# 9 Month GS with Advanced Hip Dysplasia



## georgec1 (May 4, 2010)

My 9 month old German Shepherd has been having pain in her rear legs, more in the right leg, for the past 3 weeks. Today she was diagnosed, by xray, with hip dysplasia in the left and advanced hip dysplasia in the right hip. We have a warranty where we can return her for a refund of purchase price and vet bill or get reimbursed up to the purchase price ($900) for treatment. We are not sure what to do. Attached is her xray. Does anyone have any experience dealing with advance hip dysplasia at such a young age?


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## Rusty_212 (Apr 21, 2010)

Treatment to get those hips fixed will be way more than $900. Your best bet would be to return her for a refund and purchase from a better, reputable breeder. I am so sorry for you, this is a bad situation, especially having had her for 9 months. Good luck whatever you choose to do.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

That left hip looks pretty bad. She is young, she may be loosey goosey, she may be getting ready to go into heat which could make things looser. But I have never seen x-rays of pups that young, only two year old x-rays. I do not know how much they can improve. And if she is already having pain, that is not good. 

The next step is to get a good estimate from some type of orthopaedic surgeon on the hip. Once you know what it will cost and what her prognosis is with surgery, you can make a better decision. 

I do not know that you do not already have a reputable breeder. They are offering purchase price back. HD hits good breeders and bad breeders. It is usually not a death sentence. I do not know what your breeder will do with an HD puppy. 

If you choose to keep her and do surgery, it sounds like they will give you the purchase price for her back. When I get a dog, I expect there to be issues with the dog, at some point down the line. For me giving the dog back is not much of an option if I had gotten the dog for a pet. If I had gotten the dog for a specific purpose, breeding, some type of work like SAR, and the hip problem would interfere, then I would probably send her back to the breeder.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Yes, unfortunately, and the result wasn't good. Our boy Kodi was diagnosed with the worst hip dysplasia our vet had ever seen at 10 months old, and this is a VERY good vet at a great clinic who has quite a bit of experience. The ortho vet whom I've known for over a decade said the hips were absolutely awful.

Did a total hip replacement on one hip, knowing the other would need to be done in the immediate future.

The hip replacement went great - no problems. Unfortunately, the problems weren't just in the hips as we were soon to find out. The limited range of motion and activity kept us from knowing there were ACL problems and some kind of bone degeneration.

In the months following the hip replacement things went well. Rehab went great. Once he was back to normal activity and allowed to play like a normal dog, ACL problems started up and surgery started being discussed. The issue was that the ACL's were likely always weak, just not evident since the hips were so bad and activity was somewhat self restricted. The bone degeneration came up later and unfortunately was the straw that broke the camels back. He came in limping 3 legged lame and seemed to have just given up. Somehow he had broken a bone in his foot just playing in the very dog proof backyard. Would've had to be surgically corrected. We ended up putting him to sleep.

My PERSONAL opinion is that dogs this young with this severe of hip dysplasia probably have a host of other problems. By the way, I don't know squat about reading hip x-rays so I AM NOT saying your dog is as severe as ours, or is severe at all, or maybe improper placement, etc. Just so we're clear!  The hip replacement alone for the operation on that one hip was right at 5 GRAND. The rehab alone far exceeded $900. In total, we spent over 7 grand on that one hip between diagnosis, the specialist, rehab, rechecks, and the actual surgery. the other hip would have had to be done as well within the next year or two. Turned out, it gave us problems much sooner and would not have made it another year or two as originally expected by the vet.

I'm sure some will say they've had replacements done and the dog went on to lead a fabulous life with no problems what so ever, but they were generally done on older dogs with moderate dysplasia. My definition of severe is what happened to our boy. His dysplasia was so severe that he actually dislocated his own hip because there was no real socket for the ball of the joint to stay in and it slipped right on out once he got too big for the tendons to hold it in place.

I will never do another replacement on another dog again. It was heartbreaking and I feel like we prolonged his misery. We were so hopeful that if we could pay for the operations we could fix all the problems, but with ours at least, there were just too many problems to fix. I had thought his only problem was crappy hips. But I believe if the hips are THAT bad, there are probably other issues that will turn up in the future.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

> I do not know that you do not already have a reputable breeder. They are offering purchase price back. HD hits good breeders and bad breeders. It is usually not a
> *death sentence.*
> I do not know what your breeder will do with an HD puppy.


if the pup gets returned to the breeder I'd hope they would pay to fix the pup and not the alternative...if it is a large commercial breeder then I would NOT return pup to the breeder regardless of the contract/ "warranty"


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Wow, I would never return a dog I had had for 9 months. 

