Hip Dysplasia

I got Belle last Saturday (06/02/16) who is a 9 week old American Staffordshire Terrier. Monday (08/02/16) I took her to the Vet for Parvo vaccine and deworming. The Vet visited her and said she was OK but in 3 weeks time during our next visit he would check her bones, this was just a note of the Vet which did not switch on an alarm as I thought it should be routine.
Thursday (11/02/16) we are the Vet once again. My husband and I noticed that Belle is rotating her hind legs outwards when walking. She sleeps all day, which I assumed was normal for a puppy. To start a walk she first needs to hop. After a 3 hours sleep she can't move her hind legs and needs to stretch them really wide for her to start feeling her hind legs. During two occasions I saw Belle moving on her front legs and dragging the rest of her motionless body for a couple of moments.
The Vet visited her and says it is too early to diagnose hip dysplasia but all the symptoms are already here at 9 weeks of age and that the more she is growing the more this will start to show on her. The Vet asked us to inform the breeder.

What would you do in this situation? I feel I was tricked by the Breeder since he said that it is a selective bloodline free from illnesses and that we have caused the Dysplasia by mishandling Belle. The Vet has assured me that if diagnosed, it is genetic. I do not want to give the dog back since I am already very attached to her. But to keep her is going to mean much more money than we have thought and I am sort of expecting the Breeder to give me the money we paid back which we can than use to treat Belle.

Am I wrong in my reasoning? Please give me honest opinions and no judging, I am a new owner and inexperienced and wish to know what the breeder's responsibility should be in this case.

The Vet told me that Belle needs exercise, she needs to walk. But she refuses to walk and gets tired after just 20 feet. I am trying to kneel down and let her come towards me. That is the only exercise she is doing is this too little? I do not want to force her and make things worse.

Sorry for the length... and Thank you very much for your help in advance!

Oh poor your and poor Belle! I do so hope that it's not hip dysplasia.

I think you need to look at the law in Malta and see if you have any recourse against the breeder, especially if you have anything in writing where he makes this claim about a selective bloodline free from defects. You can cause injury by mishandling (in the unlikely event you've done that) but your vet is right, if this is hip dysplasia then it is genetic, so you need to see if legally the breeder was obliged to test and/or disclose the results of any hip scores, and also whether he is obliged to do anything either towards you but also with respect to any future litters. It would be awful to think he just carries on.

If the vet says she needs to walk, then we need to help you find ways to encourage her. Does she like her food? Would she follow you more for a tasty treat? If so try that, especially near to meal times when she's hungry. How about playing? Is she into chasing things? Getting her attention with a toy can be helpful too.

If that's proving really hard, you could try doing some gentle exercises with her yourself. You can move her legs yourself - making sure you keep well within her natural range of movement - as part of cuddle time. You could try and teach her to 'walk' her back legs on your hands, so with her on her back, your hands on her feet applying gentle pressure to engage her muscles, and then move your hands back and forwards. Watch her face all the time to make sure you're not causing any discomfort or stress. If her eyes widen or her ears flatten, then go more softly or stop.

It might be worth discussing it more with your vet to see if there are therapists around, although she might be too young for some. I know our local hydrotherapy pool won't take pups under 14 weeks or something.

I so hope this turns out better than you fear. Having been through something similar - the only pedigree puppy I've ever bought turned out to have (bone) OCD and was plagued by arthritis for his entire life, genetic according to my vet but 'nothing to do with my dogs' from the breeder.

Please let us know what happens, and also please remember we are here for you. This must be so distressing. x

And just a quick thought... I'd hold off on the dog flap for the moment, if Belle has issues with her legs going through a dog flap might cause her problems. Back to letting her out every hour or two!

Sorry, me again!

I've just had a very quick google and I would say you may well have some recourse against the breeder. The first thing is Malta's Consumer Affairs Act, which sounds pretty similar to the UK's Sale of Goods Act.

http://www.csb-advocates.com/malta-law-articles/consumer-rights-in-malta

Both state that items purchased must be as described and fit for purpose. You'll need to check whether the same is true in Malta, but it looks that, in the UK, for this purpose animals are 'goods'.

http://paag.org.uk/buying-a-pet/report/

Included in the 'purpose' of a dog is surely the ability to walk and play, and if Belle's abilities are impaired as sounds to be the case then I would argue she is not 'fit for purpose'. A horrid way of phrasing for your lovely little girl, but in legal terms I would argue that's your case.

