May 03, 2011

Why do you do hip x-rays when you do them?

Full Question:
I came across your website and was reading your questions and answers about hip xrays, dysplasia, etc. I noticed you mentioned that you prelim your dogs between 6 and 10 months of age. Why those ages?

I prelimed a male weimaraner at 15 months. He came in as mild dysplasia with Subluxation checked off. I called OFA and spoke to the prelim vet, Dr. Keller. He stated that there was No arthritis or change in the ball or socket, but because there was more subluxation in my guys hips than other Weims of his age, he marked it mild. Was 15 months a bad age? Dr. Keller mentioned he has had dogs growing at that timeframe that he marked off mild, and when they got their regular OFA sent in after the 2yr mark, they came in passing. He said my guy could be growing and tighten up in time because the subluxation was all that was noticed. I have put him on Pala-tek just in case this was true. My vet also agreed, as he wasn't sure if my boy would pass or borderline due to the xrays being breed specific. Wasn't sure how they graded Weims. Also, he went through major intestinal surgery at 10months of age. Dropped a ton of weight for about 2-3wks. Didn?t know if this could have something to do with him growing, or ligiments and muscles forming again, etc.

When coming out of the anesthesia from the xrays, he wasn't real normal till the next day. Still droopy tired in the A.M. Normal at dinner time.

Also, have you seen this happen? If so, would you wait a certain time past the 24month mark. His mother OFA Excellent at 30 months. His father Excellent at 24. He has a ton of Excellents and goods, and his brother was prelimed at 11months and came in Good.

Please let me know. This is a multiple BOB dog and I will do anything to possibly have him pass.
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
We xray at the age we do because we don’t want to wait until the dog is 15 or 24 months old to know hip status. If the dog has a problem we want to know earlier, rather than later.

I don’t know what you feed this dog, but I would get him on a raw diet and get him in very good condition before I xrayed him again. I wouldn’t put an age limit on it, but when he was in tip top shape I would re do the films. We all like to see OFA excellent dogs in our dog’s pedigree but it is no guarantee that you will not have a dysplastic dog. Genetics play a role, but so do exercise, diet and environment.

If you search our site on the terms hip dysplasia you will find a lot of information.

Read this article on feeding a raw diet. It’s a work in progress but there is a lot of good information there.

I would also recommend these books, Natural Nutrition for Dogs & Cats and Raw Dog Food.

You can also go to our Feeding Dogs Page for a list of articles and books that will be helpful to you.

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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