Chow Chow Hip Displasia/knee Reconstruction

[Baby_Bear]

Hi there,

We have a new Chow - a 14 month old who is absolutely adorable with a beautiful temperament. The last couple of weeks we have noticed he has been limping on this left leg after we've taken him for a walk, so we took him to the vet for x-rays. The vet got back to us with some very bad news.. he has both of his hips displaced, he needs two knee reconstructions and his front elbows are grinding at the joints too. We are extremely upset and have provided our breeder with the vet report and will be getting a second opinion from their Chow Chow breeder.

Our main concern is that he will be lame and lose the ability to walk if we do not undergo the operations for him, however is this too much surgery to put a pup through? Has anyone experienced anything like this with their pup?

Thanks

[myzchev]

Hi there,

We have a new Chow - a 14 month old who is absolutely adorable with a beautiful temperament. The last couple of weeks we have noticed he has been limping on this left leg after we've taken him for a walk, so we took him to the vet for x-rays. The vet got back to us with some very bad news.. he has both of his hips displaced, he needs two knee reconstructions and his front elbows are grinding at the joints too.

Have you had the xrays read by a professional like Prof Wyburn or the Werribee Vet Team? I have had a dog with very severe HD [hip score of 64] and did not have her operated on, but her history is probably different. Is your vet an expert in taking xrays for hip scoring? I always prefer to use vets who do lots of these xrays for GSD's, Labs, BSD's - any well known breed that needs to be tested for HD and ALWAYS get them properly read.

BTW seveal things to do with dogs with HD - keep them very lean, and gentle exercise like swimming which is brilliant for strengthing up the back end will also help and it takes the weight off those joints.

Good luck!

[goldchow]

Blimey it sounds like your chow is a cot case but don't panic until you get a second opinion from a vet who does know the breed and as has already been said, have X-rays done properly, correctly positioned by an experienced vet in such matters and read by either the AVA or Dr Wyburn. It can make all the difference in the world.

Chows are structurally put together a little differently to other breeds which is why its particularly important to have a vet who really is familliar with the breed. So many vets see the dollar signs when a chow is presented to them and often see problems that aren't really problems.

[Didles]

Our puppy issues with his hips but we found it straight away and he had his hips fused at 16weeks. Listen to people when they say go to vet that knows the breed, our specialist owns pugs (ours is a british bulldog) and has had a lot of experience with our breed.

Good luck

[Fit for a King]

Hips fused at 16 weeks while the growth plates were still open? Seriously? Wow...I didn't think any vet would do that when the dog still has so much growing and changing to do...

[Didles]

That is the whole idea of the surgery to anchor the hips and help the ball fall into the joint better.

[Fit for a King]

I'm well aware what the procedure seeks to do just very surprised it was done at such a young age when bones and joints are stuill growing - did the vet mention it may have to be revisted at a later stage in life?

[Didles]

No revision later in life just manage weight and muscle building exercises everyday (soft sand, swimming although he can't swim I just hold his belly up) The research he showed me said it is best done on a dog of that age, yes it is not common because people don't pick it up most times and so it is not an option for other pups. His hips were very bad and I have not regretted the choice, he has done a full 180 in his activity levels since he had it, the other choices were leave him in pain or PTS. We chose the surgery and it has worked well, his check up x-rays have shown a huge improvement so I can live with the choice. Even if he needs further surgery so be that, he is wonderful part of our family.

[Guest Ams]

No revision later in life just manage weight and muscle building exercises everyday (soft sand, swimming although he can't swim I just hold his belly up) The research he showed me said it is best done on a dog of that age, yes it is not common because people don't pick it up most times and so it is not an option for other pups. His hips were very bad and I have not regretted the choice, he has done a full 180 in his activity levels since he had it, the other choices were leave him in pain or PTS. We chose the surgery and it has worked well, his check up x-rays have shown a huge improvement so I can live with the choice. Even if he needs further surgery so be that, he is wonderful part of our family.

The fusion surgery can't be done any later than 16 weeks or it doesn't have any benefit. I was faced with this choice with a pei puppy after my vet suggested it. We booked her in with a specialist but after his consult he decided not to go ahead as he did not think her hips warranted it. If they had it would have gone ahead.

[goldchow]

A fairly new procedure which a specialist vet at the Albany Creek Specialist Centre explained to me sometime last year when I was concerned about one of my chow pups. Providing its done early enough (before 5 months I was told) as has already been stated, it can be beneficial for pet owners but doesn't help breeders because its purely for the affected dogs comfort and does not correct the underlying fault.