New member to the site. Its great. I emailed Ed about my concern. Im green to Schutzhund training and just started working with my almost 2 year old female German Shepherd. She has moderate to severe hip dysplasia in her right hip. I wont even go into the breeder. Lets just say i was a first time dog buyer and learned the hard way. Anyways, we have been training for about 4 weeks on a steady schedule. i noticed after about a week of training/running/recall she started to bunny hop. Ive started her on Dasuquin(Glucosamine 900mg, sodium chondroitin sulfate 350mg, avocado/soybean 90mg, methylsulfonylmethane 800mg?????? dont know that ingredient) im hoping it will help some. Ed suggested swimming daily. I know he stays really busy so i dont want to hound him with questions. I was wondering how long these swimming sessions should be and will i be able to continue with my training? I dont plan on putting her through the trials but i will be getting another GSD in about 10 weeks that i plan on doing Schutzhund training with and this is great training for me. I just dont want my female to feel left out. She loves retrieving the ball.....she is starting to get used to the tug rope but not near the drive as with the ball. I still want her to be able to have a happy life, i just didnt know if i could continue with her work routine. We are still doing the obedience part. minus the meter jump. has pretty much everything down besides the send out. havent started yet. Sorry for the long post but im worried about her well being in the future.

Edited by Jeremy Moore (07/09/2010 12:02 AM)
Edit reason: spelling

I would consult an orthopedic veterinarian. The degree of dysplasia on that right side if it indeed is severe may make even swimming a painful exercise. How is her left hip?

As much as I hate to say it quality of life for me is a strong consideration with dogs like this. If basic movements are causing continual recurring pain I would find a surgical correction even if it ment a 3 legged dog or doggie wheelchair, a long term pain management strategy (my least favorite solution), or euthanize if there were no solutions that would offer the dog a normal pain free life.

Yikes. Her left hip is fine. This is the first time i have noticed anything with her in the 2 years ive owned her. I didnt know if i was running her too much and she became sore. ive had 2 vets look at the scans and they said she would need surgery in the long run. I cant remember if i put severe or not but they basically said moderate or rated it somehow. Her weight is in check. around 65 pounds. She doesnt bunny hope running to the ball at full speed. Only when in a light "trot". Walking she is fine. There is no way i could put her down. to this point it isnt interferring with her normal life. we played fetch all the time in the backyard and didnt have any problems. I started working with her in the field a few times a day. Do you think that could have something to do with it? Not being used to the physical demand ?. hopefully....maybe? lol. And thanks for the reply/

I think you kind of have your own diagnosis. You have a broken part and have not corrected it yet. When a dog needs surgery IMO it is cruel to wait until she has broken down. She is going lame because you're asking too much of a body ill equipped to supply it. If walking she is fine, then walking is what she needs to do until the joint is repaired. Once she gets to the point where she has destroyed that right hip joint she will start lifting it up more which will put pressure on her left acl. You increase your risk of acl tears when that happens.

Fix the joint while she's young. It'll save you heart ache and $$$ in the long run

I would combine the retrieve with the swimming and let her live her life without the schutzhund. Later years, a soft bed and maybe some pain management as needed.

I went ahead and contacted the vet. Checked out fine. They said she would prob continue the bunny hop during her trot for life. Vet decided the recent training was a little too hard. Wants me to continue walking and swimming until her stamina gets up to par. vet looked at her hip xray again and said it's mild/moderate HD. I won't be doing schutzhund with her but will continue on with obedience training. she is fine walking and doesn't seem to be in pain. We talked about surgery and she said it isn't necessary with her. Since I seen the bunny hopping I have suspended all running immediately. I'll just keep a close eye on her. I'll be able to tell what she can and can't do... I'll just focus on swimming and low impact things until farther along.. Thanks guys and girls. I also got a second opinion from a close friend that is a vet.. I get my male GSD in 10 weeks...Melissa with mild HD would you go ahead and have the surgery done?

Edited by Jeremy Moore (07/10/2010 12:25 AM)
Edit reason: I phone messed up

 Quote: Jeremy Moore

Melissa with mild HD would you go ahead and have the surgery done?

It would really depend on the dog and how mild this mild is and where it fit into my goals for the dog. For instance we have a newfie at work with pretty gnarly mild to moderate HD. For him I wish his owner would have taken care of this when he was lighter and prelimed so he would have the best chance at a normal life. After all if he loses the hip, and throws out is ACL on the opposite knee as a result he doesn't have a hind leg to stand on and lifting a newfie butt for up to six months doesn't really sound like an appealing/realistic prospect. Now that he is an 18 month old it's pretty obvious that up and down bothers him, walking is ok, trotting is near impossible.

We have another dog in shop on occasion who is a bull mastiff who had bad hips and elbows that were all rebuilt at WSU when he was about 13-16 months old. He's three now and his gait is 100% sound, he runs, he jumps, he's pain free.

For my 4 lb papillon unless I was convinced he would be an agility all star probably not. Right now he has grade 1-2 patella luxation in both knees. Because of his weight and that it causes no pain I'm not too concerned about surgically correcting it. If it does progress to that unlikely point of course I'll have it fixed but because his lifestyle and my goal for him is housedog really I just manage his behavior so I don't aggravate the problem.

BTW mild/moderate/severe are part of a big spectrum both in symptoms and behavior.

I'm hoping it's on the mild side like they said. Hell this is the first time I've ever had to deal with this. I know on the last day we trained after 5 minutes of training she went to the car and downed. She was ready to go. That's when I knew something was up.she wouldn't get in the car like she usually does. She would just put her 2 front legs in. After resting for a few days she is back to her normal self now. I'll just make her a house dog and hopefully my next pup I will have better luck. I've done my homework on this one. I will still work with her on certain things and make sure she isn't left out. After all she is my first German Shepherd! Thanks for all the input. I will have tons of questions when I start working my next pup for Schutzhund. I'm a first timer so it will be a challenge for me. Any opinions on Schutzhund: theory and training methods by Susan barwig?
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Edited by Jeremy Moore (07/10/2010 02:41 AM)
Edit reason: iPhone messing up