# My Golden Has Hip Dysplasia?



## Ardeagold (Feb 26, 2007)

First of all...does your pup have any pain? How does he/she walk? Run?

Secondly...I'd wait and consider having the hips re-done later. Puppies (and your dog is a puppy still) often have laxity until they're older. And if the dog is within a couple of months of being in season (if it's a she...you never said), that can impact the hips. Plus...was the pup positioned properly on the table? This can make a world of difference in the xrays.

Here's a link showing proper positioning:

http://leerburg.com/hipart.htm

Dogs do not walk on their xrays. Remember that. A LOT of people never have surgery on their dogs who have dysplasia...and the dogs live happy, pain free lives. There are other methods to try, in the form of supplements, exercise (proper exercise), etc.

With proper exercise the dog's rear can become very strong...making up for any laxity in the hips. Swimming every day....walking up and down hills....walking in sand...all are good for strengthening the muscles that hold those joints in place.

Don't allow any jumping up (ie to catch a frisbee/ball) and discourage any jumping down off things.

Also...keep the dog slender...thin, in fact.

Also...hip dysplasia can occur even if both parents have excellent hips. It can skip generations...several of them. You have to know the history of the entire line...parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc etc. And, still, there are no guarantees. Until there's a DNA test to show whether the parents carry the gene for HD or not...breeding is really an educated guess. Good breeders do the best they can.

Best of luck with your pup.


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## bt5595 (Jun 19, 2009)

Ardeagold said:


> First of all...does your pup have any pain? How does he/she walk? Run?
> 
> Secondly...I'd wait and consider having the hips re-done later. Puppies (and your dog is a puppy still) often have laxity until they're older. And if the dog is within a couple of months of being in season (if it's a she...you never said), that can impact the hips. Plus...was the pup positioned properly on the table? This can make a world of difference in the xrays.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all that great info Ardeagold. Very reassuring. Well, my dog WAS a man as of this morning but not anymore :wave: But he's a he (only boys get neutered right?). But man can my boy run, he is soooooo fast especially when he has the zoomies. No pain apparent because he absolutely loves running to the fullest. He gets walked daily for about 30 minutes and I plan to take him running at 2 years old. We don't really play frisbee with him but he does get on couches now and then and gets off gently. But it's maybe 2 feet high at most and onto carpet. Is that bad? He is on the thinner side even though he is 87 lbs! You can see the tuck in hind legs and can feel his ribs easily. His torso from a bird's eye view is tapered.

I believe the positioning may have something to do with it because reading from the report, it says the radiographs are "mildly obliqued", probably meaning crooked lol, and that "the obliquity of the radiographs does falsing increase or decrease the appearance of femoral head coverage but does not affect the evaluation of the joint congruency." Also, the vet said not to worry as he said these radiology "specialists" always try to find something wrong and he said he felt only some mild looseness on his physical exam.

I understand that breeding from excellent parents and lineage is still no guarantee in not having hip dysplasia. In fact, I just read that the chances of developing it is 1 in 4 instead of 3 in 4 when both parents have bad hips. 

What kind of supplements do you recommend? Glucosamine?


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## CLH (Apr 13, 2009)

*Hip Dysplasia*

I have had two Goldens with Hip Dysplasia, the first was adopted, she had the surgery on both hips that they can do when they are still puppies. She got around fine, but we lost her to cancer at age 7. My other girl came from good parents, but she had severe, dysplasia. She had surgery at 7 months as she was in severe pain, at that age they do not do a hip replacement, but rather shave off the head of the hip so it fits in the socket better. Then when she was around 5, she had a total hip replacement on the other hip. She has functioned fine all these years, other than a bunny hop run you would never know she has it. However now that she is eleven, I wished I had both hips totally replaced as the hip that was not is causing her some problems. I put all my girls on Cosequin and swear that it helps, have been using it for over 15 years now. I would recommend that you get a second opinion at a hospital that does a lot of hip surgeries, as my nephew was in tears from a vet that told him he would have to put his Rottie down due to bad hips. We took him to Angell in Boston where I go, and they said he was fine, never needed surgery and at ahe 7 still has no problems.

Good Luck


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

I too have a golden with HD. I am sorry for your diagnosis. Please know many dogs have HD and are NEVER symptomatic, and never need anything except conscientious care. I wish mine was one of those but.... 

In my time since my pups dx at 9 months, I have learned a lot. If you maintain excellent weight on your dog, get him on good joint supplements and be careful with exercise your dog can have a long full active life. As he gets older you may have to investigate other options like chiropractic or accupuncture to help him along. I would refrain from activities that put strain on the back end, games of frisbee fetch for instance. 

My Teddi was severe on her right, moderate on her left and had a THR on her right side 2 days after her first birthday. She is doing GREAT!!! She runs, swims, plays. We do agility but in a modified version. We keep the jumps low, and she does not do full height contacts. She does compete in dock jumping competitions too. We don't play frisbee with her and we are very careful when playing with other dogs that she is not "sacked". She is a happy crazy golden.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I have a Golden who had an emergency FHO at 7 months old and a THR at 11 months of age. In his case it was needed. Like AG states, many dogs live long happy lives without surgery. If in fact your GR does need surgery, I can tell you that 6 years later Shadow lives a great life! 

