puppy x-rays, opinions please - Page 1

Well, I've seen worse. If she were mine, here's what I'd do. I'd get a prescription for Adequan ASAP. Use the equine stuff if you can't get the canine easily. I have seen dramatic improvement in hips from Adequan. Then, I'd swim her as much as I could. Don't run her on hard ground, and don't do any weekend warrior stuff; this dog needs constant, steady exercise.

Don't give up. Please try the Adequan to prevent damage in those subluxated hips. If you can tighten them up via swimming and prevent damage from them banging around loosely, you might be surprised what they look like in a year or 18mos. I used to have before and after pics of a pup w/Adequan and they were remarkable, but I lost them. They were mild to moderate at a young age and went OFA good at 2, if I remember correctly.

This kind of crap makes me sick..... and I'm not gonna explain why..... Hell I can't even see the picture so it's not the x-ray that offends me. Poor dogs.

Two Moons,

I'm going to guess you are upset because I am basing training or keeping a 6 month old puppy based on it's x-rays? 

Two years ago I x-rayed 3 littermates to determine which to keepback.  I think it is a wise decision to do so and place/sale the other ones.  From that litter I kept back 2 of the 3, and at 2 years their hips looked nearly identical to what they were at 6 months... both going Good.  The third pup looked like a Fair and was sold to a pet home after the pre-lims, so I have no idea how they look today.  With this litter, this was the only pup I choose to hold onto, and the left hip looks mild with subluxation (for the picture impaired).  Some may be positioning, some age, so I would like to make the most informed decision possible.

Wish you could see. 

Jenni,

Does that inject right into the joint?  I don't think my vet would prescribe that as he thinks her hips are terrible... go figure.  I donated a dog to LE that had slight DJD in his elbows but my vet thought they were so bad they needed surgery... nope, their vet said they are complete sound for work.  Thank you for your input.

Unless you see problems in the pup I think prelims are useless as well as the opinions you'll get on a message board. You can't determine the future of the pup with these methods. And to ask anyone other than a vet and or a radioligist about X-rays is rediculas, I don't care how many x-rays someone says they have seen. Also you should know your bloodline and what they produce. I dunno, seems like the dogs are more commodities than living creatures to some. If your breeding animals that have problems even occasionally I would not continue to breed those lines. Drugs wont improve genetics. I've looked at your website.... Yeah things do sometimes rub me the wrong way...sorry for that. Normally I would not even have looked at your thread. A sign of the times here on the message board. Moons.

No deformity or restructuring and balls and sockets look okay.  Yes, there is some laxity in the hip on the right side of the image, but remember this is young female approaching her first heat, which amy be silent.  Hormones can cause temprary laxity in bitches.  The suggestion to give daily glucosamine and chondroitin is a good one.  Also keep her on a very nutritious diet, but do not over feed or over exercise.  Sometimes anesthesia can itself produce laxity, so nexct time in about a year xary her w/o anesthesia (there are some good vets that do that and use digital, filmless Xray units, which give excellent detail, far beyong conventional film--find this kind of vet).  I suspect that if you take good care iof her and limit exercise and jumping until she is over 1.5 years, and provide good nutrition, she will be okay long term.  I wouldn't use her for breeding without a clean xray w/o anesthesia at 24 months old, however.

I think some (Molly and Bob-O, come to mind) are very knowledgable and may be able to give answers from experience that a regular vet cannot.  Most of us have little data on pre-lims but I think/hope it can be used as a tool to help a breeding program.  I know what you mean about many breeders viewing dogs as commodities and I guess there's some gray area as I definitely do not believe I am in that boat... but I do what I feel is best for my dogs and my breeding program, keeping health a major priority and not collecting extra dogs.  Guess we just have a different perspective... thank you for sharing yours. 

Thank you Preston. 

Preston brought up what I was thinking but forgot to say; heat. How close was she? I would suspect that may have something to do w/the laxity. Also, she was totally unconscious. I would like to see her xrayed at maturity, nowhere near her heat, and awake before I wrote her off as having bad hips.

Naturally, the vet thinks they're awful, LOL.

Adequan is hardly a drug, LMAO, and it won't change genetics. But if they're loose, it'll help prevent breakdown of cartilage and the resulting arthritis that comes from loose or deformed joints.

There is Adequan IA for horses and IM for both dogs and horses. Not IA for dogs- just IM, and it's easy to give. I just would err on the side of caution. It's not going to fix bad hips, but if they're just slightly loose temporarily, it'll help avoid any damage, and if they ARE bad, it'll help her be comforable and sound much longer.

To me the hips look good. The pelvis is slightly tilted making the left hip look more lax. Ligaments are still stretchy at that age, and with anastesia and maybe close to first heat..... Enjoy the puppy.

Edit to ask: are you from Sachsen (Saxony)?