It might be worth contacting the Consumer and Competition Department to check first, then go back to your breeder armed with lots of legal jargon and basically say 'reimburse me so I can put the money towards Belle's treatment or I'll throw this book at you'.

http://www.mccaa.org.mt/en/complaints

Amazing what you can find on good old Google, isn't it?

hope for a good outcome for this wee dog hope you get a good result

Thanks for all your help... I have done some research myself and am going to look first of all if the puppies have been registered and so on as he claims they are registered with pedigree but to be honest I never saw 1 single document. The breeder looked very helpful and we made the mistake of trusting him.

With regards to the dog flap we have made like small steps for her and she goes in and out easily. But I will close it until she gets a bit bigger.

I went to another Vet today since I was hoping for a mistake from the first one, you never know but he also came to the same conclusion.

Basically Belle has a defect in her hind feet rear ligament which is being stretched more than the front ligament. This is causing Belle distress, she has no pain but she feels discomfort when she walks.

I am putting her food a bit far so that she has to walk at least half the yard (8 feet) to reach the bowl. She makes no fuss for toys, I gave her toys to chew but she ignores them. When I give her the ball she wants to kill it, so I took that away not to switch her aggressive instinct. She likes to scratch and tear newspapers and boxes, but I do not let her since I am scared she can swallow something. I gave her a plastic bottle today and she enjoyed biting on it.

We walked in the yard for approx. 20 feet 3 times today, she does not like the leach, so I walk and she follows me :-) After each session she is tired and she sleeps until she needs to pee :-)

I will try with the exercises with her hind legs, the vet suggested swimming, but for us the water is cold in this weather.

Since I know she is ill, I cannot raise my voice or simply say NO to her as when I see those puppy eyes I melt down! But I have a two year old and I must use discipline (with both of them) otherwise I am scared I will ruin her character. So I have to research on Educating her without touching her.

I spent all day crying today, my eyes burn... emotionally I do not think I can handle this.

With regards to the breeder he seems to be more willing to cooperate now as his last words were that "we will come to an amicable solution". He is now going to speak to both Vets himself he does not want to believe it is genetic, but he said if they convince him it is genetic he will neuter the carrier, and I will also have to neuter mine of course!

In Malta it is not obliged by law to get the screening for HD, his dogs are the offsprings of offsprings of Imported Dogs. The Imported dogs (Belle's great grand father/mother) are the only ones who were actually screened for Ataxia and HD and yet they claim that the puppies are Ataxia clear by parentage!

I got to know this since I have asked him to show me the documents where I can see that his dogs are clear, but he said that to have them screened the puppies would have cost double the price way over the Euro 1000! I decided to call the kennel from where he bought his breeding dogs and pretended to be interested in buying so they answered all my questions!

It does at least sound like you're getting somewhere, and hopefully the breeder is now listening.

Please, don't worry about aggression, either towards toys or towards your child. You don't need discipline. That is more likely to cause aggression through resentment. Anything that you're seeing now that appears 'aggressive' isn't, it's just that bull breeds are fairly destructive towards toys and do play rough! You're much better channelling her destructive desire towards a toy otherwise you'll find she'll more readily direct her attention towards your shoes, your clothing, your furniture.. That's not to say she won't have a go at all of these plus some, it's one of the joys of having a puppy that you'll find shredded phones, wallets and other precious objects you forgot to put up high. But if she has things she is allowed to chew when she gets hold of something you don't want her to have, you can offer her something allowed instead.

Dogs of any age respond much, much better to being helped to understand and it can be a real joy to watch them learn. My favourite puppy training videos are here, have a look. They're lovely to watch and easy to do:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0C724F6F6A597540

For Belle, they should also help her engage with you in a way that makes her want to walk.

I've been thinking of you all day.

Thanks a lot Liz, Wow I really appreciate and feel all your care :-)

I am sorry for the dog you had and that he had to endure such an illness... so what should I expect if I get to keep Belle?

