Hi everyone, really worried as Milo jumped off the bed twice this week and couldn't stand up on his back legs for about a minute. Does this sound like onset of Hip Dysplasia? any advice
Hi Crissie, If it was me and it's happened twice for that length of time I would go to the vet ....but that doesn't mean you need to panic or start jumping to conclusions .Hip Dysplasia takes a thorough and detailed vet exam to diagnose. Milo may have just sprained a muscle when he jumped ,if he'd been lying there for a long time in a funny position he might have given himself a dead leg and it gave way a bit when he put weight on it...especially if he fully recovered with no limp afterwards.....in my experience of reading on the Forum the dysplasia diagnoses are usually made after members have noticed limps and unequal gaits in their dogs. I can't remember now how old Milo is but just to say they are better not jumping on and off things until they are fully grown ( I know,sometimes easier said than done ) and even then with caution as it can be so bad for their joints. Angela x
Hi Thanks for reply Milo is 2 and a half but he has always had a funny gait which my vet has seen. I think I might do an X-ray for precautions and for my peace of mind as I found out 2 of his siblings had HD so I suppose its on my mind. As to what you are saying thats what I thought about the way he was lying as he jumped up so quick.
Ah Crissie,definately take him and get him checked out if his siblings have been diagnosed.I hope it's something and nothing but even if you do get a HD diagnosis it doesn't have to be awful,at least you know and can help him the best you can .There are dogs on the Forum that have their condition managed and haven't needed to have surgery. Let us know how you get on ....x
I think I am just panicking as I read a checklist of symptoms and Milo seems to have them . The sloppy sitting position, the funny gait, and he doesn't jump up quickly (unless for food ) But saying that my other lab used to stand with her back legs crossed and she didn't have it.
Really sorry to hear. Not wanting to alarm you, but just drawing on our experience, if you are x-raying then also look at his spine. Snowie was unable to walk due to a slipped disc. Altho he screamed in agony. We dropped blocks into our pool so that Snowie could walk in and out easily. Could you create steps for access to your bed? We have seen a massive improvement since Snowie stopped jarring his back jumping in and out of the pool. i hope you work out the cause and that it is, first prize, nothing or, second prize, easily treated. Best of luck.
Hi Guys, Spoke to vet and he said if Milo is not limping or in pain most probably he had a muscle spasm when he jumped off bed. He has told me to give Milo some good supplements and said that if I want to put my mind at rest X-ray him . But thats a general anasetic Will see . Solution keep him off bed .Thats gonna be hard
That must be a relief to hear that from your vet. Re the X-ray, could he rather have a mild sedative instead of a general anaesthetic?
Apparently no as he will be in a very uncomfortable position and while he is under they check his hips manually.
You could put a stool by the bed, so that he goes half way dow onto the stool, then down to the ground. Mine have never even thought of jumping on the bed - odd!
Betsy has a large leather footstool to get on and off the bed, and I've given her treats for using it - she does, reliably. Doesn't stop her leaping over the stream and galloping round like a crazy thing when we are out and about, or taking the three steps in the garden in one bound. Sigh...there is a limit as to what you can stop them doing! I know a lot of people might disagree with this, but I would always have a pedigree Labrador x-rayed from top to bottom at a year old. I'll do this with Betsy, even though I have no intention of breeding from her. I did this with Charlie, and I don't regret it. First, it gives you valuable information. If your dog has a weakness in elbow and hips you can take action to modify exercise to account for that. Second, peace of mind. Having had one dog with joint problems, I won't stop worrying about Betsy until I know. And third, you have a record for the future - when your dog has a limp, you know what state its joints are in, so your vet can better diagnose problems (even if all joints are problem free), and it gives you a record to compare against if your dog has a problem in the future. For all these reasons, all of Betsy's joints will be x-rayed when she is a year old.
The Vet xrayed Coopers Hips when she was in to be spayed. Said she looked fine, but they could not really give her a clean bill since she was only 16 months at the time. I believe they have to be 2 years for the official rating, but since we weren't going to breed her it did not matter. When she is relaxed she sits with her back feet sticking out. I think her back legs are so long that she is not really comfortable with them tucked in for a proper sit. She sits correctly if you ask her to sit, or if she is at allert, but the rest of the time she just kind of sits on her butt with her feet sticking out. When she gets off of a high bed, she stretches her feet out behind her on the bed, and then drops off when her feet hit the edge of the bed. She is so tall that she can jump over us and land in the middle of the bed.
We have had Bensons elbows and both hips Xrayed. We have already has this discussion with the vet re: Bramble, and are going to get hips and elbows Xrayed at 12 months. The ortho vet had a look at her at around 8 months, and gave her a very thorough exam, looking at flexibility, gait etc...mainly because we were concerned at her rate of growth. I think it is a very sensible approach, plus nothing beats that peace of mind.
I had Brogan's hips and elbows x rayed for HD/ED and no anaesthesia involved. If you decide to X-ray but are put off by the anaesthesia part, perhaps you could consult with another vet practice to see if they handle the procedure differently. I agree with you that I'd not want to put a dog under if not absolutely necessary. I like to get second opinions on this kind of big stuff anyway, it can be really surprising. Brogan for example was diagnosed with ED and I was told that he needed a full elbow replacement immediately. In fact, the vet said I'd be abusing my dog if I didn't do it. So I took him to the ortho-specialist who'd done my other dog's TPLO and he said that was completely nuts and operating on an 11 month old dog for that level of ED would be criminal. I went with my ortho and in fact Brogan never had an operation and didn't even seem to have pain in that elbow. He did end up having two TPLO's to correct torn cruciates, but no issues from the ED. But hopefully in Milo's case it's not even relevant as he was just temporarily painful from his attempt at the gold medal in bed diving.
