Home: Dog & Puppy Health: Canine Hip Dysplasia:
How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not



Amber.Faith
Old Kaki


Nov 6, 2007, 10:29 AM


Views: 28713
How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
This is what I learned from the vet last week. How to check if your dog has HD(Hip Dysplasia) or not...There's no need for x-rays first.

All you have to do is feel its hip area. If there's a bone jutting out, then your dog has HD but if it's smooth & nothing is jutting out, then your dog has no HD altho some of your dogs may seem to have it from the way they walk.

I always thought my Golden Amber has it but actually no. She has a very pronounce sway when she walks like a model on the runway but her legs & hips are very strong coz she can do Agility & dance very well with no problem. She can run very fast & can jump too! All we do is just maintain her hips with human glucosamine which we buy from the pharmacy. They are safe, cheaper & higher in mg.

We also bring her for long walks which help to keep her legs strong. Standing on hind legs are discouraged though...Amber got her hip problem when she was four months old. She was our first dog & we didn't really know anything then. She slipped many times when playing on the wet tiled floor & many times she had a bad fall & would slam on the gate. It was our fault so now we know & our whole porch is full of mats.


(This post was edited by Amber.Faith on Nov 6, 2007, 10:31 AM)


JS Lew
Enthusiast


Nov 20, 2007, 5:47 PM


Views: 28500
Re: [Amber.Faith] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
Thanks for sharing this information.........

I just got a female adult pug. She was kept in a poor condition by her previous owner - was put in a small cage all the time since she's born. She was never let out to play or exercise. I noticed she has weak hindquarter and she's limping with one rear leg not touching ground when I brought her back two days ago. But after few minutes of warming up, she's ok......... Then the symptoms recur on and off.

One of my friends told me it could be hip dysplasia.........although first I thought it's due to her poor living condition and lack of exercise.......... After reading some articles, I'm quite convinced that she suffers from hip dysplasia (statitics show 60% of pugs suffer from this disease). Sometimes she even limps with one fore leg not touching groud...........I also got confused?... Anyway, I'm going to send her for a check up.

There is no bone jutting out in her hip area -I do hope that she's not having HD - I don't want her to suffer that much, I want her to live healthily and happily - that's the reason I brought her back.

Anyway, now I know what to do if she's having HD - thanks again for sharing the info.

PS - Can tell me which brand of human glucosamine you feed your Amber?


acsyen
Ultra ALPHA


Nov 20, 2007, 6:00 PM


Views: 28498
Re: [JS Lew] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
I think got only 1 famous brand the blue tin wan. Glucose is stated there i also not sure. Check with Amber is good she knows more on HD. And if you have read up swimming is a good excercise for HD but for dogs with short nose and short legs abit not suitable for swimming but can always try using a life jacket and monitoring your dog to swim

~Nature's Way: Raw Food for Health ~

~ Pet ID Tags: A MUST For Every Pet! ~



JS Lew
Enthusiast


Nov 20, 2007, 6:53 PM


Views: 28490
Re: [acsyen] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
Dear Yen,

Thank you for the information. I think I know which brand you referred to (you always give good tip, remember the finger licking good restaurant tip). Ya, some articles said swimming is good exercise to improve HD condition but some said not really because dogs only move their fore legs not rear legs when swim........ Anyway, swimming is no harm lah, even if it's not helping much..... Wah, like that I need to build a swimming pool for her leh.......... maybe a bath tub is good enough since pug is not that big also....

Wanted to visit you but always schedule very tight. rush back to KL........busy with dogs.........need to relief my cousin a little bit during weekend........rush back to Singapore............then lots of conferences and meetings during weekdays ............

I have found out the locaiton of Dr Edmund - will bring the pug there for check up......

Really pitty and sayang this pug........have not been living a good life since.....and look at her face, she's like keeping all the agony she had in the past to herself, but waiting to pour everything on you when the time is right........ I have hard time to calm her down when I first brought her back..........she's so desparate to get some love from human and just running non stop to catch people's attention.......I have to hold her and pat her to assure her...........in the end, she's so tired and I also tired liaoCrazy


acsyen
Ultra ALPHA


Nov 20, 2007, 6:57 PM


Views: 28488
Re: [JS Lew] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
Eh.. this one i really cannot remember the brand le..haha.. No worries best is come by Dec my new house should be complete by then at that time will do house warming and all can come. U didn't get the news? My new place has wuite a big swimming pool for dogs..

~Nature's Way: Raw Food for Health ~

~ Pet ID Tags: A MUST For Every Pet! ~



JS Lew
Enthusiast


Nov 20, 2007, 10:32 PM


Views: 28482
Re: [acsyen] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
wah, like that must go visit you lah......have to get ready - go buy swimming suits, life jacket, goggle.......for both of them. Any restriction on dress code for the pups? Can't be too sexy I guess?Sly


Amber.Faith
Old Kaki


Nov 20, 2007, 11:06 PM


Views: 28476
Re: [JS Lew] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
Hi there JS Lew!

