I live in a small farming community and all my dogs are great workers. We don't start working them until 18 months and vet checked.This past week at our vet check I found out my 14 month old Aussie has hip dysplasia. I'm sad to hear this news as she is such a young dog and I know most people in my area would suggest putting her down. We only have one vet in the area. I do think he is a good vet but he works a lot with livestock and not canines. He didn't give me a whole lot of info or options. He diagnosed her by doing the Ortolani test or palpation test. I was there for this and saw and heard the hip pop out. It seemed to pop out very easily. He said she has a lot of laxity in both her hips, one being worse than the other. He also took a x-ray which looked like a perfectly healthy dog, he mentioned because she is so young her hips still look good. The only clinical sign is a small 'bunny hop' when running. Now my questions.
- Does a lot of joint laxity mean severe hip dysplasia? Vet didn't sound like it was a good thing.
- Can a dog have joint laxity and never develop any pain?
- Since she has a lot of joint laxity will her hip dysplasia progress faster?
- Do all dogs that have hip dysplasia at some point in their life have laxity at a young age? Or does it develop as they age?
- What can I do to help slow down this progression? I picked up some dog supplements for healthy joints that have Glucosamine, Chondrotin, and MSM.
- What is a sure sign of hip pain in a dog? She has yet to seem stiff and still jumps and plays.
- She has seemed extra uncomfortable since we saw the vet. He popped out each hip about 3-4 times to get some measurements. Is this popping out of the hip bad for her? I wasn't super comfortable with him continually doing it. I image she is in pain from having her hip popped out, but just wanted to check.
- Our working dogs (the ones 18 months plus) follow us everywhere. Hiking, biking, alongside the 4-wheeler, and all over the farm. Is this an absolute no go for her?
- Lastly she is a great dog with tons of energy and drive. This makes me so sad because she loves to run and play with the other dogs. I so badly want her to be happy and do the things she loves. The environment we live in is a dogs heaven so it's hard to tell a dog they can't run and play and jump.
I know I may sound naive about this but haven't been able to find these answers through my own research and not many people to talk to.
I think I'm just in hopes that somehow she can be a normal happy dog on our farm and still run and play until she is nice and old (yes, I may still be in denial). I know my husband will let her stay on the farm even if she can't work but being a small pup I want to do what will make her most happy and pain free.
- Does a lot of joint laxity mean severe hip dysplasia? Vet didn't sound like it was a good thing.
- Can a dog have joint laxity and never develop any pain?
- Since she has a lot of joint laxity will her hip dysplasia progress faster?
- Do all dogs that have hip dysplasia at some point in their life have laxity at a young age? Or does it develop as they age?
- What can I do to help slow down this progression? I picked up some dog supplements for healthy joints that have Glucosamine, Chondrotin, and MSM.
- What is a sure sign of hip pain in a dog? She has yet to seem stiff and still jumps and plays.
- She has seemed extra uncomfortable since we saw the vet. He popped out each hip about 3-4 times to get some measurements. Is this popping out of the hip bad for her? I wasn't super comfortable with him continually doing it. I image she is in pain from having her hip popped out, but just wanted to check.
- Our working dogs (the ones 18 months plus) follow us everywhere. Hiking, biking, alongside the 4-wheeler, and all over the farm. Is this an absolute no go for her?
- Lastly she is a great dog with tons of energy and drive. This makes me so sad because she loves to run and play with the other dogs. I so badly want her to be happy and do the things she loves. The environment we live in is a dogs heaven so it's hard to tell a dog they can't run and play and jump.
I know I may sound naive about this but haven't been able to find these answers through my own research and not many people to talk to.
I think I'm just in hopes that somehow she can be a normal happy dog on our farm and still run and play until she is nice and old (yes, I may still be in denial). I know my husband will let her stay on the farm even if she can't work but being a small pup I want to do what will make her most happy and pain free.