Hi,

I have a 4 month old Siberian Husky pup. Lately she's had some problems and I would appreciate any helpful feedback on the subject.

Her hind legs appear to be very weak. Whenever she is on a slippery surface her back legs spread almost like she's doing the splits. When she runs, she bunny hops and constantly falls on her behind. She cannot climb stairs or jump down from very high. Sometimes she just falls down on her butt like she's just tired.

I took her to the emergency vet one night and they scared the living daylights out of me by saying this was neurological and most likely caused by distemper.(She has had her first 2 sets of shots) However my pup doesn't seize or act as if she is in pain. She's a happy normal buttheaded pup and you'd never know anything was wrong with her by her behavior. I took her to the regular vet for a follow up as suggested and they did some tests and she did have some roundworms and another parasite and they treated her for this. But both of the attending vets said that they didn't think it was distemper as she doesn't seize, has HEALTHY appetite and she doesn't ACT SICK AT ALL. She's very intelligent and well behaved, so no mental problems. The vet finally said that this MAY be diplasia but it could also be a growth problem and she may grow out of it, again this was due to the fact that she acts completely normal and active. They gave me some calcium, science diet and vitamins so as maybe to help support healthy skelatal development. Has anyone ever heard or experienced anything like this. I'm wanting togo back and get my money back, though I refuse to give Nakota back as I'm, of course, already very attached to her. Any advise????bg

If I were you I would bring her to an orthopedic vet. If you bring her to your regular vet and he does x-rays and tells you the dog has HD, if he is reputable he will refer you to an ortho anyway. The ortho vet do the correct hip positioning. He will take another set of x-rays, then you end up paying twice for pics. If it is HD than you want a specialist for an opinion.

As far as the slippery surface goes, are her nails short?? Also, the bunny hop in indicative of HD. The falling down on her but may mean it is hurting to run. Dogs don't always show pain the way humans do. Good luck.

I'd wait, she's growing too fast to put thru xrays.
There is such a thing as growing pains, and at this point,
it's like corn in July. Massage her, see if she doesn't
enjoy less it on one side or the other, do her whole spine,
it's pleasant for both of you, and can't hurt, might indicate if it's left or right. At this age, as clutzy as
they can be, a strain is not out of the question either.
If she's eating,drinking, eliminating ok, and mobile, count
your blessings. It's hard to get used to a body when every time you wake up, it's bigger!

She is more than old enough to be x-rayed. Go have it done so you can quit guessing. No amount of calcium, or vitamins is going to help if she is displastic.

I would have her x-rayed. However, my friend's GSD has sore legs when excersized too much!

1. You should limit the slippery surfaces as much as possible.
2. You shouldn't let her jump much at all, specially from higher surfaces down.

Both these things can and do aggrevate and can cause hd.
Also, read Ed's puppy diet. If possible switch to raw and supplement with the supplements listed. This will allow the dog to grow at the proper rate.
I'd also get a hip xray from a specialist. He'll be able to see if there are problems and help you decide how you want to handle them.

Good luck!