[dreamofwrx]

what age would you reccomend testing for hips (displasia, and penn score) and ncl. thanks guys.


andrew

 

[gazar]

Hey Andrew - how is it going. Can't help you with your question but thought
you might want to repost it Tuesday when everyone is back from the Labor Day Holiday.

 

[Carrie]

You can test for NCL anytime. Hips are a bit different. You can penn-hip as early as 4 months I believe, and OFA pre-lim can be done at 6 months of age.... accurate and official OFA cannot be done until 24 months (2 years) once the dog has finished growing. If you need to check them before a health guarantee runs out, I would do so a few months prior to the guarantee deadline. Otherwise, I would wait until the dog is 2.

 

[dreamofwrx]

gotcha, reasons im asking, one, the father of the dog is a carrier for ncl, and two a guy at the park today who says he has many years experience breeding large dogs saw killian run and made a comment about his right back leg and how he is not putting full weight on it when he runs. So now i am being paranoid, killian has the uncoordinated "puppy run" still going on so that is what im chalking it up to, but he says he thinks its something else and will get worse with weight and size. he is only 4.5 months old so i def want to wait. ive gone through this before. my last bulldog was limping for a while, and 250 dollars worth of xrays later turns out it was only "growing pains" and he was fine. I had planned on getting him xrayed at 10 months anyway(guaruntee is for one year), but do you think i should wait that long? Maybe at six months? I know people on here will say well you should love and keep him no matter what, but sorry i do not want a dog with displasia, i didnt pay the money i did to have a handicapped dog and i really want to get into weightpulling. so does six months sound good for xrays? I would prefferably like to hear the opinions of people who have been breeding their bulldogs and know what they are talking about, not pet owners thank you.

andrew

 

[Carrie]

If you would like to get an idea of how his hips are coming along, take him in now for a quick x-ray...most vets will only charge about $35.00 for a basic. Otherwise, wait until he's 8 months or so and have a pre-limb done to send to OFA..or, have him Penn-hipped at 6 or 8 months (it's pricier than OFA). I know it's nice to know sooner than later on how a prospective competition dog will turn out..it's just tough with these guys.they take so long to mature...that's why I can't stand when breeders only have a one year guarantee..many problems won't even show until closer to two..IMO a one year guarantee is just about worthless.

As far as someone evaluating your pup running..hard to say. I can't see him move, so I couldn't really tell you. AB pups (especially larger ones) go through so many goofy, awkward stages, and can be prone to "growing pains". But there really is no way to know for sure without an x-ray.. like I said before...to make your guarantee deadline, I would take him in at 6-8 months for a basic x-ray..in the meantime, try supplementing with Ester-C, glucosamine/chondroiton/MSM, keep him lean, and hope for the best.

 

[dreamofwrx]

it is so slight that i never even noticed it before, so yeah im def gonna give it some time. i think i will wait till the 8 month timeline unless i see somethign visually get worse, im not doubting this guy but honestly puppies cant even run straight with full range of motion this young, so ill just wait and see. thanks for the help carrie.

andrew

 

[Vertes3]

At 6 months you can even just take him in for a regular exam, and the vet can check the range of motion for you. Then you can get x-rays, if the vet thinks that he needs them. I think it's a good thing to catch as early as possible so that you can try to take preventative measures.

 

[dreamofwrx]

thanks. hes 4.5 now so well see how it goes.

andrew

 

[PeterC]

YOu can get an OFA prelim at 9 months to a year. At two, you can get an actual OFA rating.
It is important that your vet has experience doing this x ray, since positioning is everything.

Good luck. Make sure you do elbows too.

 

[dreamofwrx]

updated

I have notified the breeder, and of course she cannot evaluate the dog (two hours away), but she said that she knows someone that has gone through what killian is going through and she is not ruling out displasia but she says dogs this large usually go through some kind of growing pain period and to give him time. She says to switch him to adult food immediatley because the protien content in large breed puppy foods are causing pups like killian to grow too fast. She says that her friend did this and the problem solved itself. And of course she will stand by her guaruntee no matter what happens. Any one else have success with switching to adult food and this type of problem?



andrew