I am scared that she might not be able to stand, run, jump many movements I would love to see her do. And what more scares me is that she might get to a point she won't be able to walk. To be operated she has to be at least 18 months and in the meantime I have to take her often to the Vet.

I have so many mixed feelings. I also have a toddler and depend on my husband's wage and cannot really afford all the Vet visits and X-rays they will be suggesting!

I am so sorry to read this, it must be very upsetting. Pleased to read that the breeder seems to be a little more forthcoming.

I did a really quick bit of digging on the net and found this article which might give you some comfort as it looks as though something can be done:-

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2084&aid=444

I wish I knew what lies ahead for you and Belle, but only time will tell. Our dog, Mungo, lived to 11 years old and for some of the time wasn't too restricted. He wasn't allowed to chase balls, which he loved, and we had to be careful walking him sometimes. From the age of about 9 months, which was when he was diagnosed, he was on pain killers pretty well all of the time and with them he was happy, except for a few really bad patches when he could barely walk but thoese were rare. He was a wonderful dog.

I can completely understand your fear of her not being able to walk. It must be a terrifying prospect for a pup you clearly adore even after this short time. I would say, though, to try not to let overwhelm you at the moment. For now, you don't know and it might not happen. If after all your best efforts if does, then worry about it then.

Looking at that link from Ian, I see that one option is femoral head excision (so that's what it's called!). My dad's little Yorkie had that done to both legs when he was a couple of years old. He coped incredibly well, and died just a couple of weeks ago at the grand age of 15. When he was younger, though, he and dad would walk for miles and miles, and he'd chase around like a normal dog. You could see he was much stronger in front than behind but he adapted to it all and didn't let it stop him doing anything.

So finance permitting these things are worth looking into.

glad the breeder is taking some responsibility I hope u find a solution for you both my heart goes out to you

Good luck with Belle - this is so sad. Keep us informed xx

Hi all,

Thank you for all the interest shown.

The Breeder wanted to take Belle and to keep her himself so he can have a clear vision of what is happening to her. So far what is true is that she has a ligament in the back of her rear foot (both) which is being stretched more that the front ligament and this is pushing the legs to rotate. She might remain like this or else worsen and get hip dysplasia in the future. She needs to be at least 1 year to be diagnosed.

This year he won't mate the mother and father until he is sure 100%.
He promised he will give her all the attention she deserves and if the illness manifests for real he will need to identify the culprit and neuter (and also neuter Belle).

I hope it will be nothing serious for her. This looked like the best solution as I am sure she will be taken care of.

For me I can't afford the hearth ache, and my husband and I reasoned it out and prefer to get a healthier puppy to be able to enjoy the puppy. I am sorry I failed her at the very beginning, but later on the breeder would not have taken her back and it would have become too difficult for us. Keeping Belle would have meant not being able to get another puppy as we can only keep one since we have not a huge yard.

It was a very short lived experience, unfortunately with many downs and also some ups as she is an adorable and intelligent dog. I will miss my baby Belle!

Thank you once again for all your thoughts and good wishes.
I am not giving up on the staffies though! But it will have to wait a bit.

sorry to read this hopefully the breeder will get to the cause of belles legs you did what you believed was for the best im sure you explored every option possible before coming to this decision . us here at the forum want to wish you the best for the future.

This sounds like a heartbreaking but brave and sensible decision. Looking after a dog with health issues is never easy, even when those times are later in life or just brief periods of illness or injury. A lifetime of management is hard and can be very expensive.

You are right to have taken yourselves into consideration, it is easy to think just what is best for the dog but you are part of the situation and it has to be right for you too.

I hope you find yourself a new dog when you are ready, and I'm sure we'd all love to hear about it.

That decision must have been really hard to take. I think you've handled everything so well and made the breeder aware. As Liz says, it has to be a happy partnership between dog and owner otherwise it's just not going to work emotionally.

Fingers crossed that all works out for Belle and that you find a happy, healthy Staffy moving forward.

Hope you stick around and let us know how you get on

Poor you and poor Belle so sorry but probably the best outcome back with the breeder and good that they were willing to have her back I hope she will be ok in the future xx