Poor Lottie won't be having puppies now.....so upset!

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keeperscottage

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Some of you may recall my post a few weeks ago asking for advice about a Golden Retriever stud dog. Well, we're not looking for a stud dog any longer because we had the result of Lottie's hip score today and it was really bad.....total of 67 (31 on side and 36 the other). So, so sad! She's such a lovely dog that we've always dreamed about having a Lottie puppy to keep and carry on her line, but it's not to be! Gutted!

Anyone out there with a dog with a crap hip score? She's three in September and has shown absolutely no sign of a problem. She loves going to gun dog training, adores swimming and basically seems to love life and appears to be active and healthy.

Should we start giving her any supplements? Please can anyone give us some advice? I'll start Googling tomorrow but it's always nice to hear from people who have had the same problem.

Once again........GUTTED!!!
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Here's our lovely Lottie when she was a puppy.....

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Sorry to hear that
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I feed Cod Liver Oil as a supplement, but dogs getting it are not scored, it's just a little extra. One of them also gets Canine Essentials as she is that bit older/stiffer through her hips (mini schnauze though)

ETS: I would also get her spayed now as you kow you won't be having pups so that her possibly getting caught won't be an issue as well as reducing the risk of cancer.
 
Oh no, bless her
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I don't know Henry's hip score but I do know he has mild hip dysplasia, I give him one-a-day human cod liver oil capsules as this is what the vet advised and I keep him on the skinny side. He was a real porker when I got him, it's amazing just how much he has improved for losing the weight so keeping them trim definitely helps.

I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and ask about putting him onto human cod liver oil with glucosamine as this can be a great help for people with dodgy joints, will report back on what he says.
 
Glucosamine is one of the best things you can give for joints, anything you are feeding for joint suppleness will probably contain it. Beastie gets the doggy Cod Liver Oil, she loves getting her tablets!

Green Lipped Mussels are also good for joints.
 
I just want to make sure the human dosage will be ok (they are cheaper than the doggie ones I think...)

I had some greenlipped mussel dog biscuits but they were free samples through work and I've never seen them for sale (actually Henry was the only dog I knew that would eat them which may explain why...)
 
Thanks, GinaB and Hanandhen. Yes, we must really make a big effort to get Lottie's weight down. We don't overfeed her and she gets plenty of exercise but she's still a tad on the porkie side! Will definitely get her spayed, too. We want the three Springers spayed so it looks like we'll be going to the vet with a "job lot" of four bitches!
 
Oh I also remembered the vet said to avoid too much jumping and games of fetch with toys as the sudden turns put strain on the hips... Henry does jump though (he's a spaniel so of course he does), he doesn't fetch but then he just doesn't do that game
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I'm working on the basis that I'll feed him whatever I can to keep him sound and make sure he's dried off properly etc - but I'm not going to make him miserable by keeping him on the lead all his life and stopping him from having fun - or what's the point in his life?
 
The following should be taken with a pinch of salt, in case I might remember it wrong.

As I recall MurphysMinder mentioned something in a thread about one of their late brood bitches, when she was 9 years old this whole hip scoring thing was begun and they had her done. Came back with bad results but the bitch didn't have a problem during her whole life and lived to be 14 years old.




Off topic but this is one of the things that really makes me admire MurphysMinder, I would guess that the majority of breeders when a new health requirement is begun, would only check their "active" breeding animals (unless the condition being screened for doesn't show until later in life), but MM still decided to check a bitch that had put her breeding years behind her when the hip scoring begun, very admirable I think.
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Sad about your dogs score, I've worried for a while already about that it is time for the young girls sometime during the autumn.
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Oh God - now you've really worried me..........Lottie loves her gun dog training - loves all the retrieving, swimming and jumping onto the island and rummaging around in the reeds to find the training dummy etc! She's a real "country dog" and enjoys scambling up and down banks, jumping ditches.......has all her fun got to stop?
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I think I'm going to have to have a long chat with our vet.......
 
