When to dogs get hip dysplasia?
I have a dog who’s roughly 11 years old. He’s a mix between chow, lab, & pitt bull. He’s an inside dog, so I know he’s not been in a fight or anything like that, but for the past two days, he’s struggled to get up. He lies in the floor and I have to bring him food and water. When I try to help him get up, he cries – very loudly – so I leave him alone. I have read articles about hip dysplasia in dogs and for the most part my understanding is they typically get it when they are puppies. I have never noticed him limping around for no apparent reason. The vet told me he had arthiritis, but I can’t imagine arthiritis getting to a dog this way. What are the chances he’s developed hip dysplacia over the past couple of years?
Filed under: hip dysplasia in dogs treatment
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hip displasia is a genetic disease.. it develops as the dog matures.. its possible your dog has HAD it all this time and its now bothering him
It could be arthritis.. yes it can be a very crippling disease.
The dog may also be suffering from a back problem too.. such as a slipped disc.
i am psychical examining your dog now . yes ..i agree with the vet .
dogs are BORN with hip dysplasia… they cant be tested until they are at least 2 years old and that is done thru x rays…. and then usually what happens is the hip dysplasia itself is not the worse part or most painful but its when the arthritis sets in they start having a problem… its completely genetic and dogs cannot get it from trauma or anyhting like that. hip dysplasia is a malformation of the hip joint instead of being round and having the ball of the femur sit in the joint it tends to be jagged and sqaure and the femur head will slip in and out of the joint causing arthritis to form in the joints
Hip displaysia is an inherited condition. Some Dogs are born with the predisposition to it.
It really depends on the severity of the inheritance, but, usually doesn’t start to show up till the dog is 2 or older.
This is why RESPONSIBLE breeders test their breeding stock and only breed dogs that are free of displaysia and other inheritable conditions.
Your dog probably has had mild displaysia all his life and the arthritis is just now setting in. Listen to your vet, did they do Xrays? Most cases of mild displaysia and/or arthritis are manageable with medications, supplements and diet.
Severe cases of displaysia need hip replacement surgery.
(So much for “mixed breeds being healthier than pure breds”.)
I had a dog that it showed up at 2 years old. He had to be put down at 4.
Take your dog to the vet they have medication that will ease the pain. Bayer aspirin also works pretty good. 1 daily
Sorry but if the vet says it’s arthritis and not hip dysplasia, it probably is. I guess you are lucky enough to never have felt the pain that arthritis can cause, because if you had, you’d understand how painful it can really be.
Good luck to you and your dog.
It can begin to show as early as 8 months and can appear and become worse anytime after this… When your dog walks run your hands over his hips and if you feel a popping or, in general it just doesn’t feel smooth than it could be hip dysplacia. From your description it does sound more like arthritis that hip dysplacia. Have the vet do an x-ray and he can tell you if hip dsyplacia is your problem.
I have a mix as well(pitt bull, mastif, labador mix). He has this disease. The thing that I have learned is that the disease occurs in bigger/athletic built dogs. I also understand that it doesnt hit them in a couple of days. Dysplacia is a disease that develops over monthes even years. My dog is only four years old and has shown symptoms. Dogs are tough and have an extremely high tolerance of pain. If he is crying and hurting you need to get him to a vet IMMEDIATELY! This is a sign of something worse.
There are so many things that could be bothering your dog, you need to take him to the Vet. It could be something far worse than hip dysplasia.
He is suffering now & you should have had him to the Vet already. We cannot manipulate the joint to see if it is the hip or if it is his back or if it is both plus some internal stuff.
I had a Lab that went lame but I didn’t pay much attention to him cause the day before I found a friend dead in his apartment & my mind & heart was being torn apart. On the third day I took him to the Vet. His liver was inlarged & there was no treatment. He hadn’t shown any signs or symptoms except for just laying around & not responding to the other dogs or me. I had to have him put to sleep. I lost a friend of 35 yrs & three days latter I lost my 13 yr. old dog. I was a basket case.
Your dog needs to see a Vet ASAP.
HD is mostly a genetical disorder, with heritability, though in some cases bad falls or such can cause this (specialy in young dogs who aint done developing, which why you have to be carefull with them jumping heigths), and those are not geneticaly correaleated.
I googled it and found f.ex this site where you can read more about it, and see pictures which hopefully will display HD better
http://www.thepetcenter.com/xra/hd.html
however with a dog in that much pain i’d bring him to the vet, even if the vet still rules it to be the same after examination, then at least he can prescribe painkillers, or you can discuss alternative solutions, and how you are to deal with it
but better safe then sorry, and a dog in pain should always be investigated by a vet to make sure that it can get treated corectly
Since hip dysplasia is a genetic condition it is present from birth, or at least very young puppyhood. If your dog has hip dysplasia he has likely had it all his life but just hasn’t displayed any symptoms…especially considering the breeds in his mix (most of them tend to have very high pain tolerances and be very stoic dogs even when they are painful). Many displastic dogs can go for years without ever displaying any signs of this disease, particularly if their dysplasia is mild. If the vet has diagnosed arthritis, then that is most likely the cause of his pain. Arthritis can be caused by the abnormal rubbing resulting from hip dysplasia but it can also have other causes, including injury or normal aging changes.
You must not have had many dealings with severely arthritic people if you can’t imagine arthritis getting to a dog this way. Arthritis can be literally crippling for both dogs and humans and it creates a vicious cycle because the less motion an arthritic joint gets the stiffer it becomes. If he is having a hard time getting up, then he may have spinal arthritis. If your vet has not already taken x-rays I would highly recommend getting them done. Spinal arthritis responds differently than synovial joint (such as the hips or knees) arthritis and knowing which one is causing his pain will help you better manage it.
Regardless of what is causing it, your dog is in pain and you need to see a vet and get him on something for that pain.