Hip Displaysia

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Wild Side

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Just received the dreaded news regarding my 3 year old choclate lab. The Vet says it is mild enough yet that they can control it with medication. They also said that the limping we first brought him in for was caused by a torn tendon in one leg and the tendon in the other leg is weak as a result of the displaysia.

Am lookin at about $5,000 in reapirs with no gurantee that he will ever be able to do any serious hunting again. The diplaysia meds will also run about $300 bucks a year for the rest of his life.

Will probably get a second opinion.....anyone out there got any other advice or a similar experience?

He did come with a guarantee but that just provides for a replacment dog...can't do that to the kids.
 
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I had a Springer develop hip displaysia at 5 years of age. He was done hunting but we were able to control his discomfort very well with an ocassional dose of Rimadyl. That's bad news to get with a 3 year old dog. I'd ask the breeder for another dog and still keep this one for a pet.

Just make sure you don't breed this male. You don't want to carry on this defect. I'd have him neutered just to be safe.

Good luck.
 
Very good post George, I agree on the neutering very good idea.---Bob
 
I second all the above...keeps the kiddos happy and you get another pooch to work with. Best of luck!
 
Sorry to hear about your dog. It can be a tough call no matter haow long you have had the your dog...hope you can keep him and get another...Good Luck!
 
Verry sorry to hear about your dog, it is most likely disheartning as we think of them as family members in most cases. I wish I had better news for you but there as far as I know nothing to do but what you discribed. Not sure if the breeder will do this after so long though, Did he give you a over three year guarentee? and did he screen for OFA ect.
 
Displaysia Update

Just an update on the pup and some advice for others.

I did get a second opinion which was was the same conclusion (displaysia and torn ACL) but much different prognosis. It was also quite eye opening as the cost for the ACL surgery (Extracapsular) was almost half the price of what my orignal vet was going to charge for the same surgery. The annual shots and ongoing meds also much cheaper as well.

The ACL surgery was complted last week and following a 2 week layup period we have 8 weeks of therapy ahead of us. The good news is that a full knee recovery is expected by the time hunting rolls around this fall.

As far as the diplaysia goes, that will just be monitored over the long term and treated with glucosanine - which will also help the little bit of arthritis that set in in the torn ACL as well.

The good news is he gets to hunt again, bad news is he hates the cone on his head with a passion.

Also for those concerned about him passing the gene on - he is also a family dog and was nuetered the day he was old enough to have it done.

Also, didn't even bother going back to the breeder....no point after 3 years.

On to Rehab!
 
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That is wonderful news that he will be able to hunt again. Good luck with the Rehab and keep us informed on his progress....Bob
 
Good luck with the rehab - glad that the second vet visit gave a more manageable result! Only comment I might add, other than a request for updates on our progress with him, is that you might want to let the breeder know, even if you don't want/need another pup from him. Any reputable breeder would want to know this for sure, and you might save some other people and dogs the heartache and trouble.
Cheers,
-Croc
 
sounds like a best case scenerio but you should still contact the breeder as he may make some changes to his breeding program as a result of this
 
If using glucosamine doesn't do the job in reducing the discomfort from the hip displaysia be sure to talk to your vet about using Rimadyl or Deramax. As I stated in my previous post here, I had good luck with a Springer that developed hip displaysia at age 5 using Rimadyl. Good luck. I hope the dog is able to hunt even thought I'm sure you will have to limit the amount.
 
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