Illini

As an update to an earlier post - thanks for all the kind words and thoughts.

Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that I have a 10 mo. Old chocolate lab who was diagnosed with Hip Displaysia. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst, her right hip is an 8 and the left is a 4. Although at this point she shows no signs of pain, etc. I have been told that she probably will have some problems at some point in her life. It all depends on the dog.

I have been told by the vet that my options range from a total hip replacement @ $3,000/hip to a Triple Pelvic Osteotomy (TPO) @$1,500/hip to doing nothing. If she becomes lame later in life I could have a femoral head/neck resection done(basically cutting the head of the femur off and the joint fills with scar tissue forming a false joint). It has also been recommended by others on this board to start her on a Glucosamine Chondroitin supplement, which I intend to do this week.

So far she doesn' t show any signs of pain or lameness. While I am training her to be a retrieving hunting dog, she is also a companion/family dog. She does not do any field trials and the majority of her work is water related - not much upland hunting.

I am considering the TPO on the worst hip, however, I don' t know anyone who can advise me on % effectiveness, etc. Does anyone know of a dog that has had this procedure done? Also, how effective is the Glucosamine Chondroitin and where do I find it? If the other hip is a 4 out of 10 would there be a need to do this hip at a later date?

I' m not sure if anyone has come across this before but any information at all is a great deal of help to me.

Thanks!

Doc E

The Glucosamine/Chondroitin isn' t going to fix the problem that your dog has, but it will probably reduce the bad effects of the dysplasia. Try to get one that is a powder inside of a ' pull apart' gelatin capsule instead of one in a ' hard pill' form.

It' s not uncommon that after a dog gets the worst hip fixed, that the other hip quits deteriorating and may never need to be operated on. If surgery is needed, the replacement has nearly a 100% effectivness rate. I haven' t read anything about the success rate of TPO.

As long as you bought your dog from a reputable breeder, there should have been a written guarantee concerning dysplasia (as well as other genetic problems), so you should be able to get your money back, which should help with your expenses for surgery.

click

our vet wont even test for the hip problems until about 2yrs old. and i have heard several breeders say the same thing because their bones and joints are still developing and you are not able to tell until they are fully developed. i don' t know but i might would wait and see a little bit farthur down the road.

one thing they all told me to look for when i was choosing a puppy was if she would lay down on her stomach with her back legs straight behind her then she would be fine. does your pup lay like this?

Illini

Click,

the TPO procedure can only be performed on dogs younger than 12 months. Although, I have read recently where there are exceptions up to 15 months.

Actually when she was younger she did lay down as you described. Lately she has developed the tell tale side to side sway and " bunny hop" that coincides with the hip displaysia.

Thanks

Doc E

click,

OFA won' t certify a dog unless the x-rays are taken at 24 months of age or more, but dysplasia can be seen much earlier. PENN hip can rate hips for dysplasia as young as 6 months of age.

Doc E

Illini,

Have you contacted the breeder as far as the guarantee?

click

oh i knew it had something to do with 2 yrs

my bad[:' (]

Illini

Doc,

I have contacted the breeder. He has been . . . . . . . . . . . . let' s call it unreceptive to any responsibility so far. He has offered no refunds nor has he accepted any responsibility. I think one qoute was something like. . .. " well, that' s too bad. These things happen you know."

I' m not looking for the guy to fund the surgery, I just would have expected a different response. I personally would have offered the money back with an apology, but that' s just me.

Any ideas?

Doc E

My suggestion would be to NEVER buy a dog without a written guarantee.

Of course, be sure the parents have passed OFA or PENN hip for hips, passed OFA for elbows and have a recent CERF for eyes.

seattlesetters

I agree about getting a guarantee on any pup you purchase. However, all the certifications may not be necessary, depending upon who you get the dog from and what breed of dog you get.

I breed an occasional litter of FDSB English Setters from my own stock of three bitches and one stud. They are all house pets and I hunt and field trial with all of them. It just so happens that they are rather nice dogs and people like the pups they produce, and their pedigrees have very few, if any incidences of bad hips, elbows or eyes. I usually sell the pups for $500-600. If I were forced to obtain certification for all of my dogs, I would have to raise the puppy prices considerably...perhaps $700-800...and that may eliminate some potential buyers from consideration. Enable only upscale buyers, so to speak.

Now if you are buying a breed that is hugely popular, such as the Lab, and you are buying it from a large kennel, by all means demand certification. But if you are purchasing your partner from a small, private breeder such as myself, who is very careful and certain of the genetics, I would hope that you would accept my written guarantee to buy back the dog at your purchase price if you have a problem.