dannyBC Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 I have a Border Collie that is just over 12mths with no obvious problems... He's just been Xrayed to check hips & Elbows. Much to our surprise this dog has very loose hips.... Both of his elbows have OCD & FCP.... Now I'm faced with the horrible thought of what to do with him???? We have quiet a few dogs & live on a large acreage so the dogs are active. He's obviously been restricted as a young puppy. But keeping him very restricted for the rest of his life here would be horrible for him... He needs to live with someone in an inactive life style as a couch lizard & he'd do that.... But I feel its very unfair to ask someone to take him on with the knowledge he'll require management & lots of money spent on him in the future on anti inflamatories to keep him comfortable.. So I don't know what to do???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJean Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 (edited) I have a Border Collie that is just over 12mths with no obvious problems... He's just been Xrayed to check hips & Elbows. Much to our surprise this dog has very loose hips.... Both of his elbows have OCD & FCP.... Now I'm faced with the horrible thought of what to do with him???? We have quiet a few dogs & live on a large acreage so the dogs are active. He's obviously been restricted as a young puppy. But keeping him very restricted for the rest of his life here would be horrible for him... He needs to live with someone in an inactive life style as a couch lizard & he'd do that.... But I feel its very unfair to ask someone to take him on with the knowledge he'll require management & lots of money spent on him in the future on anti inflamatories to keep him comfortable.. So I don't know what to do???? How loose is loose? Not bothered by the hips if there are no symptoms ... but what is the situation with the Elbows? And why keep him restricted? :) If you are on a large property let him move at his own leisure and develop muscle capacity. If the dog cannot live a relatively comfortable life, and even if the dog COULD you cannot give him to a friend who understands the situation and you cannot keep him, then I would pts. Edited May 7, 2012 by lilli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizT Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 I have a Border Collie that is just over 12mths with no obvious problems... He's just been Xrayed to check hips & Elbows. Much to our surprise this dog has very loose hips.... Both of his elbows have OCD & FCP.... Now I'm faced with the horrible thought of what to do with him???? We have quiet a few dogs & live on a large acreage so the dogs are active. He's obviously been restricted as a young puppy. But keeping him very restricted for the rest of his life here would be horrible for him... He needs to live with someone in an inactive life style as a couch lizard & he'd do that.... But I feel its very unfair to ask someone to take him on with the knowledge he'll require management & lots of money spent on him in the future on anti inflamatories to keep him comfortable.. So I don't know what to do???? How loose is loose? Not bothered by the hips if there are no symptoms ... but what is the situation with the Elbows? And why keep him restricted? :) If you are on a large property let him move at his own leisure and develop muscle capacity. If the dog cannot live a relatively comfortable life, and even if the dog COULD you cannot give him to a friend who understands the situation and you cannot keep him, then I would pts. Agree. Also how does one 'tell' a young Border Collie he is unable to run and jump and romp and play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowanbree Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 10 years ago I had a terrible run of HD affected dogs. I kept some and rehomed some. Other than avoid really terribly strenuous exercise such as agility I let them live normal lives and for the most part they were fine until their teens with little need for meds. The ones I rehomed were free and I would have paid for any operations they needed over the course of their lives which fortunately was never necessary but the owners were to pay for any meds. In my case while they had huge scores they never really showed any signs of being affected and lived relatively normal lives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leema Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 I just wanted to say that I think this dog should be kept active to ensure he has the muscle mass to try to prevent damage or pain. If it was my dog, I would rehome with a minimal cost (only because I don't do 'free to good home') and full disclosure. I have rehomed, in rescue, many dogs with issues (mostly psychological!), and there are a lot of people out there willing to take on 'problem dogs'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Agree with what others have said. Keeping the dog active to maintain muscle mass will help it stay pain free and mobile for a lot longer. Letting the dog be a couch potato may not in fact be in the dogs best interests. Having had a dog with severe HD who lived a happy and relatively active life until passing at 10 from an unrelated condition, I have seen the benefits of maintaining fitness in situations like this. Of course it will depend on the individual dog, though you say he is currently not symptomatic? Only thing I might restrict is jumping and forced exercise. If you live on a property where the dog can run and swim and self regulate its activity that is fantastic. If you are looking for treatment options, I would be looking into stem cell regenerative therapy as well which is proving to be a worthwhile approach for similar cases to this and can minimise future requirements for drug therapy (pain and anti inflammatory meds). Yes a dog such as this may be difficult to rehome - and you will definitely need to do it with full disclosure and personally I would not be charging for the dog (though I would not be advertising 'free to good home' either!). Whether you offer to provide monetary support for the dogs after care will be up to you, but I would make sure that everything you will or will not do is put in writing. As mentioned though, if you really don't want to keep him yourself, and you can not find a suitable home to rehome him to (or do not feel he is suitable for rehoming), then having him PTS may end up being a realistic option (even if it is one we don't like to think about). