Absolutely Livid

Officer Giggles

I have an 8 month old newfoundland since he was like 14 weeks old, obviously i have been to my vet several times with him getting his vaccines, wormers and a couple of check ups for a chest infection, so all in all since i have had him my vet has seen him at least a dozen times, so a couple of weeks ago i headed up to Ash animal rescue near blessington to have a look at maybe getting my fella a friend, i got talking to Remi and he obviously wanted to see my fella who was in the car, Fred had taken two steps, two steps exactly not three, and Remi said i better get Fred's hip looked at as it didnt look right, so yesterday i had him x rayed and he has hip dysplasia in his left hind leg, was informed he may well need a total hip replacement, and the knee of his right leg also is encountering problems which may damage his cruciate ligament.

HOW THE F**K DID MY VET NOT SPOT THIS!!!!, how can someone see a dog take two steps and immediately notice that there is a problem when my vet who has seen him from every angle didnt notice a thing, i am absolutely raging with my vet and its taking all my might not to ring them cause i know i will just go into a rage:mad::eek:

Gloomtastic!

Your anger at the vet is not gong to make it any better. Hope you have insurance as we've been through this with our boxer and it's not cheap or easy. The three months after the operation are hell!

Officer Giggles

yes fortunately i do, i know it wont make things any better but this is farcical, how could a vet not see this problem after viewing the dog on several occasions, its an absolute disgrace, i know im obviously not impartial but this is ridiculous

andreac

If the vet wasnt looking out for it in particular they might not always spot it so i wouldnt go blaming the vet.

I would however make sure you contact the breeder and explain the situation as they should be aware of the hip problems in their line.

Have you the dog insured? If not i would get him done asap so you can claim for this on it.
Just realised you have the dog insured, thats something at least.

I would get a second opinion once you have him checked out as a hip replacement is not always necessary.

January

Officer Giggles wrote: »

yes fortunately i do, i know it wont make things any better but this is farcical, how could a vet not see this problem after viewing the dog on several occasions, its an absolute disgrace, i know im obviously not impartial but this is ridiculous

Look at it this way, some children aren't diagnosed with hip dysplasia until they are over 6 months old, even if the doctor or PHN has seen them a couple of times. So you could expect a vet to be the exact same.

Officer Giggles

when i first got Fred i explicitly told the vet to ensure his hips were looked at as he is a big breed dog and i know the dangers of what could happen, as this is a condition that is known to the breed would it not be natural for the vet to keepan eye on them, it would be like a doctor not checking an overweight patient for blood pressure problems

i just find it hard to believe that a random person who has never seen my dog before can spot the problem and yet a vet who has seen him on numerous occasions couldnt see past the €'s i was giving her

yes he is insured thank god

the hip replacement is not going to be done until Fred is 16 months to see if his bones adapt to the problem but if they dont then it will, i viewed the x rays myself and i wouldnt need to do any sort of research to be able to point out where there is a problem, im suprised he is able to walk at all looking at it

andreac

Oh im sorry to hear that, esp after all the research you did and sourcing a breeder.
Just as a matter of interest, were the parents hip scored and were the results good compared to the breed average?

Hopefully its not worse case scenario with Fred and he doesnt need the replacement.
Did you notice any signs yourself with his gait or anything?

Officer Giggles

yea both the parents were hip scored, the father was 12 and the mother was 26, as the average for the breed is 26 i was of the opinion that there shouldnt be any problems as a result of this,

no i never noticed a problem until it was pointed out to me but i would be in no means an experienced person with what to be watching out for, only for Remi in Ash i probably still wouldnt know and god knows what state Fred would be in before it was noticed

andreac

Try not beat yourself up about it O.G., dogs can still get H.D. even if the parents are tested and have good scores, its not always a guarantee they wont get it.
The main thing is, you are getting something done now and have it checked out. I would recommend you go somewhere that deals specifically with H.D. and get an expert opinion.

Try contacting TK123 on here as they had problems with their golden retriever and went somewhere and got an specialist orthapedic i think to assess their dog so it might be worth looking into for Fred.

Officer Giggles

i was told to and am now dealing with andrew byrne in brayvet he is specialised in this area and has been absolutely brilliant to deal with, he comes across very genuine

tk123

andreac wrote: »

Try not beat yourself up about it O.G., dogs can still get H.D. even if the parents are tested and have good scores, its not always a guarantee they wont get it.
The main thing is, you are getting something done now and have it checked out. I would recommend you go somewhere that deals specifically with H.D. and get an expert opinion.

Try contacting TK123 on here as they had problems with their golden retriever and went somewhere and got an specialist orthapedic i think to assess their dog so it might be worth looking into for Fred.

