The vet tore apart my dog! - Page 2

Well, I hope he's soon on the mend.  But c'mon, you gotta be honest - leggy, curly tail, 11 months old and 90 lbs...these are NOT attributes of a GSD, so don't go bashing her knowledge just yet.  

As Kinolog said, take the emotional reaction out of it.  It's a doctor's job to give you POSSIBILITIES, and she did.  The fact that she said to limit his activity and give him aspirin was fine advice at this time, but it's her DUTY to give you a heads up that it MIGHT be something else.  Honestly, I think you just totally over-reacted.

Had she said limit his activity and give him aspirin, but that was ALL she said, and then it turns out that the dog actually did have HD, you'd probably be on her ranting against her that "she never even mentioned that could be a possibility - she obviously doesn't know German Shepherds!"

Number one , you are not going to like me when you get finished reading this..oh well, from experience , just listen..please. Your 11mo old should not weigh 90lbs .   He has grown too fast. Now for number 2.  I do not like or agree with most vets. I have chosen three out of 100's in Texas. Number 3. Change vets immediately  4.Are the parents of this dog ofa certified gsd? I only ask for 1/2 of the equation. Doesn't really matter at this point if they are, any ofa excellent , good, fair can produce bad hips called mild dysplasia, medium or bad HD> Does this pup have trouble getting up off floor or ground. Number 4. All gsd up to the age of 2 yrs. old are leggy, funny looking, scrawney and maybe clumbsy to some extent. They are not grown fully.  Have you been jumping this dog??off of truck tailgates, off picnic tables?? Number 5. What food , feed, raw , etc have you fed this pup? Number 6. Can you post a pic or two. Number 7. Germany bred or american pedigree. The reason I ask is most vets do not have one clue what a german bred gsd looks like, ddr, showlines, or mainly working..Working lines are more leggy and don't come with big legs, necks and lots of breadth when they are 11 weeks old.

DO you know what the parents of this pup look like. Are they large boned, smaller boned?  These are questions you need to ask yourself before you get all upset. Yes, I would have thrown a book at this vet , just like three vets in Tyler did this very same thing to four of my puppy buyers. Even said because Dr. Pepper sat sideways at 4 mos. (called a lazy sit) he has sever HD> Here is a $60.00 bottle of Glucosomine CHond. and you may want to call your breeder..NOt only that his ear may never come up and he has mites. All this for a rabies shot.  NO mites, no hd and ears are biggest and greatest formed and this dog is awesome..He is posted many times here.

So do not get upset yet.   Yes , he may be dysplastic...in two months take him to a known vet who does OFA and ask a schutzhund club person in your community who, and do not go to just any ole vet who says yes I do xrays..Proof is in the reputation of other sport dog enthusiasts.  Let us know some  more info so we can help...But just do keep him more doscil for a week or so..Does he limp at all? thanks for sharing with us.  Do some research on your dogs parents and read some ofa material and hip and raw feeding and health on gsd articles..many here on database from working dog gsd sites. www.workingdog.com/doc3009.htm

That's like taking your child to the Dr and having him say, "You're ugly and your Mother dresses you funny".  Excuse me? Who died and made HER Koermiester?  You are there for your dogs' HEALTH issues, not a critique.  Like Thumper said, "If you can't say somethin" nice".......

Just what i was going to say Y.R. 90lb for a 11 month old Pup, You are doing the dog a grave injustice by letting it eat the way you have been doing, I would not worry about him being leggy at his age but the weight needs to comeoff so more work gently  and less food to start with, It may be the case the vet said his mucles were underdeveloped because he weighs so much and it throws the dog off balance meaning the fatness of the dog causes the imbalance looking at it

That is the first major thing for you to do, get the weight down

Steve

I just read where you say the pup was doing some gymnastics or something.. May be the problem right there.  But, if I was your breeder, I would have cautioned you about entering into any kind of jumping and very rigorously high jumping and landing in any way that can reposition the hip area. This is a very delicate constructed area in any large animal..they are not fully formed and can at any give landing hard , pop out, or shift or pull the surrounding support and cause inflamation .\]

This could very well be some of the problem,  Again , get some of the weight off your pup, please. He should not weigh 90 at 11 mos old and be doing this kind of activity at that weight or age.

Don't be distressed....my vet told me my 6 month sable GSD from V-rated parents was not breed worthy & should be neutered immediately! Why? Because of that "muddy" coloring, all GSDs should be black & tan......ROTFLMAO! Needless to say, my boy was not neutered, & allowed to grow & mature, which is probably all your pup needs to do, as well. While he's growing, find a vet that you can trust. No pup should be critiqued too harshly, it's bad for the bond building between handler & dog. Find a vet with a little more empathy, & then get your pup prelim'ed, if you're worried about HD. Doesn't cost too much, & then you'll know if you've got something to worry about. I'd suspect pano, does he limp? And try to limit the stair gymnastics! Sure way to injury a pup!  Just keep loving him, but leave him in 1 piece. Geez, when I saw this thread, I thought the vet REALLY ripped the dog up! Phew! jackie harris

I missed the 90# post, I am a painfully slow typist! No, he may be overweight,  although I don't know how he could be 'leggy' & 'underdeveloped' & 90#.....can you post a picture? Is that him in your avatar? Seriously, you need to find a vet you can trust. Are you in the USA? Is there a Schutzhund club in your area? Or other breeders? It's a little scarey when you have the responcibility of a being you love solely in your hands......and they can't talk.....! Most pups should be kept on the lean side, you should be able to feel their ribs, but not see them, just where they start. Yellowrose has a great deal of knowledge, her questions are good ones!  Good luck! jh

Ahhhs o much to respond to!  I'll give it my best shot!

He barely eats at all!  2.5 Cups on a good day!  (he's eaten 2 cups of food in the past day & 1/2) He's in NO way fat!  I swear!  I wish I could get this damn server to work so I could post a pic!  I'll try again later!  And it's him jumping down the stairs being a goof.  Please please PLEASE  don't think that I'm cruel to my dog *tear*  He's a big overgorwn goofball that loves to play and be goofy & jumps down stairs. 

Yellow rose (my favorite color rose BTW) I'll get to all of the rest of your questions later, but this is what I've got so far

Why would I not like you?  I LOVE Blunt brutal honesty!  You said nothing offensive....your info was EXTREMELY helpful! 

1)Yes I do still like you, admire the good response actually!  ;o)

2) I'm from a small town - vets are slim pickins

3) I'll try to change - maybe I'll take him back to Cornell (which is about an hour away from me)

4) Jumping? 

4) Jumping?  Well he does jump in & out of my jeep & off my bed?  Is that bad?  He also likes to jump down stairs 3 @ a time

5)  Currently feeding him Iams large breed puppy ( *cringe* ahhh don't kill me all you raw people!)  I'm scared to do raw - but that's a whole other topic....

No he doesn't limp - no signs of any distress what so ever

Yes that is him in the avatar - This is the best I can do for pics right now....they are from a looong time ago though...    http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/picturegallery/8161.html   (Duke is his father - mom's pedigree is unknown)