Find yourself a good ortho surgeon. One who doesn't rush you into anything. One that asks you what your dog's quality of life is at the moment. Shadow's FHO was an emergency, but when we saw the next surgeon, Dr. Melvyn Pond (the guy is great!) he told me I could wait. I was very impressed when he asked me how I felt Shadow was doing with the right hip. I knew he needed help and we went forward with the THR.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Sorry to hear about the result of your dog's xrays. It is probably a shock since he deosnt show signs and is trim. I also have a dog with dysplasia (elbow)who has all normal OFA parents and grandparents as well as all but one great-grandparent(he was never tested). As I understand it, 12 percent may have a dysplasia even if the parents are hips good/elbows normal. Dasuqin, the upgraded Cosequin, has been extremely helpful as a supplement to my golden. Does your dog have a place to swim regularly? The orthopedic surgeon who did a terrific job on Tango's elbows says it is the best way to build muscle and connective tissue without stressing joints. Finally, Tango's breeder is very pro ofa and anti penn hip bc she feels it can sometimes hurt weak hips to be positioned the Pennhip way. However, my vet completely and utterly disagrees with that, feeling Pennhip is the better system. Just thought I'd share that in case there's anything to it- I have NO idea who is right.


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## molsonsmom (Sep 14, 2009)

It is always hard to hear of a new diagnosis of hip dysplasia. My sweetheart who is going to be 15 in February was diagnosed at 5 months of age. Since he was a rescue and not from a breeder who my two former loves had been from I had no history to go by. Unfortunately for Molson, I got bad advice from a well meaning vet and instead of bringing him to the hip surgeon at a renown vet hospital in St. Hyacinthe Quebec before he turned a year (and was still apparently operable) I waited as instructed until after he was a year only to hear that he was no longer eligible for a corrective operation and instead would have to wait until his Hip Dysplasia was pronounced.

The measures I took were to watch his weight, not allow him to jump and play Frisbee. To stop people from holding up treats making him go into the two legged begging position, and never allowing children to press on his hips or try to ride him (you would be surprised how often I would have to address that one!). 

I took him on long daily walks over pretty flat terrain and had him swim every chance possible building muscles with less strain on his skeleton. Even so far as putting in a pool when we no longer had access to lake water (ok at the time it was also for my husband but we both agreed it was really for Molson!)

Fortunately, following all the above his hip dysplasia only became a problem in his senior years, at about 10 he stopped being able to go up stairs. I started giving him glucosamine and chondroitin and within three months he was once again up and down the stairs (unlike people he had no idea he was taking something so it wasn't in his head that he could suddenly do this) For two years this worked great. Carpeting the stairs also changed his hesitation that had developed.

At 12 after a bad winter he began falling down and struggled to get up, I bought a couple of different slings on the market but didn't like how any of them worked, didn't think they were comfortable enough for Molson so I rigged up my own from material and tape and found that he would walk terrific when he had it on. 

I brought him for an evaluation to a surgeon was told he was too old for an operation plus he had nerve damage but to continue using my sling that I had made and we put him on pain management with Tramadol and Metacam. 

Since that appointment I use the sling which I call the Hip Hammock and I have started to manufacture it locally in Montreal and now sell it on animalassistanceproducts.com after people kept stopping me to ask where they could get one. My vet uses one at his clinic!

What truly is preventative for your dog is if you see your dog have a bad time, which Molson did from time to time during his younger years and I wish I had had the Hip Hammock then, when your dog has episodes of pain you can have him wear the Hip Hammock and will find that just having that soft support helps him recover quickly until you will realize that he isn't leaning his weight into it. That is what I found with Molson, when he feels he needs more support he relaxes onto the Hammock; even when he is pooing you can feel he just allows me to gently guide him. Because of using the Hip Hammock every day this winter his vet said Molson was in better shape after this winter than he was last winter.

Anyways my long winded response is really to help your pooch over bad period to recover quickly whenever they should occur; there are options available to make him more comfortable without the use of drugs, just by helping take weight off the sensitive joints with something like my hip hammock helps. and hopefully you will never have a full blown problem. But if you do then there are supports our there, but truly using the Hip Hammock and all of the preventative stuff mentioned above should help your dog live a full life just like my Molson (who is at my feet as I type!)


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Aww, sorry to hear about the dx. Like others have said, lots of dogs show issues upon x-ray but never present with problems. Supplements (glocosamine), low impact exercise and keeping him thin are all very important. Things may also change between now and when he's a little older, so hopefully, your second set of x-rays will look different - for the better.

At 15 months, I have a hard time thinking that 87 lbs is thin. Can you post a few more pics of him?


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

Yes, don't do anything hasty; the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) issues clearances like PennHip but will not issue a final clearance for hips and elbows until the age of 24 months (or older). There are still structural changes that can take place between now and the age of 2 (should you want to have another set of x-rays taken at that time). 

Like you, we also had a scare with our second golden's hips. She also came from a reputable breeder with clearances going back several generations. She OFA'd good--even though our former vet refused to believe it (long story there). My word of advice is to consult with the best orthopedic vet in the area--even if it is a few hours away. You don't want a vet driven by $$$ recommending hip surgery just because of the revenue it brings in to the practice. I'm not saying that has what happened to you, all I'm saying is that it would not hurt to get a second opinion. 

As far as supplements, my breeder recommends two Glyco-Flex at each meal, plus 500 MG of vitamin C. Glyco-Flex Classic 600 mg - 300 ct can be purchased at KV Pet Supply on line: http://www.kvvet.com. I have a new puppy (well, she's now 16 months) and that's what she's been on since 8 months old. Hope this helps!


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## bt5595 (Jun 19, 2009)

Went in today to get my dog some flea and heartworm preventative medication. Looks like he won't be charging me the anesthesia fee, just the price for the film because he said the last x-ray may not have been clear by his fault. Also attached some pictures of my dog. Can't believe he's 92 lbs! He doesn't look overweight does he? He only gets 3 cups of food a day. I can feel his ribs and it looks like he has a tuck at his hips.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

He looks great to me. Nice looking boy.


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