HD in puppies - Page 2

I have a 13 week old female pup that sounds like yours. Her other problems are she can't squat and pees on herself and it looks like her left rear leg swings out of its socket. My vet is concerned but we are waiting till she's 4 months old to x-ray her. I have also noticed that she rarely jumps up more of a climb up then slithers back down quickly. She did cry when the vet was checking out the left leg too. Does this sound normal? Thanks, Arrakis

Every dog I've ever owned in the last 36 years that laid with it's hind legs spread like a frog has had normal hips when xrayed.

Can anybody send me some Xrays of Dogs who have Elbow Dysplasia?

No, that doesn't sound normal, Arrakis. Anytime a pup has that amount of pain just on examination, it's not "normal"--there is SOME underlying cause. It could be as simple as a strained muscle or "PANO" aka "long bone disease" or inflammation of the bone. (see this site: http://www.shilohgtf.com/Panosteitis.htm, for more of an explanation) Or it could be very severe dislocation of the joint to crippling hip dysplasia. You cannot really know for sure until x-rays are done and read by a competent radiologist familar with GSD's and their related problems. If nothing shows in an x-ray, my guess would be pano, and the only thing you can do is treat the dogs symptoms. I sincerely hope all of your pups are fine!! Many times, there is no huge problem, but with as many HD problems we see in the US, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Best of luck.

WDA does the 'a' stamp program. You can find information on the website www.gsdca-wda.org You need a 4 generation pedigree from the AKC, dog must be tattooed and it must be verified by a vet. Joy Schultz can send you the form for the a stamp that your vet will need to fill out. The instructions that come with it will tell you all that needs to be put on the xray film itself. You don't have to be a member of WDA to do the 'a' stamp either unlike USA. Of course must be done at 12 months or older for the a stamp.

Arrakis, 13 weeks is too young for Pano. Are you keeping her mostly indoors on slippery floors like wood, lino, etc? If so get her out on natural cover as much as possible - grass, concrete, dirt, anything that will give her traction. Then you should see improvement within weeks. As she is now she does not sound normal. You can x-ray hips at her age already, if there are extreme abnormalities they will show. Remember, there is no need for sedation in such young pups. They are too weak to resist being put into the proper position. If she is very squirmy and the vet can't handle her, ask for a very light sedation that wears off quickly. Also have her blood checked if she has proper calcium levels. It could be an injury, inflammation, or other causes. I don't take dogs to the vet quickly but from the sounds of it, this is something I would have checked thoroughly, and soon. And again, take her off puppy food asap. If you feed any treats, cook for her, stop all of that, put her on a good commercial food (see above) and feed only that to see if that improves symptoms. She should be able to squat on only one leg BTW. I have had pups (male and female) lift a leg while peeing as early as 3 months and they had no problem doing that 3 legged. Have both sides checked. Ask the breeder if anything has been noticed before. Wish I could tell you more... Good luck.

Missed the whole age thing, D.H., good call. Still good information to get out to everyone else who might be interested, though!

Damien, let me know if you need help getting her tattoo'd I can do that for you...but we need to do it now. I just did her sisters. I have not yet posted thier pictures, but will soon. Blitzen, nice to hear that you haven't had a problem with the 'frog' laying issue.... I haven't either, but haven't had one lay that way, was just told that by others. Heather

I've always heard just the opposite, Het, and so far it has worked out that way for me and all my breeder friends. It has something to do with the abductor muscles being flexible. I forget the details. Can't say for certain a dysplatic dog wouldn't lie that way, I just never saw one that did.

I hope we can fight and win againt Hip Displasia, that had put down an important part of our work. I would be happy if the SV could control the XRays from all over the world so it was going to be possible to measure the efectiveness of the HDZ or oder policies. HD is the bigest enemy of GSD right now. We got to fight that and be aware for bad temper, as long as both affects the work ability of our breed, I mean when those defects are present!