The Brittany Forum

Waldo · Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 4:02 am Post subject: dodgy hip????

Hi All,
My girl Annie has been to the vet today and is booked in to go in on Tuesday for a heavy sedation, some further examination and some xrays.
She has been favouring her left rear leg for a few weeks, seems to walk OK, and runs Ok but when at mid-pace she will lift the rear left and hop for a few paces then get back into stride. I haven't worried about it too much because she has been running and walking OK.
She came out hunting last weekend and it didn't seem to bother her too much, yesterday we went out hunting but at a property where the ground is quite dry and hard without any leaf litter type material to soften the blow and she came home a bit lame.
After examination today the vet was talking about possible hip problems in the joint, I really don't know what to think. We've put in close to 2 years of work together and are just starting to see the rewards and looking forward to spending time in the field hunting and now this happens.
Has anybody seen similar symptoms to what Annie is showing?
Cheers,
Waldo

Victoria · Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:48 am Post subject:

Waldo, I have seen a dog do that, and if memory serves me correctly I am sure it may have been the cruciate (sp??????) ligament...
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"...amitie, respect mutuel et amour..."

Ghilliegumdrop · Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:07 am Post subject:

Slipping patella Question

Or it could just be that she trod on something that has made her foot sore or pulled a muscle.
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Jan
Merlin, hips 9/9=18 and Ghillie, hips 8/9=17
Pull [n or v] An equal and opposite force perpetrated on both ends of a lead that results in the inevitable tripping and falling of the human involved!!

sallie · Guest

Hi, Monet does the back leg hop thing... i put it down to when he broke his foot and sometimes it becomes tender, so would like to hear how you get on at the vet... It never occurred to me something else could be wrong.

doganjo · Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:49 pm Post subject:

Hopping on a rear leg or putting it straight out behind is a fairly sure sign of slipping patella. I have seen this in a friend's springer but never experienced it, so I'm quoting from books here. The knee usually slips back into place again fairly quickly though, and although it looks scary only the most severe cases appear to be in pain. They can operate to regroove the bone and it has a fairly high success rate - 80% I believe. But there is a pretty severe cage rest period afterwards for a few weeks. Your vet should have all the details but you can google it. It can be hereditary but it can also be caused by trauma. If it only happens infrequently vets sometimes just treat the symptoms to save putting the dog through a major operation.
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Annie

Handle every situation like a dog, if you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away

Patricia · Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 8:27 pm Post subject:

Also sounds to me like a case of slipping Patella. I have seen it, as well as cruciate( which is more drastic as it can snap) It can also be due to injury...The op is needed and months of cage rest folllowed by limited and on lead exercise. Otherwise the whole thing could be a failure. It is then vital to follow that strict exercise regime. Crying or Very sad

Waldo · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:59 am Post subject:

Well I picked Annie up from the vet this afternoon and the news is not good, she has hip dysplasia!
Severely dissapointed is probably an understatement, not real sure what to think, we've got thru the puppy stage, got training under control (I think) and this happens, my wife even likes her most of the time!
The vet has started her on a course of injections to help, but I guess the future is a bit uncertain for us.
I really don't want to hold back on the training and field work too much as she just loves it, might just have to moderate things a bit and see how she goes. Being fairly lightly built, currently 18.1kg perhaps it might work in her favour, I hope so.
Cheers,
Waldo

Patricia · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:07 am Post subject:

This is why many in France( and elsewhere) do the hip scoring at one year of age; when you think of the money and investment spent on Professional training for some of those dogs...is huge.
Your vet will direct you towards the best course of action for Annie. Sorry to hear the bad news. Sad

doganjo · Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:49 am Post subject:

Waldo, I am so sorry to hear this. There are varying degrees of hip dysplasia and the causes are not always just down to inheritance. The degree of Annie's dysplasia will determine the treatment. Hip scores in the Uk are marked as being from zero each side(no dysplasia) to 53 each side (indicating severe dysplasia)
18kg seems heavy for a bitch unless she is tall - what height is she? If she is about 50 cms it might be OK but if around 47 to 48 she should be in the region of 16 to 17 kgs IMO.

Has she perhaps had too much exercise over rough ground as a puppy? I don't remember what age she is now. That can affect the hips too.

either way it seems she won't be able to do a great deal of work if dysplasia has been diagnosed so young. It is very sad and proves that hip scoring does at least help towards eliminating this dreadful disease, provided breeders do not breed with high scoring dogs.
I do hope you manage to keep her pain free. My best wishes to you and your wife and wee Annie.
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Annie

Handle every situation like a dog, if you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away

sallie · Guest

Very sorry to hear this Waldo, being new to the breed the outcome has taken me by surprise as its the first case i have read about. I'm sure Annie will live a very active and happy life, no matter what you decide for her future.