Monah

Mine get rewarded EVERY time they come when called.

Sorry my post ended up in Cavaliers post!! sorry sorry sorry. Mine starts at THAT IS CORRECT..... I really apologise, god knows what I did there!

I was told there is no guarantee of no arthritis later on, and also that xrays are only a tool in deciding on surgery as the xrays can look awful, but the dog may be better than the xrays suggest. Mine is an example as her xrays are just horrific. Every vet is different and obviously they have examined the dog and know what they are doing. You cannot get arthritis in a hip that has had a total hip replacement. After the surgery the joint is an artificial metal joint. There is no "cartilage on cartilage" joint to form any arthritis. Chiara - your specialist is correct in saying there will be no arthritis in the hips later on in life - it is physically impossible for the arthritis to develop! Yes that is correct, no arthritis in the HIP, but the op does not prevent arthritis. When there is hip dis. the arthritis is very often in the spine. I read into it that the vet said NO arthritis, meaning anywhere anytime, which is not right. If you are expecting a dog not to be affected with arthritis later on, and this is taken into account for having the op, it is not the case. It is better to have everything out in the open when such a large op is being done, and specifics are very important. One of my dogs ended up having very bad arthritis in her front legs and joints!!! So much for the hips! Good luck with Hugo. We are considering total hip replacement for our 4 year old German Shepherd boy. Managing him conservatively at the moment, but his xrays were no where near as bad as Hugos by the sounds of it.

I was told there is no guarantee of no arthritis later on, and also that xrays are only a tool in deciding on surgery as the xrays can look awful, but the dog may be better than the xrays suggest. Mine is an example as her xrays are just horrific. Every vet is different and obviously they have examined the dog and know what they are doing. However, I do think, from my limited!!!! experience, that it is very important to see what movement there is in the legs, flexibility, how they walk, run, etc. which can only be done in 10 minute or so sessions OUTDOORS so the vet can see from a distance. Ours spent two sessions of over 10 mins each doing this and rechecks at every appointment. Also how they get up etc. Pain levels by manipulating the legs and back. Our girl has a lot more movement in the back end than she did at one yr. , two years etc. Now at nearly 3 yrs there is more improvement again. Of course, I expect this will go the other way when she is older, but I know of dogs who are still fine with no surgery at 12 yrs of age and only go downhill a lot later, when many dogs without HD would also go the same way. It's a hard decision for any dog owner and we can only go by what we are told. I'm sure it will make life better and more comfortable for Chiaras dog. It will jsut be a tough recovery period. I'm hoping the stemcell therapy will be readily available when my girl is a little older as that is the path I intend to take when we need it.

OH dear! When are you thinking of having the first op? Maybe you could write us some sort of blog about it all and his recovery for those of us who may have to do this in the future? I'd be really interested and I'm sure others would be too. Poor Hugo. I'm sure he will go very well and be OK, but it's a long haul isn't it? Lots of love and hugs to your lovely boyxxxxxxxxxx Chiara, did they also check out his mobility and flexibility? I'm guessing that they did of course as that's all part of it. Hope everything goes really really well xxx

Running? Jogging? There should be laws prohibiting such practices!!! Only time I run is at a dog show! I was up at 6:00am too - tending to a very noisy hungry puppy! Can't believe I'm about to have another litter - must be crazy! :D I wont disagree with that! sorry, just visiting here from Darwin!! ;)

Hi Chiara. My vet did the xrays for my dog and the surgeon saw no need at all to do more. Also, my girl's leg joint is not even NEAR her hip socket. byt the xray you would wonder why her leg just does not drop off And yet, here she is at nearly 3 yrs. and has improved greatly. She will never be fantastic of course, but she can even jump into the back of our 4wd!! although if I'm quick enough I do not allow her to do that. But she can if we allow it. So, don't give up hope :D We had to see Dr Mitchell and travel from Hervey Bay to do it. I'd ask around (although I'm sure Dr Moses would probably be fine) as this is so important. You really want to see the right people. Maybe you could open a topic in general topics asking if anyone has used Dr Moses or Dr Mitchell?? He is at North Coast Vet Specialists, Tanawha Tourist Drive, near the deer park. www.NCVS.NET.AU Other specialists I've used (for dermatology but I think there are orthapaedics there too but I dont know what they are like) are Queensland Vet Specialtists, Appleby Rd, Stafford Heights. www.qldvetspecialists.com.au I find word of mouth is a fantastic tool. Wishing you all the very best, xxxxxx

ninoid12, just sending lots of love and hugs to you and Molly. I hope to see good news on here when I have a look. I lost my old girl to cancer last November. There is never a time for it, no matter what their age. xxxxxx

Just noticed what nekhbet said about still growing. Yes!! that is a huge thing with HD. Many many dogs improve when they reach maturity even though the xrays look the same. Our girl was pretty bad at 12 months and we had to be so careful with her, she has improved such a lot and our personal vet and the specialist both mentioned that this is far from unusual, another reason they do not like to do surgery unless there is NO other optiion. Sometimes surgery IS the only thing to do, so keep an open mind about it, but if they want to do surgery, have a long list of questions ready, I would write them down, so you know EVERYTHING and all the pors and cons. I think we were quoted $6000 for one hip when I asked what it would be. I thought that was pretty good. The consults we have had have all been really long, including going outdoors for lots of walks, and the MOST I've been charged is $130. for the initial consult, then a LOT less. On the plus side too, Richard is better looking than George Clooney and has a lovely burmese surgery cat who meets and greets

