hip concerns

[kacittadini]

    About 2 1/2 weeks ago my ninth month old St. Bernard started limping and clearly favoring her back left leg after playing like a maniac at the dog park. I was assured by many  big dog owners that this sort of thing is not uncommon in the giant breeds because their joints and limbs are loose and prone to injury. I was advised NOT to take her to the vet, that it would most likely work itself out. However, being the paranoid, new mom that I am, after 2 weeks of the limping I made an appointment and took her in, convinced she has severe hip dysplasia and that major surgery was in the cards!
     The vet seemed to have little concern that it was hip dysplasia, stating that she is really too young for symptoms to show up. She basically didn't know what was wrong and seemed to think it may be a sprain or strain of some sort. She prescribed an anti-inflammatory and  suggested doing xrays to be sure.
     Should I be getting these xrays? Is it even possible to detect hip dysplasia in a 9 month old? Is my vet preying on my panic, and suggesting xrays just for the $? I have to say I am a little suspect of vets...while I would do anything for my baby, it will be a major financial strain on me to do xrays (i'm a grad studnet living on loans and a part-time job). I have read SO much on the internet my head is spinning. I worry so much about her (too much sometimes) but I don't want to do anything unnecessary either. I'm in such a moral dilemma about the whole thing!
    Any advice??

[patrick]

I don't think it is critical that she have hip xrays right now.  With the history of extreme exercise I would wait for a few weeks first and of course limit her exercise, now and in the future until she is more mature.  And hip dysplasia does not necessarily mean surgery as most dysplastic dogs can be managed quite well with a little common sense and joint supplements.

[chaos270]

It sounds like a play injury.  My suggestion is try to keep her quiet for awhile and let it heal.  Try to keep her from jumping around.  I know it's generally easier said then done.  Most big dogs I know have done this at one time or another including Kali so I wouldn't worry about xrays right away.

[shangrila]

I would suggest you not get xrays right now unless you are considering a TPO surgery. Saints are not full grown until they are 2 years old, and xrays taken now would be preliminary and are not neccessarily an accurate reflection of her full grow hips. But, if you are considering a TPO (should she turn out to be dysplastic), it is important you get the xrays NOW.

Let me step back for a second here: there are two options for treatment of HD: surgery, or prevention/maintenance. If you choose surgery, there are three surgeries: a TPO, which must be done during the main growth stages (under 10 months), a total hip replacement, and an FHO. The TPO can be extremely effective, so if you see yourself considering surgery (if she has dysplacia), then you need to get xrays immediately because a TPO is only a viable option for another month or so.

If you do not see yourself doing surgery, I would not get xrays now. I would deffinately start with a pevention/maintenance routine though regardless of what you choose. A few of the things that you can do to help:

• maintain a light weight through controlled portions of high quality food coupled with low-impact excersize.
• Prevent jumping
• provide comfortable cushioned bedding
• supplement with a glucosamine/chondrointin/msm supplement

My Saint has HD. She started displaying symptoms very early (4-5 months), and we chose to do xrays. However, we chose not to do  surgery because we did not want to put hr through the pain and it was also prohibitively expensive. Because we did not do surgery and were already implementing prevention/maintenance techniques, our xrays turned out useless because we can't even use them to compare to later xrays once she finishes growing.

[newflvr]

Do you have a good veterinary orthopedist that you could consult?  I think that there are times when vets jump to conclusions with these giant guys and sometimes just waiting and watching and being very, VERY careful about exercise, food (in terms of weight...leane r is always better) and glucosomine, chondroitin and/or MSM is fine.  A good orthopedist would probably have far more experience and could monitor your baby on a regular basis and advise you.  My first Newf ended up with a total hip replacement and when I took the xrays to him, his exact words were:   "I don't need to look at the pictures, I need to look at the dog.  How he moves, if he's in pain and his pain tolerance".  He checked Otis out completely and gave us our options before he looked at the xrays.   Only then did he suggest surgery as an option but also said we could wait.

Good luck!  This is a tough time but waiting really can't hurt.  Paws and fingers crossed for you!

[BaileyBoysmummum]

I don't want to scare you but, I just found out 2 wks. ago that my 14 month old Newf has severe hip dysplasia. Get x-rays as soon as possible! The can usually tell very early. I wish I would have asked for x-rays earlier my only option is total hip replacement which is very exspensive. If the puppy is young enough there are less exspensive surgeries. Check out info on the internet there's a lot of info out there. I went nuts when I found out and my vet was'nt much help I actually asked for x-rays she didn't suggest them. I  have an appointment in Feb. with University of Penn. I'm glad I live so close to one of the best vet schools in the country. The National Veterinary Assoc. will give you names of specialist in your area. Check out their site.