OT - my poor dog

I have a seven month old black Labrador who we've just found out has no
back hip joints ?!!!!
He has the 'ball' at the top of his legs but no 'socket' . The vet said
(rather worryingly with a glint in her eye) I've never seen that before - so
he's been referred to a specialist - he isn't apparently suffering and his
muscles and tendons have compensated - he walks with a strange 'wiggle' and
can't cock his leg to 'wee' but otherwise seems normal . he can't even be
given hip replacement as there is nothing to replace - Any views gratefully
received - he has a wonderful nature and is very 'biddable
Jan

On 2/9/06 5:58 PM, in article , "Jan
Lennie" wrote:

I have a seven month old black Labrador who we've just found out has no
back hip joints ?!!!!
He has the 'ball' at the top of his legs but no 'socket' . The vet said
(rather worryingly with a glint in her eye) I've never seen that before - so
he's been referred to a specialist - he isn't apparently suffering and his
muscles and tendons have compensated - he walks with a strange 'wiggle' and
can't cock his leg to 'wee' but otherwise seems normal . he can't even be
given hip replacement as there is nothing to replace - Any views gratefully
received - he has a wonderful nature and is very 'biddable
Jan



Oh how strange! I have never heard of such a thing being found so late. Is
he full grown at 7 months? Have you talked to the breeder?

Cheryl

He's still growing we think (has very big paws) and I'm surprised the vet
(same one) didn't pick it up on his initial -supposedly thorough- medical .
He came from a first (and only) litter of 14 - the owner of his mother has
no plans to breed further and although we know he's pure Lab , he's not
'registered' as neither his mother and father aren't . We live in a part of
the country where there are a lot of 'hunting' type dogs not necessarily
pure bred
Jan
"Cheryl Isaak" wrote in message
...
On 2/9/06 5:58 PM, in article , "Jan
Lennie" wrote:

I have a seven month old black Labrador who we've just found out has no
back hip joints ?!!!!
He has the 'ball' at the top of his legs but no 'socket' . The vet said
(rather worryingly with a glint in her eye) I've never seen that before -
so
he's been referred to a specialist - he isn't apparently suffering and
his
muscles and tendons have compensated - he walks with a strange 'wiggle'
and
can't cock his leg to 'wee' but otherwise seems normal . he can't even be
given hip replacement as there is nothing to replace - Any views
gratefully
received - he has a wonderful nature and is very 'biddable
Jan



Oh how strange! I have never heard of such a thing being found so late. Is
he full grown at 7 months? Have you talked to the breeder?

Cheryl

"Cheryl Isaak" wrote in message
...
On 2/9/06 5:58 PM, in article , "Jan
Lennie" wrote:

I have a seven month old black Labrador who we've just found out has no
back hip joints ?!!!!
He has the 'ball' at the top of his legs but no 'socket' . The vet said
(rather worryingly with a glint in her eye) I've never seen that before -
so
he's been referred to a specialist - he isn't apparently suffering and
his
muscles and tendons have compensated - he walks with a strange 'wiggle'
and
can't cock his leg to 'wee' but otherwise seems normal . he can't even be
given hip replacement as there is nothing to replace - Any views
gratefully
received - he has a wonderful nature and is very 'biddable
Jan



Oh how strange! I have never heard of such a thing being found so late. Is
he full grown at 7 months? Have you talked to the breeder?

Cheryl

Over here, hip displasia is a big problem, and most good breeders of
susceptible breeds have their breeding stock tested. It seems to be most
prevalent in German Shepherds although I believe that Labradors are one of
the breeds commonly affected. I`m amazed that the breeder didn`t know,
particularly in such a severe case and should certainly be made aware of it.

The Police always have puppies potentially intended for police work
thoroughly checked before purchase.

Pat P

"Jan Lennie" wrote in message
...
He's still growing we think (has very big paws) and I'm surprised the vet
(same one) didn't pick it up on his initial -supposedly thorough- medical
. He came from a first (and only) litter of 14 - the owner of his mother
has no plans to breed further and although we know he's pure Lab , he's
not 'registered' as neither his mother and father aren't . We live in a
part of the country where there are a lot of 'hunting' type dogs not
necessarily pure bred
Jan

Ah - there`s your problem, Jan - sorry - I hadn`t read this before I replied
to the other post. I was surprised if a reputable breeder hadn`t picked up
on it. Thank goodness she`s not intending to breed any more, and I hope the
owners of the rest of the litter are made aware of the possible problems
being carried on down the line if they intend breeding.

We only have cavaliers, and the first things the vet checks out are the
hips!

Pat P

"Cheryl Isaak" wrote in message
...
On 2/9/06 5:58 PM, in article , "Jan
Lennie" wrote:

I have a seven month old black Labrador who we've just found out has no
back hip joints ?!!!!
He has the 'ball' at the top of his legs but no 'socket' . The vet said
(rather worryingly with a glint in her eye) I've never seen that
before - so
he's been referred to a specialist - he isn't apparently suffering and
his
muscles and tendons have compensated - he walks with a strange 'wiggle'
and
can't cock his leg to 'wee' but otherwise seems normal . he can't even
be
given hip replacement as there is nothing to replace - Any views
gratefully
received - he has a wonderful nature and is very 'biddable
Jan



Oh how strange! I have never heard of such a thing being found so late.
Is
he full grown at 7 months? Have you talked to the breeder?

Cheryl

That's what gets me though Pat, the vet 'supposedly' thoroughly checked his
hips when we took him for his initial check / injections etc and didn't pick
it up then !!!!
Jan
"Pat P" wrote in message
...

