6 Month X-ray questions on sedation - Page 1

Hi my puppy is 5 months old and will get his x-rays in another month. The Vet insists on sedating him. Is this good or bad?

Is there anything I should ask before they are done? I will get a digital picture once they are done to get opinions here on the results.

Please so not use general anesthesia on your pup. Ask your vet to tranquilize your do with an injection of IV acepromazine. This is what I do with my own dogs prior their hip/elbow xrays.

If your dog is only going to be 6 months then the X Rays are for Pre Limbs only.  Why sedate the dog.  All  you want is an idea of what is going on, good or bad.  There is no need to sedate.

Shawn

If it were my dog, I'd do as Louise has suggested. A puppy can be very wiggly and hard to xray without some sort of chemical restrain. As most of us have learned from experience, a well positioned hip xray is always preferred..

I always sedate my dogs  during the x- ray process  !! Most owners can not be present and therefore strangers manipulating your 6 month old pup into the right position causes more stress then a  sedation :)) just my opinion :)

Pia

I also agree with Pia and Louise - no general anesthesia should be required for x-rays - but sedation is necessary to get the best positioning, with the least stress on the pup.  I also always sedate my dogs for x-rays.  I believe you get the truest picture that way.  X-rays with no sedation is fooling yourself - they may look better and rate better because the pup is awake and resisting the unnatural positioning.  I want to know what my dogs' hips REALLY look like, bad or good I want to know the true picture and sedation makes that possible.

molly

Good topic.  We have a couple 4-month olds prelims will be done on at 6-months.  Now I now also.

Molly has offered an excellent insight on why to xray hips in the first place, to know the true picture. It's been  proven  many times that some dogs will fight the manipulation if not chemically restrained and any subluxation might not be visible. This is especially true with a 6 month old puppy where subluxation might be the only warning sign that this dog may not pass SV or OFA scrutiny in the future. Don't minimize the importance of positioning on a puppy, it is very important if you really want to make an educated guess on how the dog will mature since you plan to use it in a breeding program. If it's a pet and all you care about is if the dog is going to make a satisfactory pet, then a prelim without sedation and proper positioning might give you the answer you are looking for.

There was just no way possible to have restrained my dog at that age or now, to take x-rays without some form of drugs. My dog does not like being restrained whatsoever and flipping him over on his back and holding him down would not be happening without countless bodies and injury to the dog. Getting an IV in  him for his first x-ray was more work than it should have been.

Isn't there evidence that the xraying process loosens and damages the joints of young dogs?