# 6 month Golden with early signs of hip dysplasia?



## maggiekoko (May 3, 2019)

Hi everyone,

This is my first time writing on the golden retriever forum and I am desperate for some advice from experienced golden owners seeing that this is my first dog. My baby Cooper is a male puppy of 6 months old purchased from a breeder. He is an excellent puppy and complete joy to have around. He has never had an accident after the first two weeks of bringing him home and is extremely obedient. He is a real people's pleaser! It was pointed out to us by a dog trainer that his hind legs appear to give him a "stiff back" and that his right leg doesn't seem to be as strong as the others. The trainer also pointed out that his back legs are not as developed as the front and that may be due to compensation from his hips or back joints. 

My family and I would have never noticed this as we have never had any dogs and our vet has never pointed anything out to us. Here are several things we have noticed: He often likes to sprint like a bunny when playing fetch, he sits on his bum first then slides his front legs back to get in a laying down position, he often sits with his hips opened like a frog. He does not appear to be in pain and still likes to run and play. Are the abovementioned observations typical of a golden or am I panicking? We are going to get X-Rays done next week to put our worries at ease. If he does have HD, what should we be doing to minimize it's a progression? Any thoughts on diet, supplements, exercise and surgery? How will his quality of life be?

Thank you in advance for your thoughtful time and help.
-Maggie

P.S His parents have had x-rays done on their hips and have no HD, of course, this doesn't guarantee that my dog is cleared. I do have a warranty for a year with my breeder but under NO circumstance would I give my dog back. He is staying with us no matter the outcome and severity.


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## Kmullen (Feb 17, 2010)

I had a friend that was told the same thing about their 7 month old puppy boy...so the owner went and had prelims done. His hips were Excellent!! Don't sweat it. If you are going to do an xray, find a vet in your area that does proper positioning.


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## maggiekoko (May 3, 2019)

Thank you so much for replying! We will definitely be doing that.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Have it checked if you are worried, but understand six months is a big growth age for puppies, and they can have all kinds of funky structural changes going on that will even out and be totally normal as they grow.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Every OFA Excellent I've ever had has laid frog-style. 

If that is of value...


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

I would certainly have him checked. The tell tale sign when young like this is a bunny hop style run. That is so each leg can support the other.


I also wouldn't worry about the frog legs. Maggie has done that since day one and shes 18 months old and still does it.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

If you think your dog has hip or elbow dysplasia - get insurance before you get the xrays.

^ This isn't me saying your dog sounds like he has either, just a reminder. 

If your dog has HD, don't let your vet or anyone else push you into having any surgery done. HD is not a death sentence nor does it mean your dog will be crippled for life.

My boy who I lost a few months ago had bilateral hip dysplasia. 

This was a dog who trotted with ease and I do not remember him ever bunny hopping. He's actually the reason why I'm a nervous wreck about my puppy and will be for the next 12 months until we do his OFA's because with Jacks I never saw any hint or sign that he didn't have good hips. This was a dog who was solid muscle in his prime and just a lovely mover. There's basically NO WAY to tell whether a dog has bad hips without getting xrays done. This is especially with a dog who comes from a good breeder and has full clearances behind them. It means you likely are avoiding more severe cases of HD (which yeah, there are visible signs of HD - maybe worse in other breeds), and getting more cases of mild and moderate HD which the dog might not show. 

My vet's comment was a huge hidden percentage of family pets out there likely have HD because a lot of dogs do not have symptoms. She said the dogs do not walk on their xrays. 

What I've heard or people I've trained with look for are dogs who are uncomfortable when sitting (they keep rolling from one hip to the other if bilateral HD or they roll over onto their good hip). Then lying down - they prefer the "sphinx" pose vs rolling on a hip. 

Have to say that my Jacks - I could never get him to roll on a hip (he would do it on his own at home, but never in class situations). 

But then Bertie refused to roll on hip as well. He preferred sprawling out like a bear rug (front and back legs fully spread out). 




> It was pointed out to us by a dog trainer that his hind legs appear to give him a "stiff back" and that his right leg doesn't seem to be as strong as the others. The trainer also pointed out that his back legs are not as developed as the front and that may be due to compensation from his hips or back joints.


Do you have a video showing him moving - like trotting around your yard or somebody moving him at a trotting gait for the camera? 

What the trainer described is concerning - particularly the roached back, but some people don't know what they are looking at or are looking for problems where they don't exist?



> He often likes to sprint like a bunny when playing fetch, he sits on his bum first then slides his front legs back to get in a laying down position, he often sits with his hips opened like a frog.


Bunny hop = locking rear legs together and hunching the back a little. 

The video below shows canter and gallop - which your pup might be doing. This might be confused for bunny hopping?








> If he does have HD, what should we be doing to minimize it's a progression? Any thoughts on diet, supplements, exercise and surgery? How will his quality of life be?


If he has HD -

Get him on Glycoflex (or Cosequin DS) and prepare to have him on it for the rest of his life. These brands have soft chews which the dogs LOVE. They think they are treats. 

Personally speaking - I'd have him on Glycoflex anyway, particularly if he's slow growing and going through an awkward stage. 