Maybe it's not really HD unless you x-ray her since you said there's nothing jutting out of her hips. As you mentioned in your post, you said she's been kept in a small cage since the day she was born. How old was she rescued? It could just be that her muscles are very weak due to no space & exercise. Siting & sleeping in a cage 24/7 for months or years can cause pain to her feet too coz as you know, the cage is very uncomfortable. Her bones are also very weak & she needs plenty of exercise everyday. Walk or swimming will do but running is not encouraged unless her legs are strong enuf. Since there's no dog pool or a safe lake to bring her to, you can buy one huge & tall swimming pool at Giant or Tesco. If you visit Amber's blog(the link's below here), there are pics of the pool. My dogs just played pool last week. It's very BIG & deep enuf for your pug. I put my fat cat in there too & her feet couldn't touch the bottom of it. What you can do is to fill it up every week or once a month & make her swim in it. You can also supervise her & if anything goes wrong, you can save her unlike the lake. It's dangerous coz her legs are still not strong. The pool only costs RM30++. If you buy a good quality one it costs RM100++ same size & height but no need lah. Cheap one good enuf. But everyday it's important that you bring her out for walks. In the morning before you leave for work, walk for half an hour then in the evening after you come back, walk for another half an hour. Then also give glucosamine. Better buy the human one instead of the dog's one coz it's very expensive. Dog stuff are always expensive. The brand we use is Bio-Life Glucosamine 500mg. Just give her one once a day everyday. You can find it any any pharmacy.


JS Lew
Enthusiast


Nov 21, 2007, 12:11 AM


Views: 28468
Re: [Amber.Faith] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
Hi Amber,

Thanks. Your information is very helpful and encouraging.........and I hope it's not HD....

She's now 16-17 months old, which means she's been kept in the cage for that long! Yes, we have been bringing her for walk everyday, but only a short one (20-25 mins) cos we don't want to over exert her. Will extend the time slowly depending on her condition. Running is a no-no for the time being. But she will be running around in the house non stop whenever she sees anyone, I also pening seeing her running here and there Crazy . I feel tired for her too, looking her moving her fat body so fast and so "gan jiong". We have to calm her down at times. In fact she's not fat but the body is a bit "flabby" compared to some of the pugs I've seen. Oh, she got a long body too (the previous owner told us that he purposely chose a long body female cos it's easier to breed).

I think it will be helpful for her to get some swimming to strengthen her body at the same time elimiate the chances of getting hurt. Will go get a swimming pool like yours. Will also get some glucosamine for her. Hopefully slowly bring her back to shape.

Thanks again.¡¡Cheers!


acsyen
Ultra ALPHA


Nov 21, 2007, 12:12 AM


Views: 28467
Re: [JS Lew] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
Cannot go in naked la.. No pai seh meh.. Got other dog see also. Wear bikini can la can attract more dogs to come Male wear bikini lagi bagus no one see before sure all come wan see de..

~Nature's Way: Raw Food for Health ~

~ Pet ID Tags: A MUST For Every Pet! ~



my_crystal929
Enthusiast


Nov 24, 2007, 5:41 PM


Views: 28382
Re: [Amber.Faith] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
hey melissa,

thanks for sharing the info. btw, could you pls let me know what kind/ which brand of human glucosamine that you bought from pharmacy? i really want to buy for Roxy. pls advise!

i fed her some glucosamine that recommanded by Vet, but i dont think so is good enough (the content), i believe there will be better brand of glucosamine which is more suitable for our furkids.

await ur reply.

crystal & roxy


Amber.Faith
Old Kaki


Nov 24, 2007, 7:55 PM


Views: 28379
Re: [my_crystal929] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
Hi!

We give our dogs Bio-Life Glucosamine. Can find them in any pharmacy near you...


my_crystal929
Enthusiast


Nov 27, 2007, 12:20 AM


Views: 28339
Re: [Amber.Faith] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
bio-life..500mg? 1 tab a day? as whole life supplement?Smile


Amber.Faith
Old Kaki


Nov 28, 2007, 5:32 AM


Views: 28303
Re: [my_crystal929] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
Yes, you got that right! For her whole life, she will have to take this supplement to maintain her hips. Once a day is good enuf...


bluerain
Novice

Oct 31, 2008, 6:18 AM


Views: 21013
Re: [Amber.Faith] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
Blush well, from my understanding....hip dysplasia means there is something wrong with the hip joint, mainly the hip sockets are too shallow or absent. It is also due to femur head flattening. Laxity of the hip joint ligaments is one of the causes..
since glucosamine works by "enchancing the cartilage... " , theoretically... feeding dogz with this isn't going to do much help.. right?
Laugh correct me if im wrong! Frown


bluerain
Novice

Oct 31, 2008, 6:22 AM


Views: 21010
Re: [bluerain] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
whoopsie..
wah.. last reply was like a year ago..
FrownBlushBlushBlushBlush


acsyen
Ultra ALPHA


Oct 31, 2008, 2:57 PM


Views: 20999
Re: [bluerain] How to Check If Your Dog Has 'HD' or Not
Yes you are right theoretically nothing much can be done unless you go for HD surgery when they are below a yr old. I have not faced any of my own dogs having HD before so what I say here is what I think at this point of time. My friend's dog has gone through this HD surgery when he is younger and he is now fine. But has to be careful also for the rest of it's life. It seems that glucosamine helps to lessen the pain and I think it's something to do with helping the cartilage. And I believe natural glucosamine works better..

~Nature's Way: Raw Food for Health ~

~ Pet ID Tags: A MUST For Every Pet! ~