6 1/2 mos Hip xrays...Opinions Please - Page 6

Thank you so much JonRob...I have been greatly bothered that I may have done something to bring this on.

And I only ran him over with the lawn tractor once...JOKE!
I am going to call Dr. Schmidt, and ask him for a referral for THR and see what I'm looking at price wise...for Drave's right hip.
Thank you so much for the testimony on your 9 dogs. As well as the tip about no metal on metal... Valuable info that !

I am no longer waiting on the breeder and have also accepted the unlikelihood that he will stand by his guarantee. He has now become a side hobby to me. I was never looking for $$ from his breeder, and I don't blame him for the hips either. When I first contacted him about Drave...I was only thinking, as a breeder he would want to know. I told him the money I'm spending on Drave is my responsiblity and my choice and I would never look to him for it. He said if it can be proven that Drave had HD and that he was his dog...he would give me a replacement puppy via the contract. At first contact...I wasn't thinking anything about another puppy... I was worried Draven, looking for advice from my breeder. The last thing I expected was his reaction.

I did find that Dravens Grand father was DNA tested though ....
http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=581288-bob-vom-bullerjahn
Thats interesting.
 

The hip that should be replaced is the one that is bothering the dog the most, which is usually but not always the one that looks the worst on X ray.

Here's a website with some very useful THR info:

https://biomedtrix.com/total-hip-replacement/

It includes a really nice animated video that shows exactly what is done with a cemented (glued) and non-cemented THR. (And no, I don't work for the BioMedtrix company.)

Don't feel bad that Draven can't have a TPO. These are really tricky to get right and are a real mess if things don't go well. (THRs can go badly too but this is rare IF a really good surgeon does it.) TPOs are also horribly painful for a long time. The three dogs I've seen with TPOs were in such terrible pain from the surgery that their spirits were broken. They were never quite the same psychologically again. Much of this was due to crappy pain management by the vet but no guarantee that you would have gotten good TPO pain management for Draven, which would have required opiods. The problem is that both sides of the dog's hindquarters are horribly painful after a TPO. With a THR at least the dog has one side that doesn't hurt. We had very quick recoveries with our THR dogs and the big problem was keeping them inactive for weeks while healing took place.

BTW dogs with perfect hips can produce dysplastic puppies. Also, I know an outstanding GSD breeder who sometimes uses certain GSDs with fair hips for breeding because they consistently produce pups with good hips.

Thank you again for the link and information.

Sooooo...how did you manage to keep your dogs inactive ?? I planned for if Draven got the surgery... I replaced his small crate with a big 700 from my BRT... and figured other than potty breaks in the beginning...thats where he would be until he was allowed to progress. None the less..I was pretty scared about how I was going to be able to handle the recovery. Being that he lives to do chores..all I could picture was him bouncing around in the crate having a fit...soooo then I was thinking duct tape...farmers friend you know....snicker

 

Yes I was under the impression that perfect dogs could still produce bad hips... I still did lots of research about it..in case I was wrong. I also read a few things about breeding with not so great hips..with good results. Interesting !

 

>> how did you manage to keep your dogs inactive ??

Nice big crate so they could totally stretch out, leashed walks to potty, and counting the days until the restrictions end.

Draven will be really frustrated by the restrictions and so will you but it will be worth it if the THR surgery goes well.

Wait...when were these xrays taken? All on the same day? These are not the same hips we were discussing. What are the top xrays and what are the bottom? These are no bueno.

I like this new vet!!! Too bad you didn't meet him when his hips were much better, several months ago. It's far too late now to implement the conservative protocol. Now, if money is an issue, I would do FHO, as I said initially, if surgery would be necessary. I have seen excellent results in some rescues found with bad hips too late to make a turnaround w/proper care/exercise. LadyFrost on here had one (a rescue w/bad hips and an FHO- LadyFrost herself didn't have the FHO, LOL). I don't know if she still posts, but her dog did great. Maybe send her a private message about her experience.

Deep breaths. He'll be ok.

FHO is generally considered very inferior to THR, especially in big dogs, and for good reason. The FHO results usually aren't nearly as good. Some GSDs do OK with an FHO but I wouldn't chance it. We didn't even do FHOs with our small dogs but opted for THRs instead.

The only advantage of an FHO is for the dog's owner--an FHO is cheaper than a THR. And an FHO is better than nothing if cost rules out a THR.

"Deep breaths. He'll be ok."

He's *not* OK. He hurts. A lot. Thank God his owner will do the best she can afford for him.

Hi Jenni... I thought of you when the vet was talking to me...lol

The last xrays posted were both taken yesterday. The other on way earlier in this thread was taken Jan 25th.

The vet talked about FHO... he said he did not recommend it for large dogs. He said the end of the bone flops around in their hip area putting much pressure on the muscles. Now...he said that with all big ol' buck ana quarter vet words....but i translated it to the best of my ability...lol

Trust me...Ive been deep breathing for awhile now...lol

Thank you jenni...


JonRob....yup...thats pretty much what the vet said about FHO on big dogs.

I have Drave on rymidel (sp?) for now...he seem sores from yesterday...but not sore enough to not want to do chores...lol I love him.

Ha...so my plan will work for keeping him inactive...lol yes...we will both hate it... but if all works well...it will be waaaaaaaaaaaay worth it !

Jenni..

I looked up the posts from LadyFrost....
There was some good info in that thread about supplements !
I don't think the FHO is the way I will go for Draven... Monday, after I research more , I plan on calling Dr. Schmidt for a referral to do THR... Probably on the right hip. If that suffices... All is well...if not...it will still help him until the money can be raised for the left side...
Thanks for the direction !

JonRob,

Again thank you for your sensible thinking, and info about THR. My mind has been severely taxed as of late, and the common sense of even doing 1 hip just didn't occur to me... You helped me while I was in a fog....

"the common sense of even doing 1 hip just didn't occur to me"

You weren't being foggy, this doesn't occur to most people. It seems like if both hips are bad, both will need a THR, but usually the dog does great with just 1 THR.

BTW your translation of what the vet said about FHO is excellent:

"The vet talked about FHO... he said he did not recommend it for large dogs. He said the end of the bone flops around in their hip area putting much pressure on the muscles."

Imagine having a big stick jammed up inside your hip muscles that jabs the muscles every time you take a step. That's an FHO. The heavier the dog, the harder the jabbing. Some dogs apparently build up a thick wad of scar tissue so the jabbing doesn't hurt much. Others are not so lucky.

Please keep us updated on Draven and how he does.

I am with Jenny - I have never before seen hips becoming that bad within 3 months...