Cracking hips
We've noticed that his hips crack all the time...we notice it mostly when he's walking up a flight of stairs or when he's on an unstable surface (the bed). We have him on a joint supplement (can't remember the name right now), but he's only a year old. Could this be hip arthritis or leading up to hip dysplasia? Any thoughts? Thanks! |
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kodabear wrote: We've noticed that his hips crack all the time I don't think this is normal. Have you talked with your vet about this? It's probably time to get x-rays so you'll know for sure what's going on. Hoping all will is well.  |
| some cracking during growth maybe, but now.....not sounding good. Cracking means the hip and femur are not fitting correctly. Can change with growth, or get worse. Start setting aside a bunch of money......he might be a candidate for total hip replacement...think big bucks. Not time to panic, just talk to vet and possible referral to an orthopedic specialist. it's just a growth phase. |
| Yikes, okay thank you! Maybe now would be a good time to look into Pet insurance! |
| Poor puppy. I know what your going through cause I'm going through similar. It started around age 7 mo after running around. Popping, cracking sounds from my pups hips. Went through orthopedic specialist and x-rays and was told that it was some form of hip dysplasia but it was not bad now and mild. Anything not normal with hips may be deemed hip dysplasia. Proper diet, vitamins and exercise would help. So I have changed her diet to a lower protein one, exercise short walks and very little runs on grass, avoid jumping and hard surface running, daily joint supplements (dasuquin), never press down on hips etc. As she got better, I exercise her to get her leg and hip muscles stronger. Making that area stronger is crucial for it to not worsen. My girl is a year and 5 months now and her hips are better and stronger. Cracking and popping improved. She is slow to get up and down for her age though. Make sure to keep running and playing time to few minutes at a time. Hope your pup grows out of it and that its just weak joints. So strengthen the muscles to support the weak joints. Then surgery may be avoided. Well that's the goal. In regards to the pet insurance, I've had no luck. They say no coverage for pre-existing or hereditary stuff. Let me know if you find insurance that will cover hip dysplasia. Good luck |
| Insurance is meant to be the premiums of many presumed healthy pets paying for care of those in the group that later become or prove to be unhealthy. You need more healthy pets than unhealthy ones for insurance to work so pre-existing conditions are excluded. One insurance company says... "If your pet has or had any condition, whether diagnosed by your veterinarian or not, before enrolling, it is considered pre-existing." It's why I'll always take out coverage on a new puppy. Unfortunately we can't wait for a problem to become apparent before investing in coverage... we have to take the risk of possibly wasting money early on. Augusta wrote: They say no coverage for pre-existing or hereditary stuff. Let me know if you find insurance that will cover hip dysplasia. I know of no companies that cover pre-existing conditions.  But there are some plans that do provide coverage for hereditary/genetic conditions like hip dysplasia if it's taken out when the dog is healthy. Embrace Pet Insurance, Purina Care Pet Health Insurance both currently offer options that offer genetic condition coverage. 24PetWatch Insurance also offers coverage for some conditions like hip dysplasia. One of mine had a femoral head ostectomy 2 weeks ago... she has severe bilateral hip dysplasia. She never qualified for a regular health plan because the condition was pre-existing when we adopted her. The cost for the surgery at MSU was just under $1,900 (the bill paid by NEOESR). She did well for 6 1/2 years after arriving and her condition is severe... so there's hope your dogs may never need surgical intervention. |
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