Giant breed puppy hip question

[mama23+pyrs2]

Do your vets check your pups hips at each visit? At my pups first visit she checked their hips seemingly thoroughly and said she would be doing that at every subsequent visit to get an idea of how they were or if any differences pop up. She said the male's hips were fine and the female's- she said she felt a little 'crakling' in the left one. But said it can't really tell her anything until she does several checks and an eventual x-ray to know for sure how they are.

I came home and emailed my breeder about it and she hadn't heard of crackling before, hadn't had any hip issues from other puppies but had me start her on Ester C as a preventative if anything were going wrong.. She also said her vet said things aren't in the place they are going to end up now, which is why they wait til they are 2 to get OFA certification. .

My vet didn't do a hip check at the 2nd visit but I've been paranoid about it ever since. Anyone been told this and things turn out fine? Or any other experiences you can relate?

[schelmischekitty]

this may just be how our vet works BUT...  our vet before we moved did do hip and elbow checks at EVERY vet check from the day we got axle at 9 weeks of age.  he explained to me, that they would rather check them every time just to see what was going on and take notes to help catch any problems, than not check until they are older and have a horrible problem that nobody had seen earlier.  that way, if they have problems, they can start a "plan of action" to keep things in check so they don't get completely out of control or to decide on an early treatment plan.  he related it to breast cancer (not the actual condition, just in the checks) in that you check on a regular basis even if you don't show signs, that way the second you do show a problem you can catch it right away and figure out what you want to do before it gets out of control.  unfortunately with axle, they found problems at 6 months and it has gotten worst, but not as bad as if we didn't know about it and had let him romp and play and if we had pushed him super hard not knowing.

[mama23+pyrs2]

Well that seems like the best way to go about it. I think my vet slipped by not checking again but I was planning on switching vets after that visit so I didn't push the issue. I'd like them to be checked at each one so I'll just request that at the next vet if they don't already do that.

[schelmischekitty]

most vets don't have a problem doing it.  if they forget, if you just ask nicely to check "just to be safe" they'll do it with no problem usually.  some vets have different ways of doing things, and some vets aren't really experienced with large/giant breed dogs and sometimes don't know how to go about things.  i've found that if you put an ad on craigslist asking large breed dog owners for help finding a vet, they'll usually e-mail you and give names of vets who they go to with their big paws.

[mama23+pyrs2]

most vets don't have a problem doing it.  if they forget, if you just ask nicely to check "just to be safe" they'll do it with no problem usually.  some vets have different ways of doing things, and some vets aren't really experienced with large/giant breed dogs and sometimes don't know how to go about things.  i've found that if you put an ad on craigslist asking large breed dog owners for help finding a vet, they'll usually e-mail you and give names of vets who they go to with their big paws.

Oh, very good idea! Thank you, I never thought of doing that. I've been wanting to get recommendation s but really don't have any friends or anything that live here. I didn't know where to start short of picking randomly and finding out who I don't like.

I just didn't get a good feeling from my vet from the get go and she's also very adamant about removing their dewclaws which I don't want either. Anyway maybe she's good but it seems a lot of things have slipped.

[schelmischekitty]

i'm the same way, we recently moved here and i haven't gotten to know too many people.  i put the ad on craigslist and i got a great vet.  another idea might be to contact any large breed rescues in your area and ask them for a vet recommendation .

[Anakalia]

I've had horrible luck with a few vets in our area.  You and your vet need to understand each other 100%!  If you don't feel comfortable with him/her, look around until you find one that you feel comfortable keeping in close contact with.  The vets I have now work together but they're all great, I can call and ask them a question day or night, they're wonderful. Putting an ad on Craigslist is a wonderful idea, great place to start!

[mama23+pyrs2]

thanks! i just put an ad up so hopefully i'll get some responses!

[CrazyLoveRosie]

At Rosie's last vet check-up, I told the vet I was noticing a faint popping sound coming from Rosie's left hip. He said there really is no way to tell for certain if something is wrong unless he does an x-ray. She wasn't limping or showing any signs of discomfort when she walked or ran. So he said it may be her knee, like when people's knees pop sometimes. Either way, we have her on glucosamine, chondroitin, and vitamin C, just in case as a preventative. Her parents were all certified with good elbows and hips and no one in her litter has had problems.

Has anyone ever heard a similar popping sound from your big paw's hip/elbow area?

[mama23+pyrs2]

At Rosie's last vet check-up, I told the vet I was noticing a faint popping sound coming from Rosie's left hip. He said there really is no way to tell for certain if something is wrong unless he does an x-ray. She wasn't limping or showing any signs of discomfort when she walked or ran. So he said it may be her knee, like when people's knees pop sometimes. Either way, we have her on glucosamine, chondroitin, and vitamin C, just in case as a preventative. Her parents were all certified with good elbows and hips and no one in her litter has had problems.

Has anyone ever heard a similar popping sound from your big paw's hip/elbow area?

no, no one else..well none of us have heard any audible sounds coming from her at all. the crackling the vet found said she felt it and i definitely didn't hear anything then either. i would think hearing it would be worse than feeling it but what do i know. their parents hips are clear, i know that, but anythings possible. she is the smaller of the 2 and you'd think if one of them would have an issue it would be the larger/heavier one but she's had several problems and she was underweight when i got her too. she's doing much better these days!

[mama23+pyrs2]

Okay well I just found out that my craigslist ad was flagged and taken down! I don't know what I did wrong, I've only used craigslist twice so maybe I'm an idiot but I didn't think it was rocket science. I posted under 'pet's maybe that was my mistake? where did you post when you looked for a vet?

[VdogLover]

http://www.vetratingz.com/index2.jsp

Can also check this site when looking for a new vet.

[VdogLover]

Has anyone ever heard a similar popping sound from your big paw's hip/elbow area?

Lucci had a popping/clicking sound when she would trot long before she was x-rayed at age 2 and found to be dysplastic. With May (also has HD) I just started hearing popping/clicking in the last month or so.
 With Lucci we were unable to cause the clicking manually so the vet was not sure if it was a hip or a knee problem. The x-rays however cleared that up.

[mama23+pyrs2]

http://www.vetratingz.com/index2.jsp

Can also check this site when looking for a new vet.

hey thanks! i'm gonna check that out now.

[bluskygirl]

When Bella was a few months younger, her hip would make a clicking sound whenever she was laying down and scratching her ear. It freaked me out, but it has since gone. She's never exhibite any signs of pain or problems runnign and playing, so I attributed it to something similar to the air that gets trapped in joints (like the pop sound that you hear when you crack your knuckles).  Since I haven't heard it for months now, I don't worry so much about it.