Does anyone else see big red flags when- - Page 2

workingdogz
that made me smile which is a rare thing so that is good;  well at least some do Table Training then, so that is a start in the right direction
Steve1

I never xray my pets. Why would I? Money wasted, unnecessary radiation, no real purpose. If they're a pet, they're staying no matter what. To say not spending $500 (that's what OFA is in my area for hips and elbows) for something meaningless unless you are breeding means you shouldn't have a dog is asinine. 


 Pet dogs should also be x rayed because you cannot tell if the activities you are asking of them are matched to their physical ability if there is a possiblity that they may be dejenerative. How many times on dogs tested and failed we say it is good to know so you can supplement, watch acitivities, and keep the dog slim? The info for  A stamp and OFA for what is really being produced on hips and elbows would also read a hell a lot different if all dogs were in the table to see what is with full data and not just the ones being shown. Even when I was just a "pet" owner I did stuff with my dogs that would have been putting wrong pressure on hips and elbows on dogs that I would not if I knew they had problems. They were pets so I did not know about the affect of them on the statistics to not have it sent in but I always had them checked for issues so that I was not putting them in pain. My pet dogs have never been stored and bored in a fenced area :) 

Some training clubs generally recommend hip/elbow xrays before starting to train in agility or protection and before the AD. I think it's a good idea myself. Some of those dogs are pet quality and will never be bred, but their owners like doing things with them.

because the answers "lie" in the xrays :)  sorry, but unless you're breeding  or your dog has an injury who cares what an xray says.  Dogs can't read them, they don't know what they can and can't do.   and because they may show something doesn't mean anything either.  I've seen dogs with bilateral hip replacements doing sports and doing them well.  If your dog is in shape and having fun, who cares.  There's no need to jump your dogs 50 times a day anyway.  A few jumps and teach an aframe correctly and there should never be an issue, unless your dog already has issues.  

But I guess it would be better to confine them to leashed walks only for the remainder of their life because of an xray?

I have a question. How often is there a major difference in the rating of elbows and hips. I mean you see a lot of 1/2's but havent seen to many seperarted by more than one grade.

Now I agree both should be done. I had a mali bitch that had an elbow that popped out of socket at random. It was only her front left and it didnt start til about 9 months and was that way for life.being that it was a repeat litter and none of her sibling from either litter had this issue we obviously discussed to no avail whether it was genetics or injury.

But just curious how often you see bad elbows and excellent hips or vice vs and if there is any data compiled on it.


Also, I thought there was more to a dog functioning with dysplasia than simply the socket/joint. I mean if a dogs soft tissues around the socket are strong and well maintained the dog can still function even in high medium to high pressure activities. Is that different than your opinions? Not saying breed it by no means but do you really think you have to bench a dog for that reason solely?

Whatever, Zdog.

whatever???   you're seriously misguided if you put that much into an xray and let it decide what a dog can and can't do.  But i guess having 20 years experience treating human athletic injuries and using every diagnostic tool and modality under the sun for treatments and seeing how people respond wouldn't lend any insight to someone such as myself LOL  Dogs are TOTALLY different LOL

Whatever indeed

When my dogs didn't clear their hips xrays, I didn't keep them on a lead and baby them. It was a heads up to me that it may be prudent to limit their exercise to lower impact activities.

I think there's a difference between managing dogs with congenital hip and elbow incongruities and treating sports injuries in humans.

I don't really like to use x-rays any more than is necessary...unless the dog is a breeding prospect or is doing something SUPER strenuous, I am probably not going to do an x-ray. Then again, my husband lost all of his hair as a child after Chernobyl, and his father worked cleanup. We do not like radiation here....but maybe that's just us.

I once asked a well known German breeder why she only did prelim Hip x-ray for a young dog she was advertising and not for elbows, her answer was "elbow Dysplasia you can easily detect with eye while dog is walking, it would be visible so that is why I did not feel elbow x-ray is necessary to do".

Ibrahim