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyBC Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Thank you for everyones response its certainly helping me... I'm hopeful his hips won't cause him too many issues but his elbows definitely will & this is the reason he will need to have managed exercise. This is a horrible position to be in & I so hope I never have to deal with this again.... Thanks everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 We would keep it because it is our problem to manage The expense to any new owner may be massive . If the elbows are an issue then we would get the surgery done ourselves manage the rehab & then after the all clear then look at maybe rehoming . If the issue is so bad that as the current owners we wouldn't do anything then i wouldn't expect any new owner to be placed in a position to either & having to in many ways do the dirty work that someone else wouldn't whether that be surgery,PTS or any option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystiqview Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 Have you informed the breeder? They also need to know of this issue to try to attempt to avoid it in future breeding programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyBC Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 Yes the breeder has been advised... So hopefully they'll take it on board with their breeding program... Its a very hard situation & I want to make the right decision for this dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 What are the actual hip and elbow scores? Some dogs with relatively high scores lead normal lives, it just depends how high. The elbows may need surgery though but I would have expected him to have problems way before this age. OCD usually shows up around 5 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyBC Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 What are the actual hip and elbow scores? Some dogs with relatively high scores lead normal lives, it just depends how high. The elbows may need surgery though but I would have expected him to have problems way before this age. OCD usually shows up around 5 months. They didn't get sent for scoring, no point as a score isn't going to be useful information.. We sent them to an orthopedic specialist for comment & recommendation.. He made comment that lots of dogs won't show signs till late with the elbows.... The hips are 50% subluxated in the extended view..... If we had of continued on to do the Pennhip distraction view, they would have been 100% subluxated. I'm hopeful his hips might not cause him too many issues... But his elbows will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I definitely would not be rehoming - aside from that, I don't know, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 What are the actual hip and elbow scores? Some dogs with relatively high scores lead normal lives, it just depends how high. The elbows may need surgery though but I would have expected him to have problems way before this age. OCD usually shows up around 5 months. They didn't get sent for scoring, no point as a score isn't going to be useful information.. We sent them to an orthopedic specialist for comment & recommendation.. He made comment that lots of dogs won't show signs till late with the elbows.... The hips are 50% subluxated in the extended view..... If we had of continued on to do the Pennhip distraction view, they would have been 100% subluxated. I'm hopeful his hips might not cause him too many issues... But his elbows will Strange comment about the elbows. It usually shows in puppies if they are going to have problems. Some dogs with bad elbow scores never have a problem and live a normal life other than not jumping etc, and of course you don't breed them. The hips intrigue me and I would be asking to have them scored, preferably by Rawlinson, to see exactly what is going on. If the only problem is subluxation then specific exercise and diet may improve things dramatically. Supplement with Vitamin C, walk the dog on a harness and encourage him to pull into it and swim him at least 2 to 3 times a week. Stop all running for at least a month or two. Then re x-ray and see if it has made a difference. I have no idea why a young male would have loose ligaments but in bitches the ligaments all slacken as they approach whelping. One of mine didn't slow down at all and managed to pull both her hips out of place after her first litter. There was a good cm gap. I followed the above regime and two months later the new x-rays showed hips perfectly back in the sockets where they should have been and they stayed there for the rest of her life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 (edited) double post Edited May 12, 2012 by dancinbcs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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