Opinion on Hip X-Ray - Page 4

and you know so much about temperament, drives and strong dogs resisting being restrained on their backs by strangers while they are awake, because you have worked, trained and titled how many dogs, Ms. Jenni?

molly

Hey guys;  yes injury can occur;  my vet pulled a hip out of the socket on one of my bitches;  her hips were bad but that did not help her at all; the hip popped back in and his method was always without sedation;  if they fought too hard would give a little tranquilizer and take x-ray before they were completely quiet;  just take the edge off.  Too bad he retired.  Injury is always possible but hopefully, the vet team knows what they are doing.  BOL  Nan

Bottom line is - several points to be made.

sedation enables better positioning, therefore enabling the breeder/owner to be better informed about the dogs' true structure and laxity (or lack of) without wondering if the good (or bad) x-rays are due to poor positioning (unsedated dog struggling, or simply resisting), or the tight hips due to awake dogs' resisting the unnatural positioning.

sedation also enables the vet to position and manipulate the dog without restraint ie muzzle, extra hands holding the dog down, in an unnatural position and on it's back - a strong-minded dog, especially one who is being raised/trained for schutzhund, police, or any other venue which encourages the dog to be strong-minded and NOT submissive - will cause the dog stress and struggle that is simply not necessary.  I would NEVER subject any of my adult dogs to this sort of handling by vets or techs (or anyone at all including myself) for any reason least of all x-rays when sedation can avoid all of these issues.

sedation does not = general anesthesia, so the argument that anesthesia is risky for the dog does not compute.

no reason at all to take hip x-rays without sedation, unless the reason is to make the hips look better than they really are.  If the purpose of the x-rays is for breeding that dog, or for advertising the progeny of a breeder, then That = dishonesty.

molly

How does sedation make a dog's hip look more natural?  Wouldn't a dog's natural state make the hips look more natural?

Regardless, the dog in the OP had a high pain tolerance and excellent temperament.  The Vet used was very talented and experienced in taking these images.  In total, vet snapped 3 X-rays of the hips and the last one's positioning looks just as good as any of the sedated X-rays that I have seen on here.

the unsedated dog will resist the unnatural positioning for ofa or a-stamp x-rays.  The resistance the dog is giving will make the hips appear tighter in the sockets.  It will of course not change any boney formation issues.  But the lack of laxity can and will make the hips appear "better" and can get a better rating, especially when the ofa board rating the x-rays are not aware of the method of restraint used for each dog.

I go to a guy who does NOTHING BUT OFA xrays. He refuses to sedate.
 
He also says he can't make bad hips look good, but any idiot can make good hips look bad.

Hips on unsedated dogs will look tighter, because they can be tighter when the dog resists positioning.  Of course if the hips are "bad" ie boney formation problems or changes in boney formation, that wouldn't change either way.  Noone said sedation or not would make bad hips look good, but unsedated x-rays can look better (tighter) than they would if the dog had been sedated.

It's really too bad that the OFA doesn't take into consideration the method of restraint ie sedation or not.  It should make a difference in how they rate the hips.  Makes sense to me, wonder why they don't if, as Dr Keller said, it does impact how the rating could turn out.

molly