My pup has problems!

Rob O brien

Hey all,

New to boards. Long time reader but first time poster. I was up in Endas park in Rathfarnham yesterday with our two golden retriever pups. (11 and 9 months).

After a swim we were walking back to the car and noticed our pup kevin's back leg had gone lame. we knew we had a problem with this hips and had him on supplements to help with the comfort.

He was striaght to the vet this morning for xrays which have came back showing bilateral hip displacia. he is only nine months old.

We are now waiting on a call from the surgeon who is leaning towards total hip replacement with a specialist coming from zurich.

The costs are going to be phenomenal but will gladly pay to see him Pain free, I only thank that he came home with us as someone else may not be as accommodating.

My question is, what should I do regarding the breeder? kevin is fully registered and have the paperwork to show it. should I contact the breeder to inform them of the problem so it doesnt happen again? do I have any comeback with them regarding what I paid for him? I'm not too worried in respect to the money but I feel strongly for this little guy now and do not want the breeder to get away with it!

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Rob

VonVix

Being fully registered says nothing about your dog other than him being the breed he is, it doesn't mean he has been thoroughly tested as he should have or that he is genetically sound. A lot of breeders will go and say their pups or parents have been "vet checked" but that means nothing other than the vet may have looked them over and considered everything to be in working order, but chances are you won't see the paperwork for that unlike the proper tests that need to be done! It's so important than things such as eyes, elbows and hips have been tested but a lot of breeders won't bother because of the cost. I'd only ever purchase a puppy if I knew that the breeders intent was to better the breed, the cost of tests shouldn't matter.

Perhaps someone could help you and see if you have any comeback with regards your pups health issues with the breeder, but I could imagine there being little or nothing that can be done unfortunately.

Personally I would want to say something to the breeder in question with regards issues like this, but whether or not they care depends on the breeders background. Did you meet the parents? Did you hear anything about hipscores, etc?

Sadly it's one of those things where you live and you learn!

DBB

I'm a wee bit surprised that your vet is going straight for the surgery option when your pup is still so young... now I could be open to correction here and maybe some of our vet nurse regulars here might clarify, but I was under the impression that there are two clinical presentations of hip dysplasia... one that appears in young dogs (4-12 months) but which often resolves itself with time, and one that is chronic (dogs over 15 months) and will affect the dog forever.
I'm not sure how easy it is to diagnose between the two, but thought that vets will tend to wait until an affected youngster is fully grown and matured to see if it will improve, before opting for surgery?
Also, the hip replacement option is an option, but it's not the only one. Hip replacement is fairly recent, before that a very successful femoral head removal was carried out which is much cheaper, and very effective.
I'm just thinking that you're potentially being a little bit railroaded here OP! I'd be inclined to find out more from your vet about the clinical signs and whether your dog could fall into the "he'll grow out of it" category, and whether surgery is (a) absolutely necessary, and/or (b) does it really have to be this very expensive option?

andreac

Sorry to hear about your dog. Do you mind me asking 2 things? Were the parents of your pup hip scored and is your dog insured?

I Def would not be rushing with the expensive option without getting a second opinion. As DBB says there is a slightly cheaper option of femural heads being removed. Did your vet mention that at all?

andreac

I also would contact the breeder and let them know, but unless they are a reputable breeder that health tests their dogs, they probably aren't going to care to be honest.

SillyMangoX

I'm surprised at the suggestion of surgery too, I would imagine in a pup that young which would still have a lot of growing to do it wouldn't be the best option, maybe the vet wouldn't do it untill the pup is fully matured but as the hips haven't fully grown yet, I would imagine the replacements will be outgrown. Maybe I'm wrong I don't have much experience with HD but that's just what line I'd be think. And also yes definitely contact your breeder, the parents should not be bred from again.

ghostmountain

Rob O brien wrote: »

Hey all,

New to boards. Long time reader but first time poster. I was up in Endas park in Rathfarnham yesterday with our two golden retriever pups. (11 and 9 months).

After a swim we were walking back to the car and noticed our pup kevin's back leg had gone lame. we knew we had a problem with this hips and had him on supplements to help with the comfort.

He was striaght to the vet this morning for xrays which have came back showing bilateral hip displacia. he is only nine months old.

We are now waiting on a call from the surgeon who is leaning towards total hip replacement with a specialist coming from zurich.

The costs are going to be phenomenal but will gladly pay to see him Pain free, I only thank that he came home with us as someone else may not be as accommodating.

My question is, what should I do regarding the breeder? kevin is fully registered and have the paperwork to show it. should I contact the breeder to inform them of the problem so it doesnt happen again? do I have any comeback with them regarding what I paid for him? I'm not too worried in respect to the money but I feel strongly for this little guy now and do not want the breeder to get away with it!

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Rob

contact the breeder and let them know, but its all you can do. Unless the breeder has a proper breeding program which would include health tests, they could not foresee the problem with your pup. How did you find this breeder??

when you bought the puppy did the breeder say the parents were hip scored? any health tests done at all? did you see the parents? did they show any signs of a problem with their hips?

Its the harsh reality that a lot of breeders have no idea what they are doing, just breeding their dogs for the sake of a few quid, and they have no idea how to better the breed.
This appears to be the case here, and someone ends up with huge vet bills because of it.

Rob O brien

Hey Thanks for the replies everybody.

We are awaiting the surgeons opinion on the pup which is due in a week but until then he is to be kept in a confined area with little movement allowed. He is quite a big dog already, 30Kg. I only briefly glanced at the discharge sheet as it was my father who owns the dog. Ours play together when possible.

I think the issue is the hip hasn't formed correctly. It is obvious when you look at him. struggles to get up, crosses his hind legs when standing and bunny hops when running.

I'm not sure about the health of the parents I would have to ask the father on that but the pup came registered, chipped, wormed and flea'd as well as vet checked,(which I know realize doesn't mean he is completely healthy).

ghostmountain

Rob O brien wrote: »

Hey Thanks for the replies everybody.

We are awaiting the surgeons opinion on the pup which is due in a week but until then he is to be kept in a confined area with little movement allowed. He is quite a big dog already, 30Kg. I only briefly glanced at the discharge sheet as it was my father who owns the dog. Ours play together when possible.

I think the issue is the hip hasn't formed correctly. It is obvious when you look at him. struggles to get up, crosses his hind legs when standing and bunny hops when running.

I'm not sure about the health of the parents I would have to ask the father on that but the pup came registered, chipped, wormed and flea'd as well as vet checked,(which I know realize doesn't mean he is completely healthy).

No, thats just the basics that anyone would do.
A breeder with a good breeding program will have health tests on the dam and sire to show up any problems which may be common in the breed. If any problems show up, then that dog or bitch should not be bred from as the issue may be hereditary. all these tests cost money, so these breeders often charge more for their pups, but at least you have a better chance at getting a healthier dog, and less chance of having bigger vet bills over the years.

Rob O brien

Yeah I get what your saying. Its just hard seeing him in pain. especially when he sees my dog who is terribly fast and agile. you can tel he wants to be able to keep up and play!