hip dysplasia

[starrlamia]

just curious. Can a young puppy show signs of hip dysplasia? A coworker brought in his 7 week old pug (byb bred by his wife) and I couldnt tell if she was just walking like a pug or a puppy, but she had a very weird gate in her back end, her legs didnt swing like im used to in a dog, its hard to describe but her back end tended to swing out to one side. Could just be normal puppy lack of coordination of course but i was just curious.

[suzanne]

There is something called The Ortolani test that is fairly accurate in diagnosing dogs with serious hip problems.

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ortolani_test

I think the test is best performed in dogs while they are sedated, but I know the veterinarians I work for will do it on puppies to just get an idea of whether or not the hips are really bad.

My dog was walking funny at 16 weeks. We did Penn Hip rads but did not send them in, my veterinarian felt they were good enough. I took the rads to see if JPS was needed. Her gait continued to be "weird" and when she was maybe 3-4yrs of age after a horseback riding trip where we were riding everyday I took hips rads and her hips are crappy. She has almost no neck and the femoral heads are rough. She's going to be 7yrs this year and has no muscle mass over her hips and part of her spine. I've always thought it would be interesting to send the Penn Hip rads in to see how she scored, to the average veterinarian they looked fine but it would be interesting to see what a specialist would have had to say. Although I think it also shows that as puppies their hips can be fine, but as they mature the hips can change.

I don't think it would be surprising to see a pug with bad hips at a young age... the breed has a lot of problems.

[Sarah]

I think in a 7-wk-old puppy, you're more likely seeing normal puppy lack of coordination, or some other structural defect, rather than hip dysplasia. The issue with HD is arthritis, and at 7 weeks, she hasn't had time to develop arthritis yet. Doesn't mean the pup isn't dysplastic, I just wouldn't expect it to affect the movement at this point.

[starrlamia]

thanks guys
i didnt know that athritis was the cause of major issues with HD!

[MarMar]

Pugs can have spinal problems related to their corkscrew tail:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemivertebrae

Just another way humans have messed up dogs for looks!

[Keira&Phoenix]

My dog had signs of HD when I bought her home at 9 weeks. The main sign was a swinging rear end. Like a real obvious swinging of her butt. Mind you I think she deals with it better than dogs who develop it later in life because she has always had to live with it. Her HD has caused other issues like luxatting patella's. One of which She had sugery on and has bad arthritis. Poor girl.

[starrlamia]

Thank you

[twisted]

my pit has it and was diagnosed with it at a young age. 7 weeks is rather young to see it imo. have they brought her into the vets for her first check up yet ?

[suzanne]

I think in a 7-wk-old puppy, you're more likely seeing normal puppy lack of coordination, or some other structural defect, rather than hip dysplasia. The issue with HD is arthritis, and at 7 weeks, she hasn't had time to develop arthritis yet. Doesn't mean the pup isn't dysplastic, I just wouldn't expect it to affect the movement at this point.

It's not just about arthritis, what about dogs whose hips aren't even in the socket?

[starrlamia]

my pit has it and was diagnosed with it at a young age. 7 weeks is rather young to see it imo. have they brought her into the vets for her first check up yet ?

Not yet, I told him to mention it to the vet so hopefully he does and it's nothing. But then he told me they expected mom to have at least eight puppies because it was her first litter, so..

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