"Jan Lennie" wrote in message
...
He's still growing we think (has very big paws) and I'm surprised the vet
(same one) didn't pick it up on his initial -supposedly thorough- medical
. He came from a first (and only) litter of 14 - the owner of his mother
has no plans to breed further and although we know he's pure Lab , he's
not 'registered' as neither his mother and father aren't . We live in a
part of the country where there are a lot of 'hunting' type dogs not
necessarily pure bred
Jan

Ah - there`s your problem, Jan - sorry - I hadn`t read this before I
replied to the other post. I was surprised if a reputable breeder hadn`t
picked up on it. Thank goodness she`s not intending to breed any more,
and I hope the owners of the rest of the litter are made aware of the
possible problems being carried on down the line if they intend breeding.

We only have cavaliers, and the first things the vet checks out are the
hips!

Pat P

"Cheryl Isaak" wrote in message
...
On 2/9/06 5:58 PM, in article , "Jan
Lennie" wrote:

I have a seven month old black Labrador who we've just found out has
no
back hip joints ?!!!!
He has the 'ball' at the top of his legs but no 'socket' . The vet said
(rather worryingly with a glint in her eye) I've never seen that
before - so
he's been referred to a specialist - he isn't apparently suffering and
his
muscles and tendons have compensated - he walks with a strange 'wiggle'
and
can't cock his leg to 'wee' but otherwise seems normal . he can't even
be
given hip replacement as there is nothing to replace - Any views
gratefully
received - he has a wonderful nature and is very 'biddable
Jan



Oh how strange! I have never heard of such a thing being found so late.
Is
he full grown at 7 months? Have you talked to the breeder?

Cheryl

"Jan Lennie" wrote in message
...
That's what gets me though Pat, the vet 'supposedly' thoroughly checked
his hips when we took him for his initial check / injections etc and
didn't pick it up then !!!!
Jan
If you know he appeared to check the puppies hips, IMO he needs reporting to
the veterinarian council, wherever that is! Try Google.

Pat P

Jan Lennie wrote:
I have a seven month old black Labrador who we've just found out has
no back hip joints ?!!!!
He has the 'ball' at the top of his legs but no 'socket' . The vet
said (rather worryingly with a glint in her eye) I've never seen that
before - so he's been referred to a specialist - he isn't apparently
suffering and his muscles and tendons have compensated - he walks
with a strange 'wiggle' and can't cock his leg to 'wee' but otherwise
seems normal . he can't even be given hip replacement as there is
nothing to replace - Any views gratefully received - he has a
wonderful nature and is very 'biddable Jan

Isn't this called Hip Displacia?? Found in larger breed dogs of the
'pure-bred" variety. I think it comes from decades of inbreeding. I could
be wrong, though.

Magic Mood Jeep© wrote:
Jan Lennie wrote:

I have a seven month old black Labrador who we've just found out has
no back hip joints ?!!!!
He has the 'ball' at the top of his legs but no 'socket' . The vet
said (rather worryingly with a glint in her eye) I've never seen that
before - so he's been referred to a specialist - he isn't apparently
suffering and his muscles and tendons have compensated - he walks
with a strange 'wiggle' and can't cock his leg to 'wee' but otherwise
seems normal . he can't even be given hip replacement as there is
nothing to replace - Any views gratefully received - he has a
wonderful nature and is very 'biddable Jan


Isn't this called Hip Displacia?? Found in larger breed dogs of the
'pure-bred" variety. I think it comes from decades of inbreeding. I could
be wrong, though.

Hip displasia is found in all kinds of dogs, not just in purebred dogs.
It is more common and more damaging in larger breeds. Higher
incidence is seen in dogs where careful breeding practices and screening
were not applied to remove those individuals displaying it or known to
carry it from the breed pool.

Elizabeth
--
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~living well is the best revenge~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The most important thing one woman can do for another is to illuminate
and expand her sense of actual possibilities. --Adrienne Rich
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I was just talking to my daughter Jane, whose friend had a Golden Retriever
with it on one side and was successfully operated on. Not sure if it ONLY
comes from inbreeding as such, but certainly inbreeding will much more
likely bring out any weakness by "doubling up" on the faulty gene. However,
it is something quite commonly carried in some (particularly larger) breeds
of dogs, so even non-related dogs who happen to carry that abnormality in
their background can throw it out if paired with another dog with the same
weakness in their "family tree". If they happen to be related it pretty much
guarantees that some of the offspring will have the fault. The only way to
really eradicate it is NOT to breed from either of those dogs (or the
offspring)

This is where LINE breeding is of benefit - you can double up on the "Good"
things by breeding related animals that are not too CLOSELY related and are
known to have particular beneficial qualities (or colours) running through
their pedigrees. The important thing being to know what you`re doing!
"Inbreeding" isn`t the same thing, and can be very dangerous.

Jane also has a friend with a labrador who has the same problem as yours -
they describe the walk as a "Marilyn Monroe Wiggle!!!" She knew exactly
what you meant! Looks like the parents of your pup were just an unfortunate
combination - but if both were local, with no pedigree, the chances are
pretty high that they are related, even several generations back.

Pat P

"Magic Mood Jeep©" wrote in message
news:hYaHf.759884$x96.149739@attbi_s72...
Jan Lennie wrote:
I have a seven month old black Labrador who we've just found out has
no back hip joints ?!!!!
He has the 'ball' at the top of his legs but no 'socket' . The vet
said (rather worryingly with a glint in her eye) I've never seen that
before - so he's been referred to a specialist - he isn't apparently
suffering and his muscles and tendons have compensated - he walks
with a strange 'wiggle' and can't cock his leg to 'wee' but otherwise
seems normal . he can't even be given hip replacement as there is
nothing to replace - Any views gratefully received - he has a
wonderful nature and is very 'biddable Jan

Isn't this called Hip Displacia?? Found in larger breed dogs of the
'pure-bred" variety. I think it comes from decades of inbreeding. I
could be wrong, though.