hip dysplasia

My 7 year old springer has been diagnosed with moderate dysplasia with one hip and severe on other. Vet says her hunting days are over. My question is whether any of you have tried surgery for a dog of this age - my vet says for a younger dog she'd recommend it but no so for a 7 year old.

Bums me out - she had really come into her hunting prime. Now I have a house dog!
 
Sorry to hear that my friend. No your better off getting your self another dog to get started with. There is no majic potion for the hip problem, and surgery is never a long lasting thing either from what I understand. It is basicly a waste of your money. Give the dog the hugs and kisses and a few retrieves. Love her as your house dog, and take a new prospect to the field. Yeah 7 is the prime years and thats going to be hard, but she did her job for ya, and now needs to rest.;)
 
I am sorry to hear about your dog. I agree with FC. I had the same thing happen to my first Britt at age 7. I would take him on some short hunts, which satisfied both of us. If I remember there are two type of surgeries. The first they remove the head of the femur and the remaining bone makes a new socket. This reduces pain, but does not enhance mobility. Also they will only do that to one hip. I don't know, but I think that may put more stress on the remaining hip joint and deteriorate it quicker. For my dog, until he died ( shortly before Christmas), I fed him glucosamine and 1 to 3 aspirins per day. This actually appeared to reduce the pain and let him remain quite active until other problems finally put him down. Good luck and take care of your pet. Steve
 
Sorry to hear that my friend. No your better off getting your self another dog to get started with. There is no majic potion for the hip problem, and surgery is never a long lasting thing either from what I understand. It is basicly a waste of your money. Give the dog the hugs and kisses and a few retrieves. Love her as your house dog, and take a new prospect to the field. Yeah 7 is the prime years and thats going to be hard, but she did her job for ya, and now needs to rest.;)

2+ Sorry to hear.

Give her some meds as needed to ease the pain and plenty of ear scratches. She did her very best for you, I am sure of that.

Good example of why good scores from OFA on hips are so important for breeding stock for ALL BREEDS.

NB
 
Sorry to hear about your dog. My lab was diagnosed with it at 8 months. We went ahead and had the surgery, I believe they split his pelvis and moved it out. Last year he did great and was really starting to get the hang of it. This year he couldnt get out of the box on the second weekend. Thought he had dislocated it but the vet in Hays took some x rays and said that his hunting days are done. He just cant go for more then an hour or two with out going lame. So now I have a 4 year old retired hunting dog. That takes his frustration out on whatever he can get ahold of. It was the worst $3500 I had ever spent.
 
If your vet hasn't already prescribed Rimadyl talk to him about it. I had a Springer that got hip displaysia at 5 years old and Rimadyl did wonders. He was done hunting but at least he could get around pretty good pain free.
 
If your vet hasn't already prescribed Rimadyl talk to him about it. I had a Springer that got hip displaysia at 5 years old and Rimadyl did wonders. He was done hunting but at least he could get around pretty good pain free.


DZ,

Pretty sure Rimadyl has gone generic by now. If so, you can buy it OTC, saving some major $$$$. It would be worth checking out.

BTW, side effects are GI problems, have to be careful of overdosing.

NB
 
Once I got my dog feeling better I only gae him a Rimadyl when I saw he was limping a little. I didn't give it every day. Never had any issues with it causing any problems.
 
My 7 year old springer has been diagnosed with moderate dysplasia with one hip and severe on other. Vet says her hunting days are over. My question is whether any of you have tried surgery for a dog of this age - my vet says for a younger dog she'd recommend it but no so for a 7 year old.

Bums me out - she had really come into her hunting prime. Now I have a house dog!

Sorry to hear that about your dog. Not news any of us want to hear. Cherish the memories you have of her being in the field!

Matt D
 
Sorry to hear about your dog man, so many memories. I'd be heartbroken and so would my dog if she couldn't go hunting anymore. Not sure how I would be able to handle that. I couldn't get another one, and leave her behind, she'd be devistated.

