# Hip Dysplasia



## baumgartml16 (Jun 19, 2011)

Hey all,

My sister got terrible news last night about her GSD. He was having pain in his elbow and it wasn't getting it better so they had xrays done. They decided to xray his hips while they were at it just to be sure everything was good there. He is 1 year, 10 months old...still a baby! His elbow had some joint issues that is leading to arthritis, already! 

But the worst is that he has hip dysplasia. No signs of it at all yet but the doc said by the time he is 6 he probably won't be able to walk. He told my sister to never let him run/jump again. She is so upset. How is she supposed to never let him run again..that is what he lives for! 

The surgery wouldn't happen till he showed signs and will be about $5,000 each hip, he needs both! They won't be able to afford that. 

They are discussing with insurance right now as she does have pet insurance. He said the dog can live a short life and run every day or a long one and not run again or play with other dogs. 

Any of you that have experienced this have any advice for her or words of wisdom. He is her life as we can all relate! 

Thanks guys!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Well... first the insurance probably won't cover the hip dysplasia, because he's already been examined and those xrays are there. It is now a pre-existing condition. 

German Shepherds have a LOT of major league hip problems, back problems, elbow problems, neck. ACL problems... and it comes down to their structure not being balanced enough. And also some of the American ones grow uber fast and get pretty big before their muscles and joints have time to support all that weight. If they do not have problems early on, then they have that rear end weakness issue very early. 

The european lines type ones I've met are not as huge and they are better balanced. 

Tell your sister to go to a specialist. Advice to never let a dog run or jump is NOT helpful. Telling somebody they need to spend $10,000 on hip replacement surgery right now or else the dog can't walk isn't helpful either. What your sister needs to do is look into getting that dog on joint supplements - now. And work on getting controlled exercise - now. She does not want his muscles to atrophy from lack of exercise. If he's running around the yard (flat soft ground) because he wants to, that should be fine. If this dog is in a lot of pain, he will not run. Jumping would likely be a huge issue and I would cut back on that. These are things your sister wants to discuss with a specialist. 

She also wants to look into care credit to at least cover half of the vet bill.

*** I should say, I have a friend who owns three shepherds. Two are white shepherds that were handed out for free behind a show site. The other is an American type (longer/full coat) came from a byb, I think. All three dogs had to have hip surgery and I believe the one white shepherd had a bad elbow which needed surgery. Both white shepherds had to have ACL repair surgery. All three dogs are almost 14 and have lived long, healthy lives. The two white shepherds try herding horses (from outside the fence) just as well as some young dog with perfect hips. So while this is bad news and will be a financial hardship for your sister, it is worth taking care of it.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I am so sorry to hear about your sister's dog. 
If she does not have money for total hip repair, it might be worth it to check into FHO.
My golden was diagnosed with HD and arthritis in his left hip joint at age 6 years. That was almost three years ago. This last December he had an FHO done on his hip, it was the only surgery possible. His hip joint was so degraded, the surgeon would not have been able to do a total hip repair.
Did the vet say anything about whether he could still function for a while on the necessary supplements like Glucosamine/chondroitin, fish oil and pain meds such as Rimadyl or Metacam, and Adequan injections that built up the lubricatin in the joints?
Tell her not to panic quite yet and explore all possibilities. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Good luck!


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## baumgartml16 (Jun 19, 2011)

Thanks guys. She had the insurance prior to this so wouldn't they cover that?

He did grow very fast and is a hefty 100 lbs now. 

She is getting him on supplements and I told her to take the xrays to a specialist. 

I will pass on all of your advice!


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I would also think that the insurance would cover it.
If not, might be worth it to check into trupanion, they are suppose to insure even with pre-existing conditions.
I wish the surgeon that moved here last year, had been there three years ago. I would have had surgery done on my boy a lot earlier. But we had no surgeon nearby, so I suppose I can't cry over spilled milk, as the saying goes. Now, Toby had surgery and is pain free and can run again, that is most important!
Good luck!


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I am actually more afraid of ED than HD. Glucosamines with MSM and fish oil can help. We were actually taught in school that you cannot predict a dog's soundness based on rads... I have radiographed dogs that shouldn't have been walking and hunted into their teens. My experience with clients who have pet insurance is that the insurance hasn't covered conditions that the insurance company considers to be genetic for that breed.


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## baumgartml16 (Jun 19, 2011)

Sally's Mom - do you think she should stop him from running if it showed up on the xray that he has HD or supplement him and let him run on grassy areas like suggested above?


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Our Chloe had the same diagnosis in her right hip a few months back. At first we were totally freaked. I treated her like a porcelain tea cup, only letting her swim and walk on leash. We realized that is a pretty crappy life for her - to not be able to do what she wants. She was not symptomatic at the time, and if she is at any point, we will decide on surgery down the road (we do have insurance - PetPlan- that will cover the surgery) but we will not do it if we don't need to. She happily plays in the yard and jumps on her own and is still not symptomatic. We also have her on a regimen of supplements to give her the best chance possible. I think dogs self regulate pretty well, if they are in pain they'll stop. Obviously we limit her activity somewhat, but they still need to enjoy life. I won't be doing agility or field with her, since I think it would increase the possibility of an injury, but playing isn't a bad thing.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

My Laney was ED and HD clear at 24 months. At 44 months she developed a skip. She was mildly unilaterally dysplasitic at that time. She got two rally excellent legs(jumping) at almost 12 years. Two weeks after her RE legs, she died from a ruptured splenic hemangiosarcoma..... I believe in no forced exercise until after two years of age. Laney taught me that... She had "biceps tendinitis" at 1 1/2 years, probably would be diagnosed as compartmental syndrome now! Exercise will help with muscle mass.


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## Savanaha (Oct 9, 2012)

*Hip Dysplasia in our Golden 9 months old*

Hello. Just read all the posts! We unfortunately just did do X-rays and took our Lilly to the specialist. She unfortunately has major hip dysp along with the left side almost dislocated. We are injecting her with shots for her joints and giving her supplements each day. She has good days and slow/down days. We do give pain meds if we see her really out. So sad...these breeders/puppy mills are sick! We have to wait til she is one to see where she ends up weight and size to see what our options are. Not very excited about hip replacement but may be our only choice? We do let our dog run, swim and play. She has never really jumped anyway...she can't back legs are real week. Looking into some PT? Anyone have luck with this?? I was told long walks to build up mussel. Not to stop everything cause her mussels will completely go bad...keep active! We love our pets!!!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

baumgartml16 said:


> Hey all,
> 
> My sister got terrible news last night about her GSD. He was having pain in his elbow and it wasn't getting it better so they had xrays done. They decided to xray his hips while they were at it just to be sure everything was good there. He is 1 year, 10 months old...still a baby! His elbow had some joint issues that is leading to arthritis, already!
> 
> ...


This diagnosis makes no sense to me... the xrays show no sign of HD but within 4.5 yrs. the dog won't be able to walk due to it's severity? The dog should never run or jump again when the dog doesn't have any signs of HD? WTH??? I'd find another vet.


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