X-Raying my GSD Puppy's Hip?
My GSD puppy is almost 9 months old – and I’ve had two vets look at her hips (just standard vet, nothing special. No X-Ray yet, just touch). Both say that she seems fine – she’s large (almost 70 pounds) but she’s skinny for her size (vet and breeder recommendation). I bought her from a well known, and respected breeder with no known hip problems, but I don’t want to chance my baby being in any pain. Is X-Raying the only way to know if I’ll have problems down the road? I feed her large puppy brand food with high Glucosamine product, as well as Glucosamine supplement tablets.
My only concern with her recently, is she stretches her back and hips a lot. She doesn’t have trouble getting up, walking, or jumping into my small car’s back seat. But she does stretch quite a bit more than I thought would be normal. Vets say she’s fine.. am I just being paranoid? 
Well, for her bloodlines, I know the most of them were VA and V for Schutzhund(hope I spelled that right). I asked about her half and full relatives from previous litters, and said nothing has come up to their knowledge.
One of the vets said to X-Ray her at 8-12 months, because they could do a new surgery to fix her hips (if needed) so she wouldn’t get HD later on in her life – or if she did, it’d be minor.
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Tagged with: 12 months • 9 months • back seat • bloodlines • brand food • glucosamine • gsd puppy • hd • hips • litters • relatives • small car • supplement tablets • vet • x ray
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I’d say, yes, you’re being paranoid!! Good for you for keeping her weight down, though! Don’t worry about her so much. Keep on looking afer her well. You’ve done what you can – you bought her from a good breeder, you’re keeping her weight down. Now just wait until she’s 2 and you can take her in for her x-rays so she can be OFA’d, then you’ll be able to really take a deep breath and relax! In the meantime, just enjoy your puppy.
If they say her hips are fine upon examining them and she is not showing any signs of pain, then I think she is fine. There is no point in X-raying this early if you are concerned about hip dysplasia as that does not show up until about 2 years.
Dogs stretch.. that doesnt mean she is having problems.
An X-ray at this age would only be a preliminary thing, as she’s not done growing or developing. If you are really concerned, look into having an OFA or PennHip test done when she is 2 years old.
If she came from a reputable breeder who does test her dogs, its not likely that she will develop problems.
Maybe once she’s a bit older you can get the vet to check her again. She’ll still be growing at the moment and so changes may occur. If you are really concerned then ask to have her hips x-rayed although I don’t know what use this will be unless you are planning to breed from her because you would not necessarily change her care.
If she’s kept inside with the family, not overweight, being fed high quality food, given joint supplements, and the bloodline is OFA good-excellent for at least 3 generations, the chances are small that she’ll have CHD.
How have other siblings and half-siblings fared in their OFA tests?
OFA can’t even make a determination on hips until 2 years old, so I wouldn’t even start dealing with x-rays until then.
I don’t think you can test for hip problems mostly until two years old. Sometimes if they sit like a frog, their hind legs out to their side, that is supposed to be a sign of hip problems.
I know you guys all said that there is no way to find out if your pup has hip dysplasia until he/she is 2 years old, I disagree. I have to admit my baby’s case was special tho. He was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at 9 months of age through an x-ray. But let me tell you, after taking some joint supplements for a couple of months he’s been running like he never had a problem. He’s 3 yrs old and no signs of hip dysplasia atm.
Your doing the right things, thin is good, all seems well.
Remember all GSD lines have dysplasia somewhere (it’s not a simple recessive, you can have it pop up after generations of clear dogs) but you sound like you’ve done your homework.
Don’t buy trouble and don’t do surgery unless an orthopedist and your breeder agree it is necessary!
If you see "bunny hops" or any loss of rear muscle, then worry! Otherwise, chill out and enjoy your wonderful GSD!