Hip dysplasia is not a death sentence. My first gsd, Massie, had severe bilateral HD at that age. Her x-rays looked 10,000 times worse than that. At age 5 I had a total hip replacement done on one side. Before and after that she did tons of hiking and backpacking with me. 

Other than the hip replacement, I gave her supplements, took her for long walks every day, swam her as much as possible and she lived to be almost twelve and died of something unrelated.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Yeah... that right hip is pretty bad and the left one doesn't look good either. Surgery/treatment is going to cost more than $900 in the long run, so I hope you're prepared to pay those vet bills if you decide to keep her.

Now, I know i personally could never do it, but reasons like this are why you have health guarantees. Your breeder guaranteed your puppy would have acceptable hips and that's obviously not the case. If you do decide to give her back, try and find out what your breeder does with returned dogs before making any decisions. Hopefully they don't just automatically put them to sleep.

I hope you take the $900 and put it towards vet bills, but that decisions going to be up to you. I've never dealt with HD, but from what I've read and what other people have mentioned in this thread, it is not a death sentence. Advanced agility and other high impact sports are probably going to be out of the question, but your pup can still live a fulfilling life as a companion pet.

There are plenty of people here who are willing to help with advice if you do decide to keep her and work through this.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

There is a member on this board who has a dog, young, not even a year old i believe when she had her hip replacement done. Personally, having the pup in the family, yes i would be stressed and disappointed big time, but i dont think i could ever return the dog to the breeder. Surgery will be immensely expensive but the dog is a member of your family. In the end its all up to you. Weigh all your options, the good and the bad of course, and go from there. You have a breeder who is willing to refund the purchase price so thats a good sign. Those hips dont look good and its never fun to see an animal in pain, especially a baby. I hope you guys are able to figure this all out and what will work best in the long run. I do agree with those who have said find out what the breeder does with returned pups in this case before you send the pup back if thats what you decide to do. Sorry to hear you're having this experience!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I would get a 2nd and third opinion before surgery. The hips do look really lax, but I can't see any deformation. The positioning is also a bit off and that makes a difference.

I've had 2 GSD's that didn't have great hips in the x-rays due to laxity (and I'd never breed them) but BOTH were happy and healthy for their lives due to the fact I kept them very lean and fit. So the muscles could take alot of the pressure off the joint.

There's another condition many of our GSD's get in the first year or so related to growing pain type issues called Pano and vets frequently mis-diagnose and immediately recommend hip replacement. PLEASE read up on this:

Panosteitis



> *Panosteitis *is a spontaneously occurring lameness that usually occurs in large breed dogs. *German Shepherds *seems to be particularly predisposed to this condition. Due to this, it is possible that the disease may have genetic causes. Some veterinarians feel that this disease may be induced or worsened by stress.
> 
> Affected dogs are usually in the 5 to 14 month age range and male dogs are more commonly infected than female dogs. The disease has been reported in dogs as young as 2 months and can occur in young mature dogs. The lameness tends to occur very suddenly, usually without a history of trauma or excessive exercise. In most cases one or the other front leg is affected first and then the problem tends to move around, making it appear that the lamenessis shifting from leg to leg. There are often periods of improvement and worsening of the symptoms in a cyclic manner. This makes evaluation oftreatment difficult since many dogs will spontaneously recover with orwithout treatment and then relapse.
> ​




Panosteitis in the GSD - Panosteitis and Your German Shepherd Dog

Panosteitis in Young Dogs





​


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

BowWowMeow said:


> *Wow, I would never return a dog I had had for 9 months*.
> 
> Hip dysplasia is not a death sentence. My first gsd, Massie, had severe bilateral HD at that age. Her x-rays looked 10,000 times worse than that. At age 5 I had a total hip replacement done on one side. Before and after that she did tons of hiking and backpacking with me.
> 
> Other than the hip replacement, I gave her supplements, took her for long walks every day, swam her as much as possible and she lived to be almost twelve and died of something unrelated.


Me neither. I was in this simular situation.

Took my GSD into the Vet to get a check up at 9-10 months old and he gave out a yelp when she was checking his hips, she told me it's not a good sign but to wait until he was 2 years old to get his hips xrayed. 

I called his BYB to tell them about it and they told me I could give them back the dog and they would give me another puppy. I asked them what would happen to him if I gave him back and they said they would put him to sleep. 

