# HELP WITH HIPS!



## irvinaca (Aug 8, 2010)

Hi, can anyone offer any ideas with the following please - i'm horrendously worried about Luda, who is now just over 1 - 

The history is that about 2mnths ago on the way back from a standard walk, she seemed to be shuffling slightly on her back legs. It was quite slight because when i mentioned it to other people, no one else could see it. I thought i was going loopy, and she also would every once in a while drag her foot slightly ( i would hear the claws scrape).

This has been pretty much consistent, with it turning into more of an obvious limp in her back legs if she has more exercise.

She shows no obvious pain reactions when you manipulate her back legs / hips. But she does obviously have very loose ligaments as she splays her hips open when she lies down and sits (frog sit).

Last weekend she got considerably worse and started bunny hopping when she ran (both back legs going forward at the same time).

Today she has had an xray of her hips done to check for hip dysplasia, and oddly enough, it all looks solid and normal. It's been sent to a specialist, but our standard vet thought they were fine. They also don't pop out of the socket at all.

So, has anyone got any idea what this could be or what we should do to help? Obviously we'll continue down the medical route, but i thought it worth seeing what other vizsla owners thought from their own experience. Any comments much appreciated. Many thanks!


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

I have nothing of value to add  None the less, I hope you find answers for Luda! I'm sure you are worried, and I hope someone here or your vet can help. I will keep y'all in my thoughts. Best wishes for a most positive outcome


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Does the vet have experience with this? V's are prone to bad hips and I would get a second opinion ASAP.


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## irvinaca (Aug 8, 2010)

Thank you for your replies and kind wishes. I'm going to see what the specialist says about the xrays and take it from there - not heard today and so going to be waiting until Monday now :-(. It just seems from her symptoms that it fits so perfectly with being hip dysplasia that i'm struggling to accept the initial (not very experienced) vet's thoughts.

I should have mentioned also her parents were both HIP scored and were both low and at a level suitable for breeding stock, so we may have just got very very unlucky.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

A dog with Lime Disease will show up with arthritic or lame symptoms. An experienced Vet will not stop until he/she gets to the cause. I have had dogs with bad hips. Most important is that you identify the issue with certainty ASAP.


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## irvinaca (Aug 8, 2010)

I've had a look into that and it does sound about right symptom wise, i'll keep that in mind so thank you very much. She is a city dog however (with a lot of big parks and woods around us though) so i would have thought her a lot less likely to come across ticks than many other dogs.

She's very sore and sorry for herself today after all the vet's messing around with her hips!


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## vinnie (Nov 24, 2009)

Hi

When my vizsla was six months old she had something very similar. I took her out and she was bunny hopping and not her usual self. I took her to the vet and they started quoting about 800 pounds for x-rays etc talking about serious hip issues. I then took her to another vet who gave her some anti inflamatorys and told me to rest her as much as possible. Within three days she was back to her self. The second vet said that it was probably a pulled muscle as she was usually crazy. I cant remember the name of the drugs but it might be less serious that first thought. I hope you find its a pulled muscle too.


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## irvinaca (Aug 8, 2010)

Hi Vinnie, that has really given me a glimmer of hope in what has otherwise been a very worrying situation. The vet gave me some anti-inflammatories and i decided to virtually stop exercising her for a few days just to see what would happen. So far, she does seem to be moving well as she trots around the house, so fingers crossed....

The thing which makes me think that it may not be that though is that it has lasted for a good couple of months though, would that happen if i'd just not allowed pulled muscles to heal?


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## vinnie (Nov 24, 2009)

Hi

Any update with your Vizsla?


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