Hello everyone,

I am a visitor to the site and have a question to ask re our two Labradors, Bosun (dog) is five and Millie (bitch) 14 months both KC registered . Millie has had her second season we planned to breed from them next summer after a hip score xray, they both got together at the weekend and Millie may now be pregnant.

We took them both today for hip scoring Millie's xrays looked fine, Bosun obviously has a problem, even I could see one joint did not look ok with my untrained eye. Bosuns Sire and Dam had scores of 11 and 5. He seems as fit as a fiddle, very lean 34kg and big with it. The films have yet to be sent for BVA scoring so we do not have the numbers yet.
Here come the questions:

1. If Bosuns scores come out high would it be wrong to let Millie continue with the possible pregnancy?

2. What are the risks in terminating the pregnancy? I have heard the drugs used can cause infections and result in the need for spaying.

3. What sort of life quality will Bosun have if he has a hip replacement or the operation to remove the top of the hip bone.

A bit of advice or life experiences would be welcome.

Thanks in anticipation.

Bob Gibb

Ideally you should have had the mis mate injection at the weekend but its probably too late now,chances are you wont get the scores for about five weeks in which case it will be too late to terminate,there is always a chance that she may not be pregnant did they tie? and did they only mate once?
In my opinion 14months is far too young for a lab to have puppies but it could be argued in the wild they would mate early but it doesnt make it right.
I'm not really sure what to advise ideally the pregnancy should be terminated and you should definitly nueter the dog now you know his hips are bad.
Regarding the hips if he is fit enough he could have built up muscle to compensate for lack of socket I have known dogs with bad hips live fine and have a decent life and at five if he was crippled you would surely have noticed.I would only consider a hip operation as a last resort.
Im sorry for you and hope you find a suitable solution.