# "Your dog has bad hips"



## rolandk (Mar 22, 2008)

Yes he does, thanks for pointing that out. Almost daily. Does this bother anyone and how do you deal with it?

My dog Nick is 11.5 years old and has had hip problems since about age 5. We walk around the neighborhood and down to the doggie park every day so we are around a lot of people and dogs.

One lady we see every once in a while is *obsessed* with his hips, thats all she talks about. Last time she was giving me a big long lecture on how any day now he will be crippled and how will I take care of him and I kept repeating over and over "I will take care of my dog". By my not really engaging in conversation with her (which I has hoping would make her shut up and go away) she took it like I was a bad owner. I finally snapped and told her it was none of her business and she said she wouldn't bring it up any more.

There must be something in human nature to point out the most negative thing they can see. This morning we pass by a father walking with his son. "Look at the doggie, he has owee feet" he tells his son. I am being over-sensitive to a certain degree but it really gets old after a while.

Sorry for the rant but I needed to vent.


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## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

Our lab mix is known as the "rescue dog" in our neighborhood. She wasn't really rescued, she was fine before, but her owner (friend of my bf) couldn't care for her anymore and found her a new home.
She wasn't spayed and she looks like she had puppies (she may have, we don't know for sure)... I get people asking us every day "is that the rescue dog?? Did she have puppies??" I have many versions of made up stories that appease people and shut them up  
Some like to hear she was neglected and abused and now runs around in the park with the other dogs... Some like to hear she has had puppies LOL  
Just agree and they will have no further need to nag you


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I have no problem with a father pointing out to his small child that your dog may not be feeling well, or old, or injured or whatever. 

But people telling you that your dog is not well, well, they are not well. 

What really gets to me are the people who look at your dog and make the prediction that your dog will have hip problems, due to its breed or its activity level, or how they see it moving. I just want to say: "Wow, and I thought only people from Krypton had x-ray vision." 

Ah well, stupidity is everywhere. We do not have to seek it out. Sometimes we have to train ourselves to hold on to the positive things people say and ignore the stupid stuff. Too often we do the opposite.


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## Jessiewessie99 (Mar 6, 2009)

I saw a dog with the "owee feet" but I think its just age.

I am sure u care very much for ur dog.=)


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## JazzNScout (Aug 2, 2008)

I think I would be sensitive to it, too, if everywhere I went people were making comments on my dogs' health. Oddly enough, that never happened with me, even when I'd take Morgan (with CES) out and support her with a beach towel operating as a sling underneath her -- just so the old girl could get out and enjoy life a little. 
Oddly enough, I've had the opposite happen: I had Jasmine out. Jasmine went gray around her muzzle very early in life. A little girl pointed at her snout and said, "That dog's OLD!" Her mother got very embarrassed and said, "No, no, she's not old!" as if her daughter had bothered me. lol.


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

People always insist on telling me how skinny Zeva is. Yes, she's lean. I feed her 2 x's a day. She's getting at least 4 C of kibble and maybe a half can, plus treats. You can't really see her ribs, maybe in a certain light, and you can feel her spine and hips, if you press and know where to look. 

She's growing and she's a short coat w/ very little under coat. She is skinny, I'll agree, but she's 53 lbs at 7 mos. She's been on the lean side since we got her. Her poop is fine and she's been wormed... 

I think ppl are just used to big, fat, fluffy, GSD's and don't know what to make of it. I swear they look at me like I don't feed her... Would you tell someone that their kid was too fat or skinny? Some ppl... 

Wow, she's so skinny, but she's beautiful... ahhh, ok... thanks, I think... *sigh* wish ppl would keep their mouth shut


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Because Hondo is missing 3 toes on his back foot, he walks with a limp. I get people telling me ALL the time, "your dog is limping"! Yeah, I know that. I'm right here. Sometimes I want to say, "What? OMG! I suppose I should pull his saddle off and not ride him home!" But I say, "Yes he is missing toes..right there...see his foot?...you know the one with the MISSING TOES?" Then I have to go through the story of how it happened. 

Maybe I could make up a story of how it happened...."We were walking past an orphanage, and suddenly it burst into fire, and Hondo ran inside and pulled all 125 kids out...on his back...and burned his toes off in the process...." And I could carry a cup around with me and take donations for the handicapped dog.....


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## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

Lillie - that's a brilliant idea lol


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

One time I pulled a GSD mix from a local shelter and was going to vet her before passing her off to a rescue. She had been kept in a tiny run at the shelter and then I had to keep her crated b/c she was in heat and aggressive towards my dogs, so I took her out for a short walk. The dog had a severe infestation of whip worms and was skin and bone, every rib and hips visible. I'm sure I got some looks from passersby. Now when I see an unhealthy dog I try not to judge because I don't know how the dog came to be that way or who is really responsible.

I always snort when people try to comment about a dog's hips. Hip dysplasia is only diagnosed or ruled out via x-ray. There is nothing you can "see" or feel on the outside of a dog that allows one to make that diagnosis. Of course a dog with more severe HD and arthritis will show obvious signs, but I've actually had people PM me and say my dog has this or that just based on me posting some pics where the dog might be sitting crooked in one pic.


