[GTChick01]

About a week ago she started limping and having trouble getting up/laying down. We were keeping an eye on her and she seemed to be getting better, but just to make sure it wasn't anything serious, I took her to the vet on Friday. Turns out she had a sprained ACL, which will heal on it's own with minimal exercise, but I also had them do x-rays on her hips and they didn't look so great. The vet noticed she was already showing signs of possible hip dysplesia. She couldn't say if it will get worse, or when, she just pointed out the signs. The only thing we can do right now is give her glucosamine supplements and keep getting her x-rayed once a year. Poor girl though - she's not even a year old. No weight pulling for her.

 

[SugarBear]

Oh man! That really sucks. She is so young. I hope that all goes well and she recovers from the sprain. Sugar send love and licks..~Vonna

 

[GTChick01]

Oh man! That really sucks. She is so young. I hope that all goes well and she recovers from the sprain. Sugar send love and licks..~Vonna

Thanks. So far she's recovering nicely from the sprain. They gave her some anti-inflammatory/pain meds, but we had to stop giving them to her because they upset her belly and she pooed all over the carpet like 4 times. :roll: But it did break my heart to hear about her hips. I mean, we had a feeling it was something that would happen because of her background (darn BYB's :evil: ), but we weren't expecting to know something this soon.

 

[Bremner53]

oh man, That is HORRIBLE!!!!!

I hope she heals up soon. If you keep doing Pro work with her, will that effect her hips, or will she be okay to do that??

That is bad news, I feel for you guys.

 

[yungster]

Oh I'm so sorry. Did you get her from a breeder? If so, you should let them know about the HD. I feel so bad for Chass, and you. I hope she feels better soon.

 

[RED]

Oh I'm so sorry. Did you get her from a breeder? If so, you should let them know about the HD. I feel so bad for Chass, and you. I hope she feels better soon.

Yep a shitty BYB, after we had her for 5 or 6 months we called them over some concerns we had about her eyes they told us they dont believe in doctors or tests! :evil: I still want to burn their trailor down! Also wish we would have made better decision the first time around. BUT we love our Chassis and will do what ever we can to keep her heathly.

 

[Lisa]

Yep a shitty BYB, after we had her for 5 or 6 months we called them over some concerns we had about her eyes they told us they dont believe in doctors or tests! Evil or Very Mad I still want to burn their trailor down! Also wish we would have made better decision the first time around. BUT we love our Chassis and will do what ever we can to keep her heathly.

I am sorry to hear about Chassis misfortune but don't beat yourself up over it. Even the best breeders have bad luck with health sometimes, its just a shame her breeder doesn't want to stand behind his dogs. That is the sad part. IMO the most important thing is that you learned from your mistake. Unfortunately some people NEVER learn and continue to purchase BYB or pet store puppies. I hope the dysplasia isn't too severe. Did they give you any idea? Did the vet say if there was any arthritis of the joint showing yet? If they didn't you may want to consider sending the xray off to OFA they actually rate the hips and you could get a better idea about how bad it is. It's only $25 if its a prelim (for dogs under 2 yrs) and if you get a borderline or mild rating there is a chance her hips may tighten over the next year or so. That seems to be fairly common in bulldogs, where they will get a failing grade at a year old or so but then at 2 or 3 they will tighten up and pass with a Fair. If its only mild, Chassis may live into a ripe old age with little pain. Bulldogs are known for it. But, it really depends if there is any arthritic changes showing in the joint at the present time. Good luck.

 

[yungster]

My friend has a purebred Timber wolf as a pet, and he got HD fairly early too. She took him back to the breeder, but bawled the whole time because she was already attached... the breeder (knowing how distraught she was) called her back and said, "come get your pup and your money back." So now she puts a little money away every week, saving for his hip replacement surgery. I don't know how much it costs, but at least there is something that can be done. Hugs to Chassis!

 

[Care]

I'm sorry to hear about that. She might have some problems, but since she has you two to look after her, I'm sure she'll be much healthier than if someone else had her. Just make sure to give her Ester-C along with the glucosamine. If you want here are some links to some info on ester-c and hip dysplasia: http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0039.htm and http://www.yourdoghealth.com/dog_ester-c.htm

Good luck!

 

[GTChick01]

Did they give you any idea? Did the vet say if there was any arthritis of the joint showing yet? If they didn't you may want to consider sending the xray off to OFA they actually rate the hips and you could get a better idea about how bad it is. It's only $25 if its a prelim (for dogs under 1 yr) and if you get a borderline or mild rating there is a chance her hips may tighten over the next year or so. That seems to be fairly common in bulldogs, where they will get a failing grade at a year old or so but then at 2 or 3 they will tighten up and pass with a Fair. If its only mild, Chassis may live into a ripe old age with little pain. Bulldogs are known for it. But, it really depends if there is any arthritic changes showing in the joint at the present time. Good luck.

Yeah, the vet said there wasn't any arthritis yet and she's not in any pain over it. There were very subtle things that she pointed out that could potentially be problems in the future. I had planned on getting her OFA scored at around 2 yrs old b/c we were interested in doing weight pull with her. I'm still going to do that, just so I know her percentile and how bad/good it really is.

