Im really worried

[kate.jardine]

Just back from vet with dakota.He has been a bit stiff lately and finds it hard to get up after sleeping or when he sits down.A couple of weeks ago i got norocarp tablets to see if it would help and it did for a while.Two days ago he started to get quite stiff again and his claws on his two back legs started to bleed,I thought maybe he had hanked them on something and bathed them with salt water and tried to bandage them but didnt help.Anyway today the vet has given him another course of norocarp tablets and he wants him to have an xray tomorrow morning he said his claws were bleeding because he has been dragging his back legs and his words said it didnt look too good.He mentioned hip dislexia and asked if i was insured as it could be costly.It just seems so unfair he is only a baby and to think he should be full of energy and bounding around and cant.When i asked if it was his hips and could it be fixed he replied sometimes.Has anyone had similar thing happen to their dog .

[Nicole]

Its hip dysplasia, and there is tons of information here and on the web. Although I haven't personally experienced this, many of our members here have. Its quite common in the large/giant breeds. It is treatable usually via surgery, and is quite expensive. However, I think (and I know someone will correct me if I'm wrong) that with a Newf, they don't stop growing until age 2, so there wouldn't be anything that you could do until then. Has your vet had much experience with giant breed dogs? If not, I would look for a vet that has.

I don't claim to be an expert here..haha...b y ANY means...but he looks young, so I'm wondering if the stiffness, back leg dragging thing could be more from something other than HD. (hip dysplasia) Look around here, there are a ton of threads about this topic. I'm thinking something like an ACL tear? Or OC. OC is osteochondrosi s and affects puppies that are around 6- 10 months of age.

Here, look at this site:
http://www.tamu.edu/univrel/aggiedaily/news/stories/02/121902-3.html

Also, look at this website:

http://www.offa.org/

***MODIFIED TO ADD WEBSITE***

[Kermit]

I am so sorry to hear of your dog's hips not doing well!

My dog Nigel (a Saint Bernard/Bloodhound/boxer mix) has really bad genetics when it comes to hips... two of his brothers were diagnosed with hip dysplasia and several other of his littermates have a lot of trouble getting around. Since I found out when he was still a puppy, I have kept him on some supplements which I believe help a lot. The first one is vitamin C, I give it to him twice a day. The second is glucosamine, and the third is MSM. So far, so good with my Nigel.

A friend of mine has a shepherd diagnosed with very bad hip dysplasia. Since she started giving vitamin C and glucosamine, her dog Napoleon has been getting around great. Her vet couldn't believe the improvements, and told her to "keep on doing whatever you are doing, 'cause it is working!!!"

Best of luck to you whatever you decide to do, and know that you are not alone.

[Miranda]

Laika had major problems when she was about three months old. The vets thought it was hip dysplasia and took tons of x-rays, but it turned out to be just growing pains. She was growing way too fast for her own good. As soon as she got out of that particular major growths spurt, it all went away. Since I'm gearing up for her next major growth spurt any day now, I'm giving her vitamins.

[kate.jardine]

thanks for all your advice.I will certainly try giving vitamins and glucosamine,hopefully this will be all he needs.Ill let you know what vet says tomorrow if i get results of xray.