dog

by jean
(united kingdom)

I have a ten month old toy poodle dog. During a recent check up at my vets he noticed that my dog yellped when examining his back leg.He has had an x ray and this shows that the ball joint is a little away from the hip socket.He is having daily medication for the pain.He is now restrained from running jumping stairs and is resting.
1.My dog does not show any pain when he bounds around.
2.He does not limp or walk with a straight leg or hop like a rabbit.
3.How old will he be when fully grown and would this problem rectify itself.
4.If an operation is required what should be done.
5.What specialties should the vet have to perform this kind of operation.
6.After surgery will he be completely healed or will this problem keep on occuring.
7.Will he in pain and will he be able to run and jump like any normal dog.
Obviously this is a very worrying time for me and I want to do the very best for my puppy.
Many thanks
Jean

Hi Jean,

Sorry to hear about your dog. Hip problems are usually inherited with some breeds being more prone to it than others. If surgery is required look for a vet has performed lots of these operations in the past. A vet that does these a lot will be much more proficient than a vet that only does one or two a month.

Normally the head of the femur could be removed, and in little dogs, they recover very well and the problem does not reappear.