Hip dysplacia

My 8 month old male Staffy Alfie has been diagnosed with hip dysplasia,think I have caught it early with him so there's a good chance his medication might work.Has any body else had dealings with dogs with hip dysplasia? & how did you cope with it?

Only our family GSD when I was a kid ... she had to be PTS at 7yrs old (RIP Clio ) ... that was a long time ago now tho, there may be things that can be done by now like you say ?

good luck

I haven't a clue on the subject I'm affraid. I know someone that has will be on soon Xx

A friend from Dog training has a newfoundland with it whose gets weekly hydrotherapy and she says there has been great improvement.

Is this simuliar to luxating patella that's what my finances staffy got diagnosed with and apparently theres supplements and oils that can help it I'm not sure what they are though.

I think luxating patella is where the knee joint can pop out and needs to be popped back in again, hip displacia is a lot more serious as I think it when the joints are not aligned properly and the ball doesn't fit exactly into the socket so it cause limps and great discomfort to the dog.

I didn't think puppies could be tested for it though until they were at least a year old, I know theres a hip score that dogs can be marked against but that the vets who do the scoring won't look at an X-ray taken before the dog is a year old.

staffs have a very high pain tolerance and some come to accept discomfort as part of the normal life, there are things that will help like the water therapy and I also think you can have an operation but I wouldn't want to think how much that would cost!!

Sorry that your pup is poorly though and I hope you get some good treatment for him! Big hugs x

Ps please correct me if I'm wrong I'm not exactly an expert!

Oh i see yeah im not sure about it, she isn't a very high grade and it doesn't come out that much so he hasn't thought about having the op yet. But I've heard water therapy is good for these things maybe give that a try Hope he gets better x

we were told if you can catch hip dysplacia before the dog is fully grown they may be able to do something so hopefully yours will be ok

Has your dog been x-rayed & the plates looked at by an expert?

Generally speaking hip displacia should not be diagnosed until the dog is at least 12 months old as the joint is still forming. Many pups have 'loose' hips which tighten as they mature (another reason for not neutering too early!).

What treatment has your vet recommended? Don't forget that proper non high impact exercise is vital to build up the muscles that support the joint.

That does sound a little young for a confirmed diagnosis. Here is a link with a little more info

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/hipdysplasia.html

High impact activity such as running on hard surfaces, jumping, weight pulling, backpacking etc should be avoided until they are at least 18 but prefeably 24 months to allow them to fully mature. I'm not saying you are doing any of those I'm simply providing information that not everyone is aware of

_julie_ wrote:we were told if you can catch hip dysplacia before the dog is fully grown they may be able to do something so hopefully yours will be ok

The danger with that is that sometimes the joints improve with maturity. So you could end up doing a full hip replacement at, say, 10 months old, when the joints could improve dramatically on their own by 18 months old.