My lab is going to be 8 years old on Monday. She has, in the last year or so, started to limp more. She'll get really sore after hunting. Or I'll take her to the park where she runs around with another dog and and hour later, she can't even put any weight on her back right leg, and her front right leg sometimes. I need to get her in and checked out, I was thinking she had arthritis, hoping she doesn't have hip dysplasia. I'll be taking her to the vet soon to find out the not so good news I'm sure. Does anyone know if Rimadyl can be bought over the counter? I can't afford any medications that are going to be $50-100 per month. Just got a $6,000 medical bill from the hospital, long drawn out payments I suppose.....





My 7 year old springer has been diagnosed with moderate dysplasia with one hip and severe on other. Vet says her hunting days are over. My question is whether any of you have tried surgery for a dog of this age - my vet says for a younger dog she'd recommend it but no so for a 7 year old.

Bums me out - she had really come into her hunting prime. Now I have a house dog!
 
We put heart and soul into a dog, and it's heartbreaking to face the reality of debilitating illness. A reminder, we should be particularily vigilant with regards to hip score, elbows, retina, EIC, all issues that affect our popular gundog breeds. I see ads constantly for pups by breeders who have bred a bitch or dog under 2 with "preliminary" OFA scores. Don't be fooled, as dogs mature hip scores tend to get worse, deviation from the norm more pronounced, with added weight, and excercise, wear and tear. That's why permanent OFA scores are at 2, and advise against breeding dogs under that age. Ironically these same breeders will make you sign a puppy contract that prohibits you from doing the same thing, but offer to take the dog back, and replace it, if it has health issues. Right, after two years as a member of the family, sending the dog back is a real appealing option, both emotionally and financially. So do your homework, ask embarrassing questions, dig into the pedigree for hereditary problems. Meanwhile enjoy the company of your faithful friend, it's not his or her fault, as usual it's man who let down the dog, not the other way around.
 
Thats some what true. But also not completely. There are two hip registry's. OFA and Penn Hip. Penn Hip takes a deeper look into the subject, more views and angles. They can do it at an early age. Hip elasticity stays the same from youth on. Injury has nothing to do with the bad gene in a dog what so ever. A dog with an OFA excellent can get hurt resulting in a bad score if re tested. So there is not just one side of this concept. Although I do agree with Oldandnew for the most part. There are on occasions where a dog just under 2 by a month or less say, can be safely bred. I did this with a male at 23 1/2 months. Thats the only time, and I thank God I did. But I use OFA and yes I did a prelim on that one, It was excellent, Right away after his Bday he scored good just a few weeks later. They had him tipped. I am planning to re do it just to get his excellent back, which I know he has. But no female will be done this way with us. He was the only exception in 40 years. With Penn Hip you will see breeders breeding a dog at earlier ages. There are other reasons not to do so. Dogs mature in to different folks so to speak as do we. You now by waiting have a chance to see the temperaments, and bad habits that dog develops. This is why AKC recommends the same. But then they also register a dog at a very young age of giving birth. I think they should change that rule personally. But again, injury has no bearing on genetically bad hips.
Now as far as a guarantee on the dog, I do that, and I think that is great. I will not pay good money for a dog that is not guaranteed. I have a 36 month on our agreement. Giving you time to see any thing. I also have limited registration on our dogs, so not just any one can breed the dogs. I believe that is part of being responsible. To date I am proud we have never had a dog come back for any health reason. Unless you count the one where the guy had diabetes, could no longer care for him, and was ran over by a truck.:D Yea that happened and the dog was re homed, not the world beater now, but he has good reason.
 
Another thing I should have added earlier Is I do agree with what Oand New said. I also want every one who does not know, that you do need to be careful with your new pup and jumping and sustained running. Jumping off tail gates etc.It may seem harmless. And you may have a dog with out any genetic make up for HD, but too much rough housing on those growth plates when young, can result in bad hip trouble. Especially with big fast growing dogs.So let them be little.:thumbsup: And watch how you let them jump off stuff.
 
How about adequan injections, I have seen it work wonders in dogs with bad hips. I use it once every two months during the off season and every month during hunting season just because. Its a little spendy but what the heck the dogs are worth it in my opinion.
 
I don't know the science behind adequan and hips in dogs. But I do know we used it in race horses to rebuild cartilige in knees and ankles, with good results over time going back 10 years.
 
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