[Tmoney160]

My mom is fostering and considering adopting the sweetest puppy from a local rescue. He's about 5 months old and is believed to be a lab/hound mix. Of 9 other litter mates, he and one other sibling have an odd, unsteady gait. My guess is severe hip dysplasia, but am wondering if other more seasoned eyes see something else? He doesn't seem to have issues with balance - he doesn't sway standing still, doesn't have a head tilt. He also has a TERRIBLE time on my parents' vinyl floors (we just purchased some traction socks to help until we get him sorted out). He moves much better outside in the grass, but here's what we're dealing with:

He'll be going to the vet for a full workup, but was wondering if there's anything specific we should ask about. The vet which the rescue uses initially thought it could be a bacterial infection affecting his neuro system and did bloodwork, which came back clean. His condition isn't changing rapidly in one direction or the other in the week my mom has known/kept him.

Any suggestions or advice are welcome!

 

[DaySleepers]

Oof, yeah that doesn't look right at all. It's against forum rules to guess at diagnoses to protect members and their dogs, so you're definitely doing the right thing by getting a vet involved and trying to pinpoint what's going on. I'd expect that, unless they find something that rules out hip problems, they'll at least want to do x-rays, which may require sedation (the position required to properly evaluate hips isn't one most dogs will hold long enough to get a good picture while conscious). Some vets are more experienced at taking quality hip evaluation x-rays than others, so if your vet can't find anything conclusive, it might be worth consulting a specialist, but don't get too far ahead of yourself. I do know that there is at least one procedure that can reduce hip dysplasia symptoms that can only be done on puppies, so it's definitely worth figuring out ASAP.

 

[LeoRose]

I commented on your other thread, but I'll say the same thing here: Has the vet considered the possibility of congenital vestibular disease? The fact that there are two puppies in the litter with similar symptoms points to the possibility.