EEk!! Chiara, are you in Brisbane? Whoa re you seeing about the surgery!!!! It had better be Richard Mitchell from the sunny coast. He is the BEST orthapedic surgeon and will NOT recommend surgery on the look of an xray at all. I ahve a dog with HD, born with it, one joint is nowhere near the hip and held on with ligaments and muscle, the other is not too bad. She was diagnosed at 5 months. We saw Richard several times. he likes to see how the dog is walking etc. and does not rely on xrays as many times an xray can look appalling, like ours do!, but the dog improves regardless. We put things into motion, concentrated joint guard, ester C, fish oil, sardines, daily swimming (luckily we had a pool, but we dont now! crap) and of course being sensible. only 10 min walks, although she can now go and go and go....... Swimming does wonders for muscle gain and we noticed a huge difference. My dog is 2 and half and from me thinking OMG, hip replacement, it has come to management and yearly checks on her progress. Eventually something may need to be done a lot later, but maybe not if we are lucky. She is on previcox if she does feel pain, but from a daily pill, we are now only on it when needed, which has not been since last year!!! Please be very conservative about surgery if possible, it is a last resort, and any decent surgeon should tell you that there can be countless complications and a certain percentage of ops. do not gain any benefit and it does not stop arthritis. If my dog HAD to have it , of course I would take that path, but while I have options, no way!!! I am really sorry to hear about your dog, it is just awful isn't it!? Remember too, keep the weight down as low as you can, we keep our girl around 5kgs UNDER the lowest weight for her breed. It really really does help!

My dogs would love access to kitty snacks We just have a hook on the top of the door that hokks into a loop on the wall. this way the litter trays are in one room (laundry) and the cats have about 3 inches of open door to get to the loo. What sort of pup? as until it is full grown it may be able to get through. Mine dont go outside so no outside snacks!! Good luck, you will never be able to HIDE the goodies, pup will sniff it out.

We used to use metacam but have found Previcox to be better (HD). Sorry, I have not taken much note of the cost, but it is excellent

:D Yes, I had only ever had boy dogs up until recently, so unfortunate;u, was very used to this scenario! :D Not good dinner conversation, best kept to ones-self xxx

Great jewellery, it's on my list!!!

Poor Chopper, Poor Ruthless, what a shock He must have been very distressed Sorry I have no advice. I've always had several dogs but owing to some 'dog issues' have always kept them separate when I'm out etc. so luckily no sep issues. I understand your frustration, I have a very well trained dog who has an issue too. Not much fun when you try so hard. I hope you are able to help Chopper, he is just so cute and adorable, dear boy

Oh no, how terrible. I'm so sorry. What happened to him? Did he get out and have an accident or something? So very very young

Don't feel bad Kavik!! He sounds good in every other way, if it's frustrating, just give it a break. I completely understand, hugs I'm a terrible trainer, so I wont even attempt any halfcrap advice xxx

He is super gorgeous. Lovely little boy, good luck

Agree Huski. No one is saying you cannot have an opinion, just that you may have misinterpreted k9s advice. Honestly, if you met him and saw him in action you cannot help but be extremely impressed. In reply to your post, all I can add is basically (if I may be very basic) K9 teaches owners how to have a dog that is responsive to THEM, not outside influences, inc. other dogs. This works very well with all dogs, nothing to do with protection etc. Then, if YOU would like you dog to have a play with another dog, YOU say when it starts and when it finishes. YOUR dog should be first and formost answerable to you and focussed on you, not more interested in the dog across the street or the bike rider or the ducks (our downfall :D ) I'm a terrible trainer and need to be much more demanding with one of my dogs, so I'm not having a 'go' at you at all, just saying that maybe you have misunderstood K9 stuff, which is vey easy to do on the net, things are distorted when not said in person.

No trouble bonding here. I agree with the person who said they bonded even more. I really felt for my dog and had no bonding issues at all on boths sides

I don't know him as a vet (I'm in QLD) but, I have visited his greys, Dogues and Bracco! Lovely. I will go to him when I move back to adelaide. It actually isn't too far. When I drove from West Lakes, I was surprised how quick it was on the highway out there, years ago when I lived in Adelaide, it seemed to take forever!!

OMG!! what a lovely photo!!! Aussienot!!

No kitty chasing allowed here ever. they can have a bit of a play like hide and seek, but no running or getting excited. No prey drive stuff at all. Could get out of hand one day, even by accident.

jThat's a great idea, give the kitties a break

Yes, peeing is nothing to do with 'jealousy' at all. things will run really well once Shyla knows she is 'lower' than the cats, the cats have to be boss, simply because a dog can harm a cat if it thinks it is OK. They will all get on fine if they already are when Shyla is 'quiet' I'd run a mile from a crazy pup too!