Hip Question - Page 1

I have a 2 year old male.  When he was 1, I had his hips xray'd by my vet and my vet said at that time his hips looked great and he should pass his OFA at 2 with no problem.   Fast foward - he is now 2 and I took him in to do his OFA xray's and now the same vet says his hips don't look good and he probably wouldn't pass OFA, but to wait 6 months to a year and re-xray him because he is still growing/filling out. I'm really confused!!!! How can a dog go from having great hips to his hips not passing OFA in a years time? And why would waiting 6 months to a year make a difference?  Thanks for any help or insite you guys can provide.

Robin

Positioning could be the difference. Hip rads are ALL ABOUT positioning. I would ask if the vet has experience with OFA submissions. It might be worth while to go thru an orthpedic vet/specialist to get your rads done.

at one year, a dog isn't mature. lots can happen, this isn't the first time i've heard this.

how many of these x-rays does he do a day? is he a specialist? was the positioning perfectly correct?

if he's not a specialist, find one and have him/her do the x-rays. go to offa.org and leerburg.com and anywhere else and learn what you can about proper positioning.

take a good look at the x-rays yourself and make sure the dog is correctly positioned. tell the specialist that you will not pay for x-rays in which the dog is poorly positioned.

good luck, i wish you well.

Just got back from the vet and looked at the xrays. Right hip looked exactly the same as at 1 year of age, the left hip was not as deeply set in the socket  as at 1 year. Could this just be bad positioning? The vet I use  is in a small town, he's a big and small animal vet. Thanks!

Robin

Could absolutely be positioning.

That could easily be positioning.
Find a different vet that has experience with doing OFA xrays.
If there's a problem with one hip, it will get worse in 6 months. I wouldn't wait.

Hi,

Positioning !!  I had my male's x-rays done by our "local" vet and they were positioned poor at best(never sent to OFA)...I waited a few months and had them redone...I requested to be in the room while they were re-done, and was able to watch and give my input on positioning...she shot about 6 films in all that one time...as this is going on...my guy is under anesthesia, the longer he was under the looser his hips became...the second set of films were only marginally better...I submitted them to OFA and they were rated Fair.  I decided to give it another go...this time I went to an orthopedic vet who has a digital x-ray machine and he had my guy done in less than 20 minutes from sedation to walking out of the hospital!  He took 3 films, we went over them, submitted them digitally via email and the results are OFA Good!  Spend the money and see an orthopedic with a digital machine...less time under anesthesia and expert positioning technique.

Trish.

Thanks for the advice! I will have to look into finding an orthopedic vet. I live 2 hours from the nearest city that might have one. 

The same vet xrayed one of my female's who's a kevin daughter and he said her hips were really bad , the sockets weren't very deep and he said she will definitely start showing hip problems in the next year or two. I was really floored, first my kevin daughter and then my male import, both with bad hips, diagnosed a few weeks apart! I don't know if it's worth bringing her to a orthopedic vet to be re-xrayed but I will definitely bring my boy in!

Robin

Load them both up and go. Just don't do the female too close to her heat cycle if she's not spayed. If she is, then just take her.
From your last post, I sure would. If nothing else, you'll KNOW and have an expert's opinion.

Positioning can make all the difference in pass or fail if the only thing is "looseness". If there's already arthritic changes going on, positioning won't make a bit of difference, the dog's dysplastic.

Positioning makes all the difference for a dog that isn't dysplastic. The OFA form does tell the vet EXACTLY how to position the legs and hips, but some don't read well. If your vet isn't used to doing OFA radiographs, do go to an orthopedic specialist who has a digital machine. At least you'll know for sure then.

At one time we saw a lot of people posting their dog's Xrays here. I haven't seen any for quite a while.