We went to Gilabbey vets in Cork. My guy has angular limb deformity/valgus deviation in his hocks so basically his back paws point outwards. Well only one does because the other was fixed in nov:pac:. His problems started to crop up around 8-9 months - before that there was no sign so that could be why your vet missed it? We're very lucky because we have a brilliant team at our vets and our vet took over, sent xrays to ucd for their opinion and when I went back heartbroken over their diagnosis she arranged for the second opinion. She suggested Cork first but I stupidly waited 2 months to go to UCD instead thinking Cork was way too far for him in the car but he didn't mind the trip at all! Whenever he overdid it and was stiff or his pads were sore from uneven wear from how he walks on them I could take him over and she'd check him over. And when we had a scare in December she took him in straight away for xrays. Having the support you need is really important and helps keep your mind at ease - if there's a problem the vet is 5 mins away, they all know him and know his history so he's in safe hands.

Anyhoos I know your upset/annoyed but at least you know now that there's a problem so you can start adapting how you do things now to try and limit any more damage.

The first thing I did was switch him to a lower protein food and cut back his portion - I switched him to Burns from recommendations here and because it has only 18.5% protein. You don't want any extra weight on him now because it's going to add to the problem.

Next I started him on supplements for his joints - he's really improved on Flexicose and Luposan Joint Pellets and hasn't needed any pain killers since combining them.

I got a ramp for the car - I was really self concious about getting one. His problem was quite visible when it was both legs and I'd have randomers telling me my labrador (HE'S A GR!!! :rolleyes:) had hip dysplasia so I felt like everyone would stare at him etc.. but most people are interested when they see him getting in/out of the car saying they should get one for their dog :pac:

I keep an eye on his excercise - I'd already been sticking to 5 mins per month of age but for his off lead time I kept a close eye on him to make sure he wasn't over doing it.

It seems so daunting but you just have to deal with what happens and learn from it for next time and figure out what works best. When we were told he was going to have surgey I was :eek: - how will we manage etc but it was FINE - it wasn't easy but you just get into the swing of things and deal with it. My job was/is to take care of him and that leg - nothing was going to happen to it and is going to happen to it on my watch. He's my first dog and I managed the crate rest etc and I honestly have no worries about when he gets the other leg sorted.

Also just to add - I had great support from the guys here on boards too so thanks everyone from me and Bailey Boy!

summer_ina_bowl

OP, first off, can I say I'm sorry to hear about your dog and I wish you luck and patience for the road ahead. There's great information to be found in tk123's post above, you should find it helpful. There's also lots of information available online about HD as it is, unfortunately, a common condition.

As for your anger at your vet, I'm afraid it's unfounded. HD becomes more obvious with age, and except in the severest of cases, it's rarely diagnosed in animals under 6 months. Even x-rays in young animals may not reveal the disease as the joints have not fully developed yet. Holding a grudge won't help you or your dog - i'd actually advise that you don't burn any bridges in the veterinary world - having a strong veterinary support system will make this journey much easier for you both. Good luck.

Officer Giggles

Thanks for all the replies guys, tk123 you you have just confirmed everything The bray vet told me, he said that freds weight is now crucial to keep under control and burns is what I should now put him on, he didn't mention any supplements so I must look into that, iv been looking at getting him a car ramp anyway but its something il have to get soon now cause I ain't lifting my monster for too much longer, have to cut the exercise down to 15 minutes and I may have to take the trip to cork cause it turns out its an English fella that comes to cork every few weeks to do a load of operations as there is nobody in this country able to do it, hopefully that won't be for some time yet all going well

I'm angry with the old vet, iv changed to Andrews Byrne as he seems to have a particular interest in this area, cause Fred was there only a month ago so I colieve the problem would have been visible, I'm not going to fall out with the old vet iv changed over so that's the end of it, suppose I just needed a rant, thanks everyone for your input, now I must clean the slober off my laptop as a certain someone is trying to read the screen

Officer Giggles

the man himself, first one was taken on 6th october 2010 and the second one was taken on 6th february 2011

i-digress

He's a beautiful dog. I know you are probably upset over this, but on the bright side at it was caught relatively early, no matter who caught it. And you're a responsible owner, who is being proactive about dealing with the problem. He's a lucky dog.

Discodog

I would be incandescent if the same thing had happened to me. I know someone who also bought a Newfie & went to a lot of trouble & expense to ensure that they were getting a healthy pup. The breeder supplied a Vet report on the puppy so they felt secure in buying it.

When they took it to my Vet, for a Vac, she gave it an examination as they do with all new patients. She immediately discovered a heart murmur. The dog has now been to Dublin & has an incurable, hereditary, heart problem. The long term prognosis is very bad.

We like to think that every Vet is thorough & professional. In reality Vets vary a great deal.