My poor Logan

[Ponyup]

Back from vet. Logan has mild hip dysplasia & a flattening of the hips. He had an x-ray taken in january for a tummy problem & one taken today. We compared them & the vet said she could see a flattening of the hips & very mild hip dysplasia. My untrained eye couldn't really see a difference. She gave him an anti-inflammatory & told me to limit jumping. I've also read that playing frisbee is bad. I'm going to look into pet steps today. There are acupunturists & chiropractors around, but I don't know if that will help. my vet said I could do it if I wanted. The jist I get though is it won't fix the problem it will just be a form of pain management. My vet seemed shocked that it showed up already being that he is only 3.5 years old. From what I've read this is genetic. Is it weird that it wasn't noticible on the x-ray in January, but is noticable now? Is it possibly injury related not genetic?

[gja1000]

I don't know anything about it being an injury vs genetic. But I do know that accupuncture can help the pain. I had an old dog with very very bad hips and arthritis of the hips and the accupuncture really helped him. Also, glucosamine may help some too.

[Gina]

How is Logan feeling? Please update us.

[Ponyup]

Logan is acting totally fine. He's still walking a little funny though. I bought him glucomsamine supplements at petsmart, they happened to be on sale when we were there sat. . I've decided to get my x-rays from the first vet & take them to the other vet in town I see occassionally to see what he thinks. My understand of hip dysplasia is if they are going to have it you can see it pretty early on an x-ray (my mom agrees from her experience with breeding big dogs). So I think the fact that it wasn't there in january, but is there now means it could be injury related which hopefully is fixable.

[judy]

I hope you're right. Give Logan a hug please.

[Janet]

Poor Logan. I sure hope that what ever it is, that it just doesn't cause him much pain and that everything you're doing will help him.

[Ponyup]

Bad news. Logan had Legg-calves Perthes. I took him for a second opinion hoping for a better diagnosis, but it's worse. However, the second diagnosis makes a lot of sense. It is very common in yorkies & I could clearly see the difference in density in the hip bones on the x-ray. My vet feels it's pretty aggressive because it isn't there on the january x-ray, but is very noticable on the 10/13/08 x-ray. My vet didn't say I had to get the surgery right away, but I get the feeling that the sooner we do it the better. His right leg is already shorter than the left & as of right now he doesn't have muscle atrophy, but i'm to watch it closely. My vet recommends I take him to Michigan state and have a complete joint replacement done instead of just the femural head surgery which I can have done in fort wayne. I plan to go back in & discuss with him in depth the difference between the two & what is the best for the long run. my vet said the michigan state surgery should run me about $3500. We do have the money & a healthy little boy is worth any amount of money. He will remain on anti-inflammatories until we get the surgery done. According to the people on yorkie talk it appears to be a pretty effective surgery.

[Dobie]

At least it will be something you can afford - please keep us updated

[Nina]

I hope Logan is okay! I know that when my two yorkie boys aren't acting right, I tend to get all worried, and then it ends up being nothing. When mine get shots, it seems to make them want to sleep more for a day or so.

I think I worry just as much about my dogs as I did my kids when they were little lol.

[Ponyup]

Originally Posted by Nina

I hope Logan is okay! I know that when my two yorkie boys aren't acting right, I tend to get all worried, and then it ends up being nothing. When mine get shots, it seems to make them want to sleep more for a day or so.

I think I worry just as much about my dogs as I did my kids when they were little lol.

As much as I worry about my dog I'm actually afraid I'd be a basket case if I ever had kids. We're going to take the wait & see approach with Logan for a bit. The anti-inflammatories are working & he's acts like he's in no pain. I'll probably still take him to be evaluated at michigan state & see what they say, but other than that we're just going to keep a close eye on his progress. Even if that means taking him to the vet more often for evaluation & x-rays. We want to hold off on surgery as long as we can, but if & when he needs it will get it done.