Today is an extreme weather day in Indiana. It is 35 below, and I noticed an issue with my pup. Everytime I take him out, he seems to get cramps in his hips? For instance, as we were walking up the stairs it was almost as if he couldn't put down one of his back paws!

I am really worried about him, has anyone ever experienced this?


Thanks for any advice in advance,

Josh

He could have pulled a cruciate ligament in his knee which is a typical injury in hard running retrievers, or he could have a problem with his hip. Sadly, a lot of "pet" vets end up diagnosing pulled/torn knees as hip dysplasia. But the only way you can tell if it's not the hips is by a hip x-ray done by a vet who knows how to take the correct x-rays AND read them correctly.

Often times a problem with the knee won't show up either, but a good vet can at least rule out hips.

My vet does the hip x-rays without anesthetic and I would prefer that as anesthetic can cause the muscles to relax and a vet who doesn't know what he's doing can pull too hard when positioning the anesthitized dog and pop the hip(s) out of the socket, and in fact the dog might actually be perfectly fine.

It's a sticky wicket if you don't have a good vet to do this.

Do the parents both have OFA ratings?

Kathy Miller

Kathy,

The parents hips are fine, and I don't see any major issues in his lineage. This last time I took him out, it happened again. But this time, when he came back in he layed down and started chewing on his back paws. Maybe he is is just getting snow in his paws in this fridged weather.

Sadly, I have found it difficult to find a vet with Chesapeake experience, because the breed isn't very popular in this area. Though I do have a vet that I trust, and which undoubtedly will be seeing me in the morning!

Thank you once again Kathy, Your knowledge is always much appreciated!

Josh

Gauge there is no such thing as hips are fine. Do you know what Kathy means by OFA? Hips are either excellent, good or fair. No fine. As for vet you don't need one that knows chessies. You need a vet that can take xrays of "DOGS" hips properly. Now if your dog is two years old or more it is time to have his hips checked and registered with OFA if you intend to breed. It is also just good practice to know, when you have a working dog.

I would check his pads and nails the snow can do nasty things to a good working dog.

Moscowitz,

Both parents and grandparents have excellent hip ratings. I was just using the wrong termonology. LOL, the funniest part of it is that once I posted it I thought, someone is going to correct me on that! As for his age, he is almost 7 months! But at this point I have no intention on breeding him, mainly because I don't know enough about breeding to do the breed any justice. I will leave that to the experts, so that chessies as a breed can benefit!

No vets in my area do x-rays, they send all dogs to Purdue University for any xray work ups. But I will definitely get him checked if need be for his overall health. I also have not neutered him at this point, because I was told by my vet that due to his size I should wait till 7-8 months.

As always thank you for your knowledge!

Josh

Maybe the dog needs booties for its feet. -35 F is darn cold! try wrapping something on the feet like a small child's stocking (tape it on). The dog most likely will not move for a while once they are on or will attempt to remove it but the stocking might just give a layer of protection from the cold ice, snow, etc.

I am going to buy some of those neoprene camo boots for dogs after we go to the vet this morning! I am also thinking about a glucosimine supplement, but I don't know much about them. So I will bring it up with the vet, and I will do some research first! Any suggestions or opinions are always welcome!

Josh

And the Verdict: According to my vet, gauge is just getting his toes cold! He also saw no signs of the beginnings of a hip issue, but cautioned me that he could still have hip issues. I was also wrong about the OFA issue, he can take the x-rays right in his office. I was under the impression that I would have to drive to Purdue, but I guess not!

He is heart worm negative, also!

Thanks again to everyone for their advice!

Josh