# 1 year old with hip dysplasia



## bowlingvizsla (May 22, 2012)

Hi everyone, I want to introduce everyone to Hunter, my first Vizsla. My sister originally purchased him from Fetch (a puppy store GAHH). When she decided he wasn't the right dog for her (booo) "auntie lizz" stepped in. So, he is mine now. I love him and he is an amazing companion! The problem is he has TERRIBLE hip dysplasia and he is only a year old. He can't hardly squat to use the restroom, sometimes limps around, and can't go on nice long walks or runs like a Vizsla would so love to do. Fetch is worthless because since he is a year old they wont do anything for him - our "guarantee" is up. So... I was wondering what advice or experiences you all have had with hip dysplasia. Thank you everyone!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

You can look at the posts from Emily1970 on this forum. Her pup is around the same age and has under gone surgery to fix his hips.
Have you had his hips xrayed or are you going by his symptoms?
I believe your vet would be the best person to give you the options for helping him.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

I am so sorry to hear that Hunter has HD so early in life, it really is sad.

You need to contact Emily1970 with Riley (See "Riley Update) - poor Riley has recently had both hips replaced having severe HD. Poor Riley and Emily are having a rough time of it at the moment, but I guess you have to ask yourself what the alternative is if Hunter is to have a reason life. You didn't say whether both hips were affected.

Hopefully you will get some help and advise from Emily. Good Luck to you both.


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## Beachrat (Dec 1, 2010)

I don't know where you are in the diagnostic process. Our brief history, he started limping on occasion after intense exercise, our vet xrayed him and saw the malformation. Only one hip is bad. We went to a specialty hospital, they confirmed. We got a second opinion about what would be the best treatment. If it is dysplasia and not something else there are some stop gap measures (nutritional support, hydrotherapy, massage and accupuncture, anti-inflammatories and pain meds) you can use. The only real "cures" are surgical. You can google it for a desciption of the different surgeries. Our 2 year old is 3 weeks post total hip replacement. We have high hopes that in a couple months we will have a happy, healthy V whose new hip will last his lifetime. It isn't cheap and the recuperation period is intense. Let me put it this way. Henry has not been alone for three weeks, not for one minute. He is either in a crate, where we have to watch him, at first so he didn't lick his incision and now so that he doesn't roll over and wiggle his legs in the air -- or he is attached to one of us on a two foot lead. We will soon gradually increase his walk times which are limited to 5 minutes for the first month as few times a day as possible. The biggest challenge is to keep him entertained when he is crated and to keep him from running or jumping when he is out. He has to have this limited movement for 3 MONTHS. I was waiting to write a summary of our experience until it was over, but I will say at this point we are encouraged and hopeful. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer as best I can.


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## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

Beachrat summed it up nicely. It is expensive, but it's going to be worth it in the long run. We only had 2 choices basically. Surgery or he would be crippled within a year and the vet said the most humane thing at that point would be to put him down because his was bad enough it couldn't be managed with meds. We are almost 3 weeks post surgery on the 2nd surgery and we haven't done anything but be with him 24 hours a day (taking turns) since the end of March when it all started. The sacrifices are all well worth having our little boy 100 percent again. Hope all is going well Beachrat and you had a nice trip!


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## Beachrat (Dec 1, 2010)

It is almost worrisome how good Henry is being about his confinement. He is thrilled to go out, but then willingly "kennels up." I can't imagine what he must think about this turn of events. I had a nice four days off but the Sunday I got back he started limping and we were SICK with worry. We had to wait until Monday a.m. for him to fast and get an xray and the vet said the xray looked great and he must just be sore. He is off all meds, both pain and anti-inflammatory. (I am not sure why we are going that route, but it is per instructions.) We are now exactly one quarter of the way through....How is Riley today?!


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