There is no way I would EVER give up my GSD. I was head over heels in love with him that first night I got him, we bonded immediately.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

Sorry, doesn't look like Pano on the xray. Right hip ball isn't completely into the socket. Even with tightening up (laxity), the formation isn't right. I don't see how it would fit back into the socket. Choices are to give the pup back, or start her on supplements, keep her weight down and see how she goes. I had a male (Vishnu) with one bad hip and one bad elbow. He made it to 11 yrs of age before I had to do make the decision. I maintained him for years with supplements.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Ester-C: Miracle Cure for Hip Dysplasia??? Another article to read...


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

angelaw said:


> Sorry, doesn't look like Pano on the xray. Right hip ball isn't completely into the socket. Even with tightening up (laxity), the formation isn't right. I don't see how it would fit back into the socket. Choices are to give the pup back, or start her on supplements, keep her weight down and see how she goes. I had a male (Vishnu) with one bad hip and one bad elbow. He made it to 11 yrs of age before I had to do make the decision. I maintained him for years with supplements.


Totally agree with Angela. The hips are dysplastic. That is far too much laxity to totally improve with age and ligaments tightening. The one hip is almost dislocated.

I wouldn't rush into surgery though, and especially not without getting additional opinions on the need for surgery and what type of surgery would be best from at least a couple of different orthopedic specialists. 

Also, watch the dog. Dog's don't read x-rays, so even if the x-ray looks bad it often doesn't affect the dog. Start joint supplements, keep her at a good weight and with good muscle tone, and that can help tremendously. Our girl Nara had hips that looked as bad or worse than these at a year old, and already had a significant amount of arthritis developed at that young age, and is now 11 and still symptom free thanks to supplements, and correct diet and exercise. So quite often dogs do just fine without major things like surgery. I would only go with surgery if the dog was experiencing problems and other less invasive treatments and management programs weren't helping.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> Ester-C: Miracle Cure for Hip Dysplasia??? Another article to read...


High doses of C are very important in treating any joint problem. Rafi gets 2000mg/day (along with other supplements and raw food) and it has made a big difference. However, Ester C should be avoided with growing puppies. Regular buffered C is what should be used.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

First thing I would do is retake the xrays with *correct* positioning. I doubt it will show 'good' hips but it could show hips that aren't as bad as these look.

Also, a new development in HD treatments using stem cells from the dogs fat:

Dogs receive pioneering stem cell procedure | pcb, florida - News - The News Herald


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## georgec1 (May 4, 2010)

I want to thank everyone for their comments. We have decided returning Sasha to the breeder is not an option. We are seeing a Orthopedic surgeon on Monday and I will let you know the outcome.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

George, I'm glad you are keeping your puppy. I think there is a good chance it will all turn out okay, even though your wallet will be lighter in the end.

Rosa was diagnosed at 10 months. Here are her x-rays, done by our local vet. The positioning isn't perfect, but it was enough to diagnose her.









She had her total hip replacement done in April of this year, by Ohio State University Veterinary School. They did a fantastic job of taking care of her, she had a graduate student assigned to her care so she was very well looked after. It was her right hip that they replaced, and unless she begins having lameness again, we should not need to do her other hip. The surgery, in total, cost $4000. There was no rehab or post-op care required other than removal of her staples. We do give her a daily joint supplement. She can't tolerate Rimadyl, so she's not on any pain killers and seems to get along just fine on her new hip.

We have gradually built up her exercise again and so far she has done amazingly well. We have noticed a marked improvement in her stamina. 

Glad to hear you are consulting with an ortho. They will be able to give you all the info you need.


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## M&J (Nov 16, 2002)

Please come back and tell us what the surgeon has to say. One of my dogs had a THR four years ago. You would never know. He hasn't missed a beat.
Good luck!


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## VegasResident (Oct 4, 2006)

BowWowMeow said:


> Wow, I would never return a dog I had had for 9 months.
> 
> Hip dysplasia is not a death sentence. My first gsd, Massie, had severe bilateral HD at that age. Her x-rays looked 10,000 times worse than that. At age 5 I had a total hip replacement done on one side. Before and after that she did tons of hiking and backpacking with me.
> 
> Other than the hip replacement, I gave her supplements, took her for long walks every day, swam her as much as possible and she lived to be almost twelve and died of something unrelated.


Me neither. I could never give my boy up no matter what. I got him for better or worse. He accepts me on the same grounds...


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## vat (Jul 23, 2010)

Wishing you the best of luck. Please let us know how it goes with the ortho.


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