Don't bother I am here. FLH is right about the bitch I had years ago, but she was never a brood bitch. Basically she was x rayed at 12 months old (1974 way before scoring came in) and hips were atrocious. Prof Lewis at Liverpool University said she would be off her legs at a very young age and just to enjoy her. To cut the story very short she had a very successful show career, and always had the most fantastic movement. She was re x rayed when hip scoring in (late 70s) and scored 103 . The worst possible is 106. However she stayed sound, won many veteran classes and I lost her at age 13 from cancer, with never a days lameness in her life. She had no supplements as such, but as a young dog swam a lot and was always well muscled. One vets theory was that her hips were so bad, ie. hardly any head of the hip to fit in the socket, that there were no rough edges to cause arthritis, and she was basically held together by muscle!
My advice would be to just carry on as you are with your girl Lottie, maybe don't let her do too much jumping but otherwise don't change anything. Agree though that glucosamine supplements would help, or certainly won't do any harm.

Ets. Hananhen, don't take this the wrong way, but you say Henry has mild hip dysplasia, has he ever been x rayed? Because that is the only way a vet can tell, but in my experience a few vets tend to make sweeping statements about hips without the evidence to back it up.
 
A recent study has shown that glucosamine is not effective in maintainin joints, but does supply a slightly inflammaton reduction. I would suggest a supplement with glucosamine, chrontin and MSM. And I think cod liver oil is good too.

Lou x
 
MM - yes Henry has been x-rayed. When he arrived at the Dogs Trust his gait was worse due to him being a fat lump so they had him x-rayed when he was neutered.

Keepers Cottage - look, this is only my view and I know others might disagree, but I personally will not stop Henry from doing the things he loves. I know that allowing him to run, jump and swim might cause him problems in the future, but right now they make him happy and I think it's better for him to have a happy life than a really long one. I could keep him on a lead, I could keep him out of the water, but he would be unhappy and that is not a sacrifice I am willing to make.

If Lottie were mine (and she isn't!) I would be inclined to get her lighter, feed her whatever supplements the vet advises and make sure she is thoroughly dried off when she gets wet but let her continue doing what she loves.
 
Fair enough Hanandhen. And totally agree with you about lifestyle, as I have said above. I certainly didn't shorten my girls life at all by letting her do as she wanted. One of my current dogs Buffy, has bad hips and a problem with her vertebrae, restricting her more might give her a longer life, but it would be for selfish reasons, so she generally does as she has always done. She is 9 in september and fingers crossed she will be around for a good while yet.
 
Well this is it isnt it - quantity vs quality of life, and like you I'd go for quality every time!
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For me as well as my animals!
 
Slightly different scenario to you but my lab has fantastic gundog breeding and is a fabulous example of a lab. Three people asked me to use him as as stud dog but unfortunately he has OCD in his elbows (both of them and quite severe). I had him neutered
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At the age of 5 (which one vet told me he wouldn't reach) he is still a very active country, gundog. He loves his active life and I will be working him this season, though very carefully on small days only on a shoot where the terrain is easy on the dogs.

I have stuck to my view that it is better for him to live the life he loves for as long as he can rather than keep him shut at home and miserable. Also the more muscled, fit and lean he is the better for him.

We have had cartrophen injections for his joints which have been very successful but are now losing their touch so I bought him some glucosamine and chondroitin supplements (capsules for humans) very cheaply over the internet from GoldShield. I give him two a day.

I just know how upsetting it is for you but you are very lucky that she is showing no signs of lameness at three and long may it continue
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Another well done for being responsible and doing the right thing and not breeding from her - if there were more people like you (And MM!) then we wouldn't have the HD and OCD problems that abound in working breeds.
 
I have a ridgeback that had a terrible hip score, in the 70's, so we had him neutered, but we have always just carried on as normal and he does everything all the other dogs do, he is 8 yrs old now and is starting to get a little bit stiffer in the winter, but he still goes hell for leather after bunnies - never caught one though
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but gives him a good run! I wouldn't worry as long as you keep his weight down as others have said and keep her fit - swimming is the best as it doesn't put any weight on the joints but builds muscle and keep everything moving. The hip score only tells you that that dog will be more likely to get hip dysplasia not how badly it will affect the dog or when it will get it - it is down to the individual animal, its fitness level, weight and type of exercise.
 
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