I hope trainers with more experience than myself will answer a question for me concerning HD and how to deal with it...

Here's the background:
My bitch was xrayed at age two and shows to have what OFA indicates is mild HD (unilateral-right, subluxation, shallow acetabula, no rim/edge change). She has well muscled legs.

Because she showed absolutely no sympthoms I continued her training, though took the extra precautions of administring 750 mg/day glucosimine and controlling weight.
A year later she has a pain "episode" right after a protection (b&h only) training session: panting, stands with hunched back, refuses to eat, and runs a fever of 103. The vet takes xrays of the abdomen, back and hips, but finds nothing out of the ordinary, ie, no injury and the HD has not changed from the first film. But given no other indicators, he tells me it's probably the hip acting up. Five days she's been on an anti-inflammatory and rimadyl, and now "seems" to be completely back to normal...that is, when she's off the rimadyl she's got her drive back... while on it she just zones out...!

But What now? The vet refuses to give me any advice on what can be considered a safe level of activity. He shugs his shoulders and says "I have no idea" when I ask if I can continue Sch training. Obviously if the HD were worse than mild I wouldn't be asking about this...but looking at comparison charts on how different countries classify HD just adds to my confusion. (ie, in Germany she would be classified "a" Stamp Noch Zugelassen")

This is not a couch-potato dog, she needs the exercise and I would love to continue with training. But I don't want to cause this animal any pain either; I'm not a professional competitor: she's my house pet.

Others must have faced this situation before...any advice?

First, if you took her temp right after working, 103 wouldn't be a fever, it would be normal. I've had dogs with body temps much higher than that after a bite session. Obviously if you took it later, that might be a different story.

Since she's only had one problem, I'd keep working her and let her tell you what is too much. If she comes off the field in pain again, then I would stop bite work, but there's always the possibility that the problem wasn't related to her hips at all. The classification of the HD really doesn't matter; what matters is how the dog deals with it. I've got one with worse HD than yours and he never has shown a problem (and he's hitting 10 this year). All depends on the individual dog.

What did you mean by she was on anti-inflammatories AND Rimadyl?? Rimadyl is an NSAID (anti-inflammatory). DId the vet give her TWO types of NSAIDs at the same time??

I'll give you the miracle HD treatment.

Swimming, find a way to do it on a regular basis. Three times a week is good.


When you swim think of it as physical therapy. The dog enters the water without any screwing around and swims constant till the session is over. No touching bottom, no jumping around, just swimming.

I stand in the water and wade out a bit, then throw a water kong for as long as the dog can take it. They go out and back, out and back without touching bottom till the session is over.

Robert,
Good post if you exercise the dog in water you will prevent any worsening of the problem,it is the combination of the dogs weight and sharp turns that worsen the condition.
Paul

Thank you for your replies!

Lee, we left the field at about 9:30 and were at the emergency vet about 1 1/2 to 2 hours later (drove 30mins home then 45 minds back again to the nearest all-nite clinic).

The emergency vet took the temp, did abdomen palpitations, and a lot of "hands on' examining, including moving the legs and running deep thumbs down the spine. I deliberately did not mention the mild HD and she actually could not come up with anything definitive because the dog simply didn't react to any of her manipulations. She "thought" the dog may have turned its head on a manipulation of the lower spine, but she said she wasn't sure...So she essentually treated the symptoms: gave the dog a shot of morphine, and sent me home with a 5 day supply of Rimadyl and Tramadol. (I was incorrect in my first note: it was a pain reliever and Rimadyl...NOT two anti-inflamatory meds!)

The next day I took the dog to the local vet for xrays. I don't particularly like this vet but don't have much choice. This rural clinic caters mostly to large animals and my take is they see the cat/dog pet business as a cash cow to support their other clients. The dogs temp was 102 at that point. This vet only looked at the dog walking (did not touch)and declared he couldn't tell anything until he'd done a few xrays. Once he saw the HD, I feel he zeroed in on that and sent me home with instructions to come back for complete blood panal if the dog didn't get better in 3 days. So $179 later, all I got was a film that showed the same mild HD and no answer as to what could have caused the pain!

The dog seems better but I'm paranoid! I keep looking for symptoms and have decided to go ahead with the blood panal because she seems to be doing more frequent urinations (just drops sometimes) than I think is normal. Maybe related to hip pain, or could be something else? I don't know...and this vet is no help.

Robert: I have suggested to hubby we build a pool for the dog. I thought he would laugh me out of the kitchen, but he's actually thinking about it! (wouldn't be just for the dog of course... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> )

The description you give of standing hunched up, NOT showing any particular lameness or problems with manipulations, really make me think low back problem, not hips. My orthopedic surgeon just did a mylegram on my 7 yr old and we found a significantly bulging disc in the lumbar region. It was simple to do and not very expensive. Low back problems abound in GSDs; my orthopod says most of the problems that come to him as suspected hip issues turn out to be low back. Just a thought.

Thanks, Lee. Don't know if this is positive or not though: trading mild HD for lower back problems... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Isn't a mylegram where an injection of dye is put into the spine to identify any compression on the spinal cord? Followed by a CT (at least for humans...)

What little I know about this procedure is that if a one has a problem with the spinal cord the mylegram can irritate it more. That may mean some down time while the dog can't stand.

I'll have to think about this some more.

Can I assume a dog is anesthetized for this procedure? How did it all go with your dog? And what could you do about the results?

Ann,
If you really want the right answer - find a good dog orthopedic surgeon. Spend the couple extra bucks on a proper exam.

I messed w/ my local vet for several months - my PSD still was having problems - located a orthopedic and found the problem - I didn't like it - but at least I know and can properly deal with it.

As far as exercise - as VanCamp mentioned - swimming - I built a farm pond for that reason, plus my wife wanted one too........ during the winter I have made an arrangement with a local motel with an indoor pool - for 2-3 x's a week, about 20-30 minutes of constant swimming.

Good Luck

Yes, the dog is anesthetized for the procedure, and you don't need a CT - just regular xrays. I've had this done with two of my dogs and neither had any kind of problem with the dye; recovery was just a matter of hours, as with any anesthesia. At least once you have a definitive diagnosis, you can tailor your program to the actual, not imagined, needs of the dog.

Mark, you are absolutely right! I need to find a good orthopod. After all, I've already spent over $300 with the emergency visit and xrays combined...and still don't have an answer!
Now that I know what to ask for, ie mylegram, I should have better results.

Thank you all very much. I at least now have some direction to getting this issue resolved.

PS
And I think a pool is a great idea... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
Hubby is actually in favor of this, but of course he has some alterior motives. (pool parties...mmm?)