Some not so good news.

Sammy2011 · #1 12-12-11, 11:16 AM

Hi all, sorry I haven't been around over the past few days, we had a bit of bad news on Friday! I am upset, angry, just very mixed emotions at the moment

For a while now, we had noticed that Xen kind of dragged his back feet, he didn't do it all of the time and it was mainly after excercise, so to be honest we never really thought it was anything more than laziness/tiredness.

Anyway because this continued, I spoke to our vet over the phone beginning of last week and explained what we were seeing etc.
They recommended to be on the safe side, we take Xen in to see the vet. We went in on the Tuesday, he was examined and it was recommended we have his hips X-rayed, to see if there was anything causing this.
He was booked in on Friday.

Took him on Friday morning, of course I broke my heart having to leave him, then the added worry of the outcome, it wasn't a very good day at all.

At 15.30 I got a phone call from our vets, Xen has got mild Hip Dysplasia

He has been prescribed anti-inflammatory's (Acetaminophen) for 5 days

So at the moment my head is all over the place. I have 'never' over excercised him, he has never done anything to put strain on his hips. The vet has said it could possibly be genetic, but I guess I'll never know.

I am now looking for Hydrotherapy pools within our area, which I can take him too. Any other help on what we can do is much appreciated.

Thanks all.

Sam.

Sammy2011 · #2 12-12-11, 11:27 AM

A couple of photo's.

Where the vet had to shave his leg

Love my boy so much

Raven · #3 12-12-11, 11:53 AM

How old is Xen ? Although the vet says he's got mild hip dysplasia I would be taking him to a chiropractor to have him checked out. His back could be out of alignment which may have some bearing on his movement after exercise. If it is HD I would be giving him gentle exercise to specifically build stability around his hips. You could send in the x-rays to have them scored then you will know for certain whether his hips are bad or not. A lot of vets are not good at judging hip x-rays and can and do miss other causes of lamness. Another thing to consider is DM depending on the age of Xen. I'm sure you will be able to keep him comfortable whether he has HD or not with appropriate exercise and supplements to help his joints. He's a handsome boy x

Sammy2011 · #4 12-12-11, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raven

How old is Xen ? Although the vet says he's got mild hip dysplasia I would be taking him to a chiropractor to have him checked out. His back could be out of alignment which may have some bearing on his movement after exercise. If it is HD I would be giving him gentle exercise to specifically build stability around his hips. You could send in the x-rays to have them scored then you will know for certain whether his hips are bad or not. A lot of vets are not good at judging hip x-rays and can and do miss other causes of lamness. Another thing to consider is DM depending on the age of Xen. I'm sure you will be able to keep him comfortable whether he has HD or not with appropriate exercise and supplements to help his joints. He's a handsome boy x

Thanks Raven.
A Chiropractor is definately worth consideration.
Xen is 11 months old.
Sorry to sound dumb, but what is DM?

Raven · #5 12-12-11, 12:07 PM

At 11 months you wouldn't have signs of DM ( Degenerative Myelopathy ) as it comes on in middle age. Chirpractors are great but they need to be trained properly for humans as well as dogs. I take Petra twice a year for a check up and she always needs tweaking back into alignment. Some dogs do srape their back legs because of the way they're constructed, were his parents hip scored ? Sorry I new to the board so don't know his history. As he's still a pup I would recommend this book :

Exercising Your Puppy: a gentle & natural approach Gentle Dog Care Series: Amazon.co.uk: Julia Robertson, Elisabeth Pope: Books

Fi1805 · #6 12-12-11, 12:10 PM

You poor thing, what a trauma to go through and poor Xen - I hope he isnt in too much discomfort.

I'm sorry, I dont have any advice as I've no experience with HD but I wish you and Xen all the best. x

GypsyGSD · #7 12-12-11, 12:13 PM

Try not to dispair HD can be quite bad in a lot of cases but with careful exercise diet and vet help the dog can still have a happy normal life when my boy was told he had HD I tried to wrap him up in cotton wool he was young to but in the end I just let him be a dog he would run with the collie and my other shep and he loved chasing my cats lol he loved going to training club he did all exercises but found the downs to uncomfortable but he gave it a go I tried to build up his muscles which in turn helped to support the joints yes as he got a bit older he seemed to pace himself more its as if he new his limits unforunatly he died xmas eve a few years ago age 6 not connected to HD but up untill that point he did all that other dogs did xx

Fi1805 · #8 12-12-11, 12:16 PM

Oh - I didnt realise that Xen is still so young. A breeder who I spoke to whilst I was looking to buy a pup told me that vets are really quick to diagnose HD and perform operations and in a lot of cases young dogs who are still developing can go on to sort themselves out.

I think it would definitely be worth getting a second opinion. x

Sammy2011 · #9 12-12-11, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raven

At 11 months you wouldn't have signs of DM ( Degenerative Myelopathy ) as it comes on in middle age. Chirpractors are great but they need to be trained properly for humans as well as dogs. I take Petra twice a year for a check up and she always needs tweaking back into alignment. Some dogs do srape their back legs because of the way they're constructed, were his parents hip scored ? Sorry I new to the board so don't know his history. As he's still a pup I would recommend this book :

Exercising Your Puppy: a gentle & natural approach Gentle Dog Care Series: Amazon.co.uk: Julia Robertson, Elisabeth Pope: Books

Thank you.
Yes his parents were hip scored, can't remember what the scores were now, just trying to find out online. (found out dad's score is HD-SV: HD a-normal (a1) not sure about mum, it doesn't say on pedigree database)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fi1805

You poor thing, what a trauma to go through and poor Xen - I hope he isnt in too much discomfort.

I'm sorry, I dont have any advice as I've no experience with HD but I wish you and Xen all the best. x

Thank you Fi. The vet did say he could lead a normal, healthy life, just got to make sure his diet, excercise etc is kept within the boundaries.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GypsyGSD

Try not to dispair HD can be quite bad in a lot of cases but with careful exercise diet and vet help the dog can still have a happy normal life when my boy was told he had HD I tried to wrap him up in cotton wool he was young to but in the end I just let him be a dog he would run with the collie and my other shep and he loved chasing my cats lol he loved going to training club he did all exercises but found the downs to uncomfortable but he gave it a go I tried to build up his muscles which in turn helped to support the joints yes as he got a bit older he seemed to pace himself more its as if he new his limits unforunatly he died xmas eve a few years ago age 6 not connected to HD but up untill that point he did all that other dogs did xx

So sorry to hear you lost your boy Gypsy

Thats what I'm worried about with Xen, wrapping him up in cotton wool, when I know I shouldn't.

Sammy2011 · #10 12-12-11, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fi1805

Oh - I didnt realise that Xen is still so young. A breeder who I spoke to whilst I was looking to buy a pup told me that vets are really quick to diagnose HD and perform operations and in a lot of cases young dogs who are still developing can go on to sort themselves out.

I think it would definitely be worth getting a second opinion. x

I think so too.
The vet did say because he is still growing, it may well sort its self out, I just think I always fear the worse