I also agree that is just may be bulldog hips yoru seeing and an unfamilar vet with bulldogs. She is young and to decide that from 1 vet scares me off. I mean soemthing like that at young age I would want a 2nd opinion from a known bulldog vet. There is a difference in a god bulldog vet and a regular vet for sure. It also sounds like she simply sprained or injured something recently, perhaps jumping off a bed, couch or a number of things and you may not even know she did it or seen her do it. If this HD was that bad you would have seen it from the start this young. I just don't feel based on the info it is a severe case of HD, but rather a injury or sprain and an unfamilar vet looking at the dog. good luck

Cary,
Have you try to have a second opinion , Is your vet a Bulldog Vet and is he or she a hip specialist ? Bulldog is not a perfect breed when it comes to the hips , bulldog is always dysplastic when it comes to the hips . Is your puppy a little bit overweight? if so change the puppy's food into adult one .Is your puppy in pain @ this time ? coz there is a time when bulldogs are growing ,they called the TERM GROWING PAIN and they do change and growing so fast and some of the bones and muscle grows fast than some parts of their bodies like joint ligament etc . hoping this will help you a bit

this is to young to diagnose her with these problems. Does he want to do a tpo?

why does he think she needs to have surg, is she limping. most vets dont know jack about bulldogs.

Vicky Bosco & Bella

Bulldog Club of Greater Seattle

http://www.rainyday.net/bcgs

I would be forever in your debt. I am going for a second opinion this afternoon and will let you know the results.

Thank you for your help.

Cary

Cary - I am going to U of Penn today to visit Georgia. I am going to ask whomever I can there for you. If this surgery is happenning and is a good thing - I am sure they do it there.
Kris

but my prayers and positive thoughts go out to you..I'm sure someone here will have a better answer..also did you post on the medical board for even more replies?blessings...ce

something like this. The vet told her that he should be sent back to the breeder because at 1 year old he will not be able to walk. She was in tears, she went to a ortho vet who sees many bulldogs and he said the hips were some of the best her had cert.

I agree with Patti, GET ANOTHER OPINION.... Sounds more like a knee inj. to me

Vicky Bosco & Bella

Bulldog Club of Greater Seattle

http://www.rainyday.net/bcgs

i am no vet, but i would crate her for a few days and see how she does. He could have injured her knee or having growing pains. Alot of bulldogs go through growing pains.



Vicky Bosco & Bella

Bulldog Club of Greater Seattle

http://www.rainyday.net/bcgs

This might be the same procedure my vet explained to me he is doing. Without pictures, it's hard to describe in words. But, the femur of the bone is like a ball on the end, and should be nice and round. It is to sit inside the half circle opening of the hip socket. With HD, sometimes the socket is almost "flat", rather than a circle, and sometimes the femur is totally "outside" the socket area. But, this is why with the Bulldogs' muscle mass, they can still "hold" things together whereas with another breed it is a more severe problem.

The pelvic area of course, is like a "roof" over the house of the hips. This new surgery, which is laproscopic, so it is less invasive, causes the pelvic bone to grow more downward, sloping, say like an A-frame cabin. Thus, it holds in the hip socket.

However, I still think your pups hips are probably fine, and you will find it is one of the other problems. Does she play really rough and is active? Do you have older, larger dogs that can get "rough" with her? If so, these are things that can cause a little injury. But, as far as jumping off, etc., the thing about bruising the growth plate, sometimes it causes permanent damage where they will always have a limp, or even affect the growth of the leg and it will be up to an inch or so shorter than the other.

That is great information - thank you for sharing it with me. I will definately hold off with the surgery for a bit until a get an opinion from a bulldog-knowledgable vet that tells me Rudy's hips are abnormal even for a bulldog.

One question - have you ever heard of the JPS (juvenile pubic symphysidesis) procedure? Apparently it removes cartilage cells in the pelvis to prevent future growth of cartilage in the socket (i.e. leaving more room for the ball joint.

Thank you for your help

I agree with Patti, also this pup is only 4 1/2 months old and the bones are not nearly finished forming until they are closer to 1 year, plus it may just be a sprain or growing spurt. Go see a vet that sees a lot of Bulldogs.

You mention that the problem came up because your dog was limping an not putting weight on a rear leg. If the dog had such severe HD you would have been seeing symptoms all along, weak rear, the movement, unable to stand on hind legs, etc. And, if you had been going to this vet from the beginning, just in examining the puppy he should have been able to ascertain that the hips were popping and very loose.

Almost all Bulldogs have HD to a degree. That is why Bulldogs are listed as having the highest percentage of HD by the OFA...and so few in comparison to other breeds are OFA certified. It is not saying that we should ignore HD, but should only try breeding the best to the best to try to eliminate it.

However, probably at least 50% of Bulldogs have HD to a degree that a vet unfamiliar with Bulldogs would say it needs surgery. If it was another breed, that would be true. However, with a Bulldog having the muscle mass they have, it usually doesn't present a problem. This is not saying that there is some Bulldogs that have such severe HD that surgery is the only option in order for the dog to have a relatively normal life.

And, there is a new procedure that is being used to correct HD early on. I shouldn't say "correct", but make the dog more comfortable. My vet is doing it here in Las Vegas. However, it is with other breeds that severe HD is far more crippling. You must do it when they are young, probably by the age of your dog. What they do is somewhat "break" the pelvic bone so that it will slope downward more, thus holding in and encasing the hip sockets. This then prevents the hips from popping out, etc. I know I'm probably not explaining it totally right, but it is very promising surgery, and very minor compared to the way that has been done for years on an older dog in hip replacement...

However, from what you are telling me, I would venture to guess that your dog might have a cruciate problem, a patella problem, or by jumping off a sofa or bed bruised a growth plate. These are more common reasons for the sudden limping and not bearing weight on a rear leg. Then when you take the dog in, the vet automatically x-rays the hips and says, "oh your dog has bad HD".... Keep total crate rest, limit any activity, give it a couple of weeks, and you'll probably seen a great improvement. And before you make any decision, get a second opinion from a vet that has seen a lot of Bulldogs.

n\m

The vet is definately not a bulldog speacialist, but they first also thouhght that it was growing pains. They said that the xrays showed very clear and severe of poor formation. The next step is to take her to a hip specialist.

I am not sure what a tpo is, but Ruby has a very severe limp when I came home yesterday. She was not putting any weight on the leg (left hind leg). The vet said that the x-rays showed that the ball and socket joint was not formed properly.

I would be forever in your debt. I am going for a second opinion this afternoon and will let you know the results.

Thank you for your help.

Cary