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Hip dysplasia?

Elizabeth Balcomb

Well-Known Member
Hi everyone , Lupos (2 years) hips have clicked from very young. When we play tug and he makes a certain move, they click, and I think the right more than the left. If I put my hand on them when he is trotting, I feel clicking.
He is well muscled, but a couple of months back I noticed that the muscles in his right thigh are slightly smaller than his left. I have started exercising him more, and I think its improved. His parents weren't x rayed. There are very few breeders breeding cc s in this country, and I don't think any of them do x Ray's. He shows no pain. No limping. I feel that I need to keep him strong and intact and make sure he stays slim, and he should be fine his whole life right? I have read stuff to confirm this, also Marke you have had similar experiences?
Can I assume he is displastic? Or could they be good hips?
 

marke

Well-Known Member
i always assume they're dysplastic unless i've seen otherwise ....... i think if he were badly dysplastic you would have seen it around 10-12months ...... one leg more developed than the other can be an indication , usually in dysplastic dogs they shift the weight to the front and their rear as a whole atrophies ...... dogs do have a dominant leg just as people have a dominant hand .... often they'll take a skip step to use their dominant leg to drive off , if a dog is dominant right foot , the left hip will be the leg they want to push off with ..... in my dogs the ones that were unilaterally dysplastic has always been in the left hip , as it took more impact than the right ..... i have known some really severely dysplastic dogs and clicking wasn't a symptom ........ i personally think the clicking most people are hearing/feeling are more than likely tendons .......... keeping him intact , light , and conditioned is what i would do , it's really all anyone can do .... i'm of the opinion if i keep my pups from getting djd and exercised for the first 8-9 months , they're going to do real well for the rest of their lives .......
 

TylerDurden

Well-Known Member
We observed something very similar in our EM when he was about one. I could never fully locate where the clicking was coming from, but I feel like it could have been hips, knees or even paws. We took him to an orthopedic surgeon for xrays and physical evaluation. The doctor could not find anything wrong and the xrays did not show anything either (read by the surgeon and an independent radiologist). The images were posted here as well and reviewed by @marke .
Back then, our biggest concern was HD as well. The hips turned out to be fine as well as all other bones, ligaments etc. He has never had any issues walking, getting up or anything like that. The clicking really was the only symptom (no other indicators). He‘s three now. From time to time, I can still hear it when he makes sudden turns, for example.
Again, never any signs of pain or discomfort. I guess xrays would be the only way to tell for sure. Regardless, if the dog does not show any symptoms, the vets are probably not going to do anything. The orthopedic surgeon said we could give glucosamine, fish oil etc for prevention, which we had been doing anyway.
Can you tell for sure that it is coming from the hips only?
 

Elizabeth Balcomb

Well-Known Member
Thanks so much Marke and Tyler, this puts my mind at rest. Yes, the clicking definitely comes from his hips, no doubt. My human child has tendons that are very elastic in his legs, so his legs bow backwards. Hypermobile. The physio said the best thing was to build good muscle. I also thought perhaps with lupo it could be something like this. I am giving him fish and flax seed oil and a joint suppliment, green lipped mussel and he is in overall great condition. He certainly has none of the usual displasia symptoms. His thighs are very well muscled and he shows no pain at all. He does skip occassionally when he runs, so definitely has a leading leg. I've never had a dog with displasia so wasn't sure if clicking was a symptom. Thank you so much for your time.