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

I get the "she is so skinny" comment all the time. My dog is lean and tall. But since I am usually doing an event for rescue at the time, I use it as an opportunity to educate people who are used to seeing fat dogs. I say, "Well, actually she is exactly the perfect weight. She is 78lbs and fit, see how you can see her waist? It's better for their hips to be fit rather than overweight."

It frustrates me and I get sensitive to it sometimes but I know that my dog is well taken care of and is not starving (ok she was when BB dropped their calorie count but I fixed it!). Sometimes I just smile and nod at the ignorance of other people.


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

Before Heidi was diagnosed with HD, a lady at the dog park whom I didn't like told me she looked "dysplastic." It made me mad and I informed her that Heidi was NOT. Lol, a year later she was diagnosed with HD. Other than that incident, no one has ever commented about it, most people can't tell. However, Heidi wants everyone to know that she has hip dysplasia, even if she just met them. She always looks back at her hips, which is our code that she is hurting. Sometimes I tell her she is just like an old lady wanting to tell everyone about her ailments!


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## golfingirl (May 3, 2010)

Rolandk, that sounds very frustrating. 

I can very much relate to FuryanGoddess's experience. Our Jack is skinny. We feed him and frankly, he's not much of an eater. It's his biggest quirk. He's not sick. You can't see his ribs. His coat is shiny. His teeth are white. He's trained and well mannered. I'm out walking him. 

I try not to judge people when I see them walking a dog that looks like they have a few issues. I always think they must be cared for, the owner is out walking them. That's usually the first thing that people don't do when they are neglecting a dog. They don't give their dog their time. I assume the person walking their dog know their dog and is ensuring they get their exercise and bonding time.

There are always crazies out there who think they know more than you. When people comment on how skinny Jack is, I just say, "Oh, am I suppose to feed him?".*wink* They get the point with a bit of humour.


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## trish07 (Mar 5, 2010)

I do not experience this with Phenix....the only thing people always say is "Ho God, he is enormous!"....We've been told once while he was young that his walk was "particular". I answered that it was normal for a GSD puppy to walk that way and that it will become "normal" later. GSD puppies have a funny walk compare to other dogs, and it still at an adult age, they aren't walking like other dogs because their back legs are different.

It's kinda sad that people don't think before they say something...it's hurtfull to have this type of comments each day....


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

My GSD's back legs aren't different and they walk normally. Though they are working lines...


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## Jax's Mom (Apr 2, 2010)

gsdraven said:


> I get the "she is so skinny" comment all the time.


My newest response to that is to point to our mixed dog who is of normal weight and say "if we were to purposely starve either dog, it would probably be the less expensive one"


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

I would be concerned that if so many people in public are pointing out my dogs hips and how he's walking that perhaps I need another veterinary opinion on what more I could be doing for my dog. If s/he's limping THAT badly, he must be in significant pain that is noticeable enough to outsiders that they feel the need to mention it.

Is it polite? No, not necessary. But just attributing it to old age I think would not be enough (for me) if it's that bad. My older shepherd that I had to put down several years ago had extremely bad arthritis in the last couple of years and was on a variety of things to help ease that. However, had he begun limping so badly that that many people were asking about it or mentioning it, I would have needed to reevaluate his quality of life must sooner than I had to.

JMHO


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## Doc (Jan 13, 2009)

onyx'girl said:


> My GSD's back legs aren't different and they walk normally. Though they are working lines...


And one is the over Standard! It's a miracle!!!!!!


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## trish07 (Mar 5, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> My GSD's back legs aren't different and they walk normally. Though they are working lines...


 Yeah the lines look different (I think)! What I meant is, Phenix's back legs aren not made like Labrador's back legs. They look like "rabbit" legs...

Look at these pictures










Compared to











and even to "working line":


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

doc said:


> And one is the over Standard! It's a miracle!!!!!!


What is a miracle Doc?? Not getting your dig this time...
Onyx is over the standard so actually 2!


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

> I've actually had people PM me and say my dog has this or that just based on me posting some pics where the dog might be sitting crooked in one pic.


What?!? That is insane!! I think your dogs all look normal to me. 

I've never personally been told my dogs' look like they have bad hips but I hear it from the public all the time at AKC shows about most of the American lines. 
The only things I ever got was 'wow your dog is so skinny' or 'wow they're small'. Haven't gotten any comments like that in a long time though.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I've never gotten any comments in public, but when Dodge was going downhill, (neuro probs towards the end with backlegs) I had a friend of the hubby's over here telling me how pitiful looking he was..

I said, 'are you a vet? do you know that he is in pain (cause he wasn't) , he gets around the best he can and I supervise, unless you'd like to pay for a specialist, well shut up)"

I think unsolicited remarks about other peoples dogs that they know nothing about, is rude.


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## KITTIEG (Feb 28, 2010)

It never cease to amaze me how people want to share "their knowledge". I'd say you're being nicer than I would.


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