Hip Dysplasia/Subluxation

[kathnwes]

Hi,

I have two frenchies - Margeaux is my 3 year old, and my new baby boy, 8 month old Trooper.

Trooper has always seemed to walk a little stiffly on his back legs, and the last month or so it has become more noticeable. I also started to feel his hips clicking in and out of his hip joints when I would pick him up. When I put my hand on his rump while he walks, you can really feel them popping in and out. It is actually visible if you look carefully as he walks.

I took him to my vet and had x-rays taken. His hips are so easily manipulated he did not have to give him any sedative at all to take the x-rays. The ball and joint currently look well formed, however the vet says the tendons apparently are very loose and thus the subluxation. Obviously, over time this is going to cause him problems. He did say that sometimes as they mature, the hips may tighten up, but doubtful. My vet sent the x-rays to a respected orthopedic veterinary clinic. The doctor there says he definitely has subluxation, but the surgery they would normally perform at this age, with no arthritis having yet developed, he would not perform on a french bulldog due to the bulldog build. This is the surgery where they break the pelvis and reposition the hips. The thought of doing that to Trooper if there were any hope of improvement did not sit well with me anyway. There are a couple of other surgeries that could be performed, but their suggestion for now is to wait and see how he does - although in the meantime this will do damage to his joints.

I have been reading through some of the posts where others have had hip problems, specifically from MDENGLUND and her Madison, and I was wondering how Madison has done with her hips the last couple of years - I guess I am looking for hope. Trooper is just the sweetest thing, and extremely mellow, not like his big sister. He's got angel wings and Margeaux has horns ( in a good way though). It just breaks my heart that this sweet innocent little creature is in for a rough time and I hate to think of him suffering most of his life. We take our dogs with us on all of our vacations (we have a yellow lab too) and I want him to be able to join in the fun.

If MDENGLUND happens to come across this post, I would sure like to know how Madison is faring.

Thanks,

Kathy

[kathnwes]

Input from anyone regarding my previous post on this subject would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Kathy

[gmacleod]

Poor guy! It is unusual to be able to take hip xrays without a sedative - as the position required (dog on his back, legs widely spread) is usually quite uncomfortable and few dogs will hold still for that.

I have not had a dog that has ever required such a surgery, so cannot really comment there. However, musculature often plays a large part in how detrimental HD can be - which is one reason that younger dogs are usually less affected than older ones (along with less calcification, of course). In this case, physiotherapy including swimming is often recommended to help build up the muscles around the hips. Perhaps that is something worth speaking with your vet about?

[mdenglund]

Hi, Kathy,

Sorry for not seeing your recent post ~ like you mentioned, things have been awfully busy with the new addition to our family! I am glad you reached out on our other post to get a response; we like to help whenever we are able. I am sorry for your bad news but do your best not to worry about it right now.

Our vet is very well known in caring for Frenchies (they have several themselves and have written books on them). One of there dogs had severe hip dysplasia its whole life and lived a long, healthy life without issues with his hips. They recommended the same thing to us as you are hearing.... wait and see if it hurts him in the future. They recommend this since there is no certainty it will become an issue since Frenchies carry a lot of weight on the front legs. Madison is doing great (and she is not calm and mellow like Trooper). She bolts around the backyard, jumps (although not approved by us), and plays with her older sister like she is perfectly healthy. However, we have done several things to help ensure it does not get worse, including: giving her glucosamine chews daily, keeping her lean, and not letting her jump on and off of furniture (although this is tough to stop since she is a ball of energy).

So, I would say again, don't let it worry you, but do follow those things that we are doing to ensure it doesn’t get worse ~ if you aren’t already, start giving him Glucosamine. We give Madison the Chondro-Flex DS Soft Chews for Dogs. Also, be sure to keep him lean to not put unneeded stress on his joints, and of course try to limit the jumping. Also, our vet recommended never too long of walks, so we try to keep ours under ~ 3/4 mile a day (if that).

Hope this helps! I am sure that Trooper will do great, but if not, there are those surgeries that can help as he gets older.

[kathnwes]

Stacey,

Thank you so very, very much for taking the time out of what I am sure is a very hectic schedule for you right now, to reply to my post. You don't know how much better you have made me feel, honestly, thank you. :) I have hope now. I am going to go out today to get the chews you wrote about - anything I can do to prevent it from causing any more problems, the better.


Fortunately, he does not jump off of the furniture (Margeaux does), he just sits there like a good little man. Thankfully I don't think he is in any pain right now, because he rough-houses with Margeaux and it does not seem to bother him. I am going to start walking him small stretches at a time. I took him for about a half of a mile the other day, and he seemed to be fine. I am thinking swimming would be good for him to build up his muscles in his hind legs. We take our dogs with us on vacation to a lake in the mountains every year for a month - Margeaux is crazy about swimming (her "swimsuit" is a RuffWear life vest). She will swim out as far as our lab does as she is very competitive about toys. People at the resort stop and stare at her because she also retrieves; they jokingly call her a miniature black lab. Anyway, I hope Trooper will like to swim as well, but he is pretty much a Momma's boy.

One thing we are going to invest in is one of those ramps for the dogs to get on and off of our bed by - Margeaux is always jumping off and it is not good for her either.

Stacey, again thanks so much for filling me in on Madison - I feel much better.

Have fun with your new baby. appicon

Kathy