Dutch Shepherd Forum

these are photos of Xander's hips. vet pointed out the obvious that one is ''good'' [ do you agree?] and one is not so good, but she said that it is ok and nothing to worry about. but i do worry --- and the reason i got the X-rays in the first place was that i thought i noticed occasional weakness in his hindquarters.

is the vet right or are my suspicions right that this one hip IS a problem - at least in a DS that does not know when to let-up. and aside from oils, glucosamine, and Vit-C, what else should i be doing for him, if anything?

also included some pics of spine in case anybody can spot anything unusual.

thank you very much.

I don't know much about reading the spine, but I don't see anything that jumps out at me or anything that looks like the problems on Odin's spine.

As for the hips, the left hip looks shallow, and the femoral heads look flattened on the right hip. The positioning isn't that great though. Those knees don't look to be rotated at all and with what looks like a cylindrical positioning tube? (never seen or used one), I'd question if the vet/tech pulled the legs out enough to really know how subluxated that left one is. Without the knees rotated, the flattening might just be an illusion based on the angle they're presented at; I wouldn't worry about the flattening at all. If you're really interested in knowing 100% how bad that left hip is, you need to reshoot with better positioning.

I wouldn't breed a dog based on poor positioning, but for pet diagnostic x-rays, nothing is really jumping out as being horrible or needing surgery and if you're already doing some supplements, or plan to do them, nothing would change treatment wise. If you're worried about proper placement, send the hips to anyone interested so they can evaluate for themselves.

How old is Xander? With just the shallow socket, I'd not hesitate to put him in a pet home with regular activity. He probably would do fine with agility or dock diving too. I've seen worse hips actually compete in agility. It's really about how the individual dog handles it. I'd run him as long as he didn't show outward signs of pain or hesitation. Even Odin has gone back to agility once a week and just jumps at a lower height.

Since you're not breeding him and he's not doing high levels of hard hitting sports (i.e. bite work or IPO/Ring obedience jumping), I don't think there's a ton to be worried about. You could get them repeated with better positioning and sent into OFA if you're looking for a second opinion, or get Penn Hip done.

thank you so much, Stephanie.
i think you answered my question[s], which was primarily was his condition such that he should be kept from his natural hard play and other activities such as agility.

he already [ always has ] restrains himself from jumping into the air for balls, frisbees, etc. - no wild acrobatics for him. and he is even reticent about standing on his hind legs, though he makes an exception for greetings at the fence or my home-coming.

so i will just continue his full complement of hip/joint/tendon-friendly supplements every day - vitamin c, algae and fish-based oils, glucasamine & chondroiten. IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE THAT HE SHOULD BE GETTING IN HIS DIET?

again, really appreciate getting your opinion! i am glad to hear that he does not need special attention or restraint beyond what exists now.

neglected to answer question re Xander's age; he is 1 year and 9 mos. however, these x-rays were taken 1 year ago just before i got sidelined; so the x-rays are him at 9 mos.

because even as a puppy his back-end seemed not quite solid [and he seemed cautious about putting strain on it in terms of him ruling out the normal acrobatic stunts of DS], i have always had him on full, older-age doses of ingredients that will help protect his joints.

Your supplements sound adequate. Does the glu/chron have MSM too? I dose with extra MSM in addition to what's in Odin's normal joint supplement since it really has no upper limit and provides a lot of other health benefits and anti-inflammatory properties. Elli gets just MSM in addition to her fish oil and vitamin D since she doesn't have any pre-existing conditions. I've also seen studies where it has prevented and cured giardia and with beach goers that's a big plus for me.

oh thanks!

it does have msm, but i have known absolutely nothing about msm so i appreciate your attention to it - especially that more will do no harm.