I'm hoping it's just mild and they don't cause her pain in the future, but like always we're going to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

 

[Lisa]

I wouldn't rule out the weight pull. In fact, often times working the dog will keep the hips tighter because of the good muscle tone. I know of people who had bulldogs with severe hip dysplasia who went on to work their dogs to a ripe old age. Personlly, I would have your vet email off that xray to OFA now. It's $25 to have it rated (it would be a prelim) and at least that way you know what you are dealing with. Just go to OFA's site and print out the form and fill it out. Your vet can email it along with the xray. You should have the results within a couple weeks. Unless the rating comes back moderate or severe I would not worry so much. You should still be able to do whatever you want with her. She's a bulldog!!

 

[debs]

Sorry for the bad news but look on the bright side, she could and will live a happy long life. I have had dogs with this (even my old female has it kind of bad) and they lived great lives with veyt little pain. Give the glucosimine and Condrointant and 2 asprins everyday and she will be good. This is what my vet told me to do and I even have Moose on this without the asprin and all is well.

 

[RED]

I wouldn't rule out the weight pull. In fact, often times working the dog will keep the hips tighter because of the good muscle tone. I know of people who had bulldogs with severe hip dysplasia who went on to work their dogs to a ripe old age. Personlly, I would have your vet email off that xray to OFA now. It's $25 to have it rated (it would be a prelim) and at least that way you know what you are dealing with. Just go to OFA's site and print out the form and fill it out. Your vet can email it along with the xray. You should have the results within a couple weeks. Unless the rating comes back moderate or severe I would not worry so much. You should still be able to do whatever you want with her. She's a bulldog!!

That is kind of the way I felt about it myself. We were talking about it last night. If its not too bad we could still compete in iron dog with her. We were told if they lay like super man that their hips are not bad(Im not doc so I dont know if thats true or not). Which just about anytime she is laying down that is the way she lays. Thanks for the info, we will look into getting OFA to check them out.

 

[GTChick01]

I wouldn't rule out the weight pull. In fact, often times working the dog will keep the hips tighter because of the good muscle tone. I know of people who had bulldogs with severe hip dysplasia who went on to work their dogs to a ripe old age. Personlly, I would have your vet email off that xray to OFA now. It's $25 to have it rated (it would be a prelim) and at least that way you know what you are dealing with. Just go to OFA's site and print out the form and fill it out. Your vet can email it along with the xray. You should have the results within a couple weeks. Unless the rating comes back moderate or severe I would not worry so much. You should still be able to do whatever you want with her. She's a bulldog!!

That makes me feel better! The vet told me that she wouldn't be able to send those x-rays off to OFA because Chassis wasn't still enough. She said OFA would make her take them again. But we're definitely going to get some to OFA in the future.[/list]

 

[Purplesauerous]

Don't rule out the weight pull, it can be good therapy. My APBT has had FHO surgery in both of her hips, and she's only two. She will never compete, but we have a blast around the house and we are strenghtening her muscles!

 

[Loretta Koch]

Sorry to hear about your vet visit. We first noticed maddies hip problems at 6 mo. She has HD and will have to have surgery though it is recommended to wait until she is 2 yrs. Maddie takes Glucosamine and she does take Rimadyl on bad days when she has trouble walking. If your dog does not have allergies there is a new food out for dogs with joint problems. Ask your vet for some info on the food. We sell it where i work and some people think it has helped there dogs. Hope things dont get any worse.

 

[LifeIsDaPits]

I've never heard anyone doing this for bully breeds, but I have worked with some Great Danes who have had wobblers disease and they have something called Gold Bead Implants, they also do it for hip dysplesia in some cases.

Check out the link if you want, http://lochvale.freeservers.com/Durkes.html

 

[Josie's Proud Mom]

May I make a suggestion?

My last dog a male German Sheppard, was prone to HD,mostly because of his size and rate of his growth (his parents were huge!). As soon as I got him home I began giving him a multivitamin with calcium (this was inagreeance with our vet). We had Cody for over 13 years, he did develope arthritis later in life but not at the degree he would have if we hadn't given it to him. His hips were stronger and the displasia was barely there. So don't give up, talk with your vet and see if a multivitamin with calcium and the glucosamine together will be helpful for her. Best of luck!

 

[halo]

Ask

Your vet about Triflex , I gave it to my rotty he was crippled in the rare legs and hips from this., Took about 2 months but he runs walks and plays and everything it grew carledge around the hips to hold them in place. Its good for athritis andd hip displahisa
They were going to put him to sleep we took him 2 years ago and this is what we did. They only thing is he is 120 lbs we gave him 1 pill a day so I wouldn't know the dosage for a pup. Triflex has glosamine, cholitin & MSN supose to be good ofr the joints.
The rotty I used it on was 9 years old too. But check with your vet first cause I have no idea of dosage for smaller dogs it can be bought at GNC.

 

[Kasco]

I'm sorry to hear your news about Chassis. Seem like alot of memebers have some really great advice for you. Best of luck with her. I'm sure she'll be just fine in your hands.