtichokeAardvark]

Just got back from the vet and it is looking as though my gorgeous 6 month old lab puppy has very early onset hip dysplacia (x ray booked next week to confirm). I've never had a dog show signs of it this young before and would be grateful if anyone whose dealt with the same could give me their recommendations / suggestions of how to manage it...

My childhood lab had bad hips but no symptoms until she was 6 or 7, and it was managed by controlled exercise and a strict diet, medicating only when really needed. How on earth do I keep a puppy (and worse, a teen!) from overdoing it - she's as bouncy as they come?!

I'm anxious too at the yawning void of vets bills and the sheer time commitments coming my way - the vet has recommended weekly physio and hydro sessions. I already work 9-3 each day and have two primary aged children to herd between clubs after school, how on earth do I factor in all the dog's appointments on top of my children's ones...😖

And I'm never going to be able to shop around for insurance, am I? Luckily I took out lifelong cover so as long as I stay with the same insurer the hip dysplacia meds will be covered year after year, but christ the premiums are going to skyrocket...

Talk me down, please? Picture of my girl included, naturally.

they’re, gorgeous! We had a golden retriever pup with similar. It was fine. The vet gave her steroid injections which helped and we were careful not to over walk her too often. Never became an issue and never cost us any money after the first investigations. She lived to a lovely old age and died of something unrelated. Osteo -arthritis was a risk but it didn’t develop. We were careful how we walked her while she developed into her full size. We totally let her chase a ball and things even though not advised as we figured life was for enjoying and she loved that so much,

A friend rescued a teenage lab that had mild hip dysplasia. Managed through diet (kept lean) and some activity restrictions but not anything that was hugely limited, e.g. they did mantrailing and scentwork rather than agility or gundog activities.

Was put to sleep age 10 for an unrelated issue (cancer).

This is so reassuring, thank you.

Also, don’t panic just yet!

Who’s doing the X-rays? Your local vet (similar to a GP) or specialist?

Many years ago our first lab wasn’t quite right in his movement. Local vet examined him and said he’s got hip dysplasia. I was devastated. I’d chosen his breeder partly due to good parental and relatives’ hip scores and been very careful with him jumping/too much exercise etc. She diagnosed it after seeing him move and X-ray.

She sent us to a specialist who took one look at the (expensive) X-rays my regular vet had done and said, ‘well these are about as much use as a chocolate tea pot! He’s not been placed correctly/ lined up straight so they are useless’. He redid the X-rays and announced his hips were fine. No dysplasia. Upon further investigation from the specialist it turned out he had torn his cruciate ligament.

I would get a referral to a clinic that sees this sort of issue day in and day out. Aside from anything else, if they do find problems on the X-rays they’ll probably refer you anyway, and the new vet will almost certainly ask for a new set of X-rays to be performed (meaning it’ll cost more/waste your insurance money).

Our neighbours lab pup was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at around 5 or 6 months. I think he's about 4 now and has had two rounds of stem cell therapy (once as a pup and yet again recently), I didn't even know such a thing existed for dysplasia.

If they have it, they have it from birth. Its congenital not something they develop. What are the parents like? Were they hip scored? Have you been in touch with the breeder? What about siblings?

My black lab was diagnosed with this at about the same age. Vet recommended surgery. Very expensive, long recovery, almost certain it would be compromised by a bouncy puppy unable to keep still.

Got a second opinion. Actually from a vet who had come over from Ireland with Noel Fitz Patrick and they had parted ways because he was less quick to "cut". He said any surgery done now would almost certainly need to be done again in a few years. Suggested keeping weight down, resting when perceptively stiff, let him run when not.

He's absolutely fine. Gets a bit limpy if he runs on a hard surface for an hour so we just rest him the next few days. We give him YuMove, and keep him lean. He has the best life and is a brilliant brilliant bouncy dog. He's 7 now.

Oh but we don't let him chase a ball... Much to his disgust...

Have you spoken to the breeder? Are any of their other dogs affected?

I would be informing the breeder not least because they need to know so they can stop breeding that line.

My dogs litter brother was diagnosed with the same at 1 year old, he was put on restricted lead walking until he was 2 and fully grown and then had operation to repair his hip. You would hope vet wouldn’t want to operate so young, but your options are hydro therapy and physio in the meantime, some people don’t operate but manage it, others go straight for the operation.

Thank you for the replies - they are making me feel much more positive.