Exercise - daily walks + weekly outings somewhere so he can swim. 

Idea is build up strong muscles and keep him strong and lean. Let him be a dog. 

Only reason why you'd need surgery is if he's got severe HD and it's affecting the quality of life.


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## maggiekoko (May 3, 2019)

Thank you for all your replies and for addressing my concerns. I would like to thank you all individually and comment back to all of you but I am a new user and do not know how to personally reply to each comment yet. 
Overall, I will get the X-rays done to get a definitive answer and look into glycoflex as a preventive measure.

Thank you all so much.


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## maggiekoko (May 3, 2019)

Yes! thank you for letting me know.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

I would follow Megora's advice and buy health insurance then get xrays. If everything is fine you can cancel the insurance. If you get the xrays first health insurance won't cover a hip problem


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

My golden has HD. We got xrays at about 2 years old to confirm what we kind of already new. She is on two dasaquin a day. She doesnt have any problems at 4 that slow her down. Sometimes she will limp a few seconds after getting up but not often. She walks two miles a day and plays normally.


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## johnluce (Sep 7, 2014)

*Our Golden has HD*

Our male Golden was diagnosed with HP at about 6 months. We pursued x-rays after we noticed the him developing a limp in his walk. His xrays showed severe Bi-lateral HD. We are advised of our options and took him to Ohio State University Veterinary where at the age of 10 months (his growth plates were closed) got a Total Hip Replacement on the right side which was the worst of the two hips. Rehab was stressful for us as he so full of energy and you need to keep them controlled so they don't undo the new hip. It was 12 weeks of rehab. He is now 6 and is absolutely fine with his hips. We worried we may have to deal with his left one but the surgeon said that many times just doing one side will be all you have to do. We keep him lean, he takes a joint supplement and we have a pond so he gets ALLOT of swimming. The alternative to a Total Hip Replacement is a FHO which may be an alternative if the budget wont handle the THR, but the THR is the top choice from what we were told.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

I had an HD dog. Her name was Teddi. Teddi was diagnosed at 6 months via an xray. She came from the newspaper. A dog from a breeder whose parents had excellent hips is not a guarantee just hopefully better odds for you. If you have concerns, get your dogs hips xrayed.


Teddi bunny hopped running as a pup however that is not necessarily a symptom. The big "whats going on" flag to me was when she would take off running the BITE her butt like she was stung like a bee. I would see her limp from time to time, but dismissed it because "puppies do not limp". I don't remember the reason I had her checked but I took her in the vet xrayed and her hips were ugly. My vet told me they like to wait to do any surgical intervention until the pup fully matures (2 yrs) and in that time they can grow out of it. Or at least grow into dealing with it. Not my girl by 9 months she was in pain and started on pain meds. Before she was 1 she was on 2 previcox a day just to help her be comfortable to eat. For her first birthday she had a total hip replacement surgery on her right side. 



Teddi was the HAPPIEST dog you will ever see. Her surgery gave her great quality of life. She ran, played, swam, jumped hiked you name it. We dabbled in agility and obedience but she did not like showing. The key to management is WEIGHT!!! You MUST keep the dog on the skinny side. Teddi stood 24" and weighed 60# through most of her life, at 8 she got up to 65#. Its imperative they do not carry and extra ounce of weight. We religiously went to the surgical center annually for rechecks. Her right hip was awesome her left awful. She used her right hip extensively, her left was mostly a balance leg. As she aged she would show signs of soreness, but an NSAID would take care of that. She was on Dasuquin, MSM, salmon oil, and Adequan as supplements. 



In the end her hips had nothing to do with her leaving us. She was diagnosed with Fibrosarcoma in her face. She made it to 10.5 years, and she LIVED her life every single day. A dog can have a great life with HD, buy you have to commit to giving them that life. Weight control, proper supplementation, exercise, they can be just fine. It's not easy, and to a degree I think Teddi lived in pain her whole life. She was one tough cookie. Especially when the cancer got bad. She never one day in her life in her waking hours let us think she had anything wrong with her. Sleeping was another story. 



If you have concerns have your pups hips xrayed so you know what you are dealing with. Could totally be something else. 



Ann


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## Lincgold (May 11, 2018)

Megora’s advice was spot on. Try not to stress he’s still so young. My 9 mos old pup, Bear goes down the stairs with back feet together (perhaps he was a bunny in his previous life ?). He also lays down in the craziest positions (see photo). I think they all do cause they’re so flexible. Good luck and please keep us posted.


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## Shnga (Jan 25, 2019)

My 5.5 month old golden sits the exact same way...with her back legs open like a frog. Not very lady like.  I've been so worried about it too. She also has a "swagger" in her rear end when she walks. I was reading today that that could stem from her gait and sure enough when she's walking around the house she's using a "pacer" gait which makes the butt wiggle more. Like yours she plays and runs around and doesn't seem to be in pain. I'm hoping we're just being worried and nervous puppy parents and there is nothing going on. I'm interested to hear what everyone says about it.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

Prism Goldens said:


> Every OFA Excellent I've ever had has laid frog-style.
> 
> If that is of value...


Ditto this.


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