I haven't spoken to the breeder yet as I'll wait for the x-ray results first, it's still not 100% certain (although it looks likely). Puppy came from a reputable breeder, I met both the mum and the granny, and saw another dog she had from the same sire. Hips scores were below the breed average so I thought we were safe... however I have small children and another dog at home and I think she has been ragging around too much with them.

@Iamblossom can you tell me more about YuMove - is that a food supplement or medication? I might investigate if you think it's helped.

Does your dog go onto furniture and upstairs (and has done since a puppy)? Chase a ball? Etc? All those things damage joints in a growing dog (particularly larger dogs like labs and retrievers).

If so, I would stop that immediately - no more ball chasing or being thrown toys, jumping onto furniture, going upstairs, no more super long walks. Instead games of tug, short walks often, keeping the weight off.

For those asking about health tests…Hip scores are important but ‘breed average’ does tend to be far too high. It’s 18 for Goldies which, IMO, is about double what it should be. And just because parents have a good hip score doesn’t mean grandparents do! (Just for background to help educate people - not to be pointed). Whilst dysplasia is present at birth, doing the above (my first para) will almost certainly worsen it which is why breeders should advise against letting puppies go on furniture etc.

So to avoid things like dysplasia, generational health tests, the correct (high quality) puppy food, not throwing balls or toys for young dogs, not over exercising them etc, are all equally important. But with careful management, and rowing back on excess stimulation and watching the weight, dogs can live happy lives 😊

She doesn't go upstairs, we don't throw balls for her. We carefully manage her food and vet has said she's slightly underweight if anything. We've avoided long walks but can't stop a puppy having zoomies when we do go out unless we keep her on the lead at all times. She walks to heel most of the time but has manic bursts of energy when we let her run.

For what it's worth, we definitely don't play tug with her either - if her hips are up to it then we plan to put her in for gundog training as we have with our other dog and tug is really not recommended...

we plan to put her in for gundog training as we have with our other dog and tug is really not recommended...

That's really old school thinking.

Yumove really helped my elderly whippet who had started limping but it was from old age. The kidneys got her before it became an issue. It is a great supplement but I would certainly ask the vet first as it is all it is, a supplement.

That is what all my friends with gun dogs do. Unless they have their own estate and a game keeper to do the job.

It's a joint supplement - we give to both our dogs and it seems to have really helped the lab

The old school thinking was about not playing tug not the gun dog training!

Apologies. It was not clear.

Hip dysplasia is only partly heritable. Genetics is a really important part of it but also important is early bone development in the puppy, and environmental factors. Plus luck. Hip issues are endemic to mammals generally - look at humans. Hip screening is a thing.

Jarring activities like fetch, twisting sharply in midair catching balls, lots of exercise at human pace on hard pavements - they won’t help at all.

I’d definitely get a second hip scan at a specialist practice. It might put your mind at ease.

My collie puppy was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia at about 4/5 months. We were referred to a specialist vet who outlined our options, but for any quality of life past age 4 it would need to be a total hip replacement. She had the surgery at 9 months and had her left hip replaced. She’s now nearly 2 and doing brilliantly.

The vet said it is genetic, not environmental. The hip replacement is likely to have a lifespan of approx 15 years - perfect for a dog. Her right hip is moderately affected and might need to be replaced in future, but not all dogs need the second hip doing. This is because they learn to run essentially on three legs, and because the more the muscles can be built up in both legs the more support the hip gets. Once healed cleanly, the hips are essentially indestructible as they have honeycombing on the outside of the titanium and the bone literally grows into it.

Not going to lie, it was expensive and the recovery period involved 7 weeks of crate rest, which she hated. I was petrified that she’d manage to damage it before it knitted together, but we made it.

Your Lab might not be nearly so badly affected and might not need surgery - just wanted to say that for us it was totally worthwhile!

Hi, would it be ok to DM you please? My 6 month lab puppy has just been diagnosed with bad hip dysplasia (both sides) and needs THR surgeries as soon as her skeleton is fully grown. I would love to hear about your experience with your collie as I’m so so worried about the op and especially the recovery process (6 weeks strict crate rest + 6 weeks restricted lead walking). Mainly worried the crate rest and caring for her after the op, she is a typical bouncy, energetic Labrador!

I’ve DMed you, @50Yankee50. Here are some photos from the crate days.

Just to update you all after your kind replies - we've had the x ray results back and it ISN'T hip dysplasia, thank god. We're on two weeks of anti inflammatory meds and another few weeks of lead walking, but vet is inclined to think it's a pulled muscle rather than anything chronic. So relieved, but also a very good lesson learned that I need to be more cautious with how much I let her romp around.

Thats brilliant news