Hi, my eight month old male bullmastiff really waddles when he walks, from side to side.  I'm worried that he might have hip displaysia is it a possibility?  If it is i'm aware you can have hip score tests when their one how could you find out sooner?

Yes it is possible.You can get your dog  x rayed at any age and the vet will be able to see if your dog has HD
Archer

Big breeds often "sway" when young when they move. Our Akita used to do it & I was really worried - he has a hip score of 2/3. Does he show any signs of discomfort - like lameness or difficulty in rising from a sit or from lying down or reluctance to take exercise? If not, I wouldn't be in hurry to have him xrayed if there are no other signs.

As its been said, most larger breeds tend to "Sway", And the tell tale signs of the symptoms can initially be subtle such as: stiffness in the morning, slowness to get up, not wanting to exercise as long or as vigorously, a change in stride of the hind legs, "bunny hopping", wanting to sit down while eating or during walks, or reluctance to stand up on the hind legs.
I too worried about HD for a while, as my bullmastiff has quite a sway when she walks, but not when she trots, and she has none of the above symptoms, so i gave up worrying about it. The fact she likes nothing more than standing on her hind legs watching the world go by out the window dispelled my fears...lol
We have many articles on HD and hipscoring on the   www.thebullmastiff.co.uk   forum.

All the best
Robbo

The only way to be sure is to x-ray.  In SOME cases, SOME dogs may have a waddle appearance in walk, (trot is normally okay), that may be reflective of hip deformity, not always but it can be in some cases.  'Bunning hopping' or 'crabbing' (a reluctance to extend the hind limbs), or an over extension of the hind limbs can be other classic signs. 

Stiffness and difficulties rising, clicking or grating (crepitus) in the hip joints may be evident in the later stages of the disease.  In the early stages of HD, in SOME cases, the only vague clinical signs may be a waddle or hip sway appearance in walk and a reluctance to fully extend/ or an ability to over extend the hind limbs.  But signs do vary in individual cases.

I had a young GSD x-rayed and the only clinical symptoms she had was a waddle or a sway effect and a reluctance to extend the hind limbs fully, she had moderate HD. 

Your vet should be able to perform a physical exam and on the basis of that, you would be able to decide in conjunction with your vet if x-rays are a requirement at this time.  Some dogs with x-ray confirmation of HD never experience pain or disability in their lifetime.  Good luck.

Bunny hopping in my breed is seen often when they work and all of the dogs that do this have low hip scores, so also if your dog does this doesn't mean that they have a hip problem.

One of my dogs has frogs legs when she lies down, loads of people told me that she would have a hip problem and she's one of the lowest scoring Spanish in the country. 

As others have said there is really only one way to know and that's via an x-ray.

>One of my dogs has frogs legs when she lies down, loads of people told me that she would have a hip problem >and she's one of the lowest scoring Spanish in the country.

I've always assumed and been told it is the other way around -frog legs when laying down means hips are good. :) Certainly my dog with severe HD could never in a million years get into that positon. Maybe it's just another old wives tale. :)

I think it must be an old wives' tale - my in-laws mongrel had terrible HD but liked to lie like a frog. Yet dogs with great hips will also do it.

>I've always assumed and been told it is the other way around -frog legs when laying down means hips are good.  Certainly my dog with severe HD could never in a million years get into that positon. Maybe it's just another old wives tale.

Well.... maybe half an old wives tail... :-D

In some cases, the frog's legs effect in the down can be symbolic of over laxity or instability in the hip joints and HD may be seen on x-rays.  In others, it can mean a good extension of the hip joint and the dog has an excellent hip score.  There again, there are some dogs with excellent hip scores and yet cannot and do not lie like a frog. 

Incidentally, my friends GSD lies like a frog, she had no femur heads at all. 

hi
bullmastiffs often walk with a sway ...the best way to describe the way they move is it is , as  if they are wearing a babies nappy :>)...this is completely normal ..my girl who is five now walked this way ...she was my first bullmastiff and i was really worried ...my breeder told me this was entirely normal ...as was sometimes looking as if she was struggling slightly when moving form a lie down to a stand position ...remember this breed grows so quickly it can often be a fact that they do not have complete control of their limbs ...lol...i know all mine have had no co-ordination of their legs until about 9 - 10 months old ...don't worry too much ...make sure your dog has good quality bedding and has a good diet not too high in protein or calcium ...keep him slightly lean for the first year ..and exercise to an absolute minimum...this way if you chose your breeder well and they have had no signs of hd then you will have done all that you can to ensure your pup grows into a fine strong dog :>))..after all the worrying i did my girl was hip scored at 18 months and was given an excellent score ..one of the lowest i have ever come across in our breed :>))
she also would lie down like a frog ..back legs extended behind her ..still does ...as does my youngest recruit a 16 week old male bullmastiff...so could well be a good sign :>)..you can get further help and support at our bullmastiff forum which is mainly made up of breeders and owners from the uk   http://ukbullmastiffs.proboards46.com/

good luck
regards
debbie

All my dogs lie like frogs, it is a common breed trait, and i suspect it is to help keep cool, or just that they are agile enough toi jump right up from that position.  I have had lots of people tell me it is a sign of GOOD hips, but frankly I think it is a red herring either way.

Hi.  My Bernese Mountain Dog had his hips checked and tested at 4 months of age and was clear.  He had them again tested and x-rayed and screened at 6 months old to be on the safe side.  We found that he had Hips Dysplasia. He did not limp, did not waddle and did not show any signs of discomfort or stiffness of any sort.  The only thing I can say that we noticed was that he did occasionally "sway", he did not lie down as most dogs do but instead when he laid down he had one leg stuck out and he sat with one leg stuck out. He did begin to bunny-hop when he ran and that it when we insisted on the further vets screening and ex-ray which detected the HD. He only had dysplasia in one hip and as we caught it early we were able to have an operation called a "triple pelvic osteotomy" which I believe repairs the sockets and bone and put the bones, joint and sockets back into place with various nuts and bolts.  If he had been much older he would have needed a hip replacement which is an operation which carries a higher risk of post-operative infection due to the sort of cement etc they have to use and the recovery from a total hip replacement can be more drawn out.  Without either operation our dog could have been doomed to early onset arthritis from 12 months of age up and an uncomfortable painful existence treatable only by anti-inflammatories and pain killers which have recently been linked to maybe causing stomach ulcers and heart conditions in dogs.  My only advice is that you MUST get your dog x-rayed AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to in any way ensure you have done all checks necessary to ensure that you do not unwittingly allow your dog to walk about in pain.

How early do signs of HD emerge? I am concerned as I have a German Shepherd pup and I know the breed are prone to hip problems. She came from low hip scoring parents (and low hip scores through her grandparents), and I have made sure any steps in the garden have ramps for her, and she is NOT allowed anywhere near the stairs in our house, and we have two steps into the kitchen than we made extra 'little' steps for, so she only has to go down steps of a 1 1/2" depth to get from the living room to the kitchen. She is an incredibly boistrous pup, and I do worry she could do damage to herself with all the jumping about she does. She was wobbly a little on her back legs when we first got her, but she was only 7 weeks so was just 'getting her feet' so to speak, and the only other signs I do worry about are when she has been lying down for a while (like sleeping for 2 hours), she will be a bit wobbly again, and might slide her bum back down again (usually only until she has a good stretch and then she is fine). She walks twice a day stictly for 10 minutes only, and now she goes out for walks, she is much, much less bpistrous in the garden (no tearing about running up and down). Should I be concerned? She is only 11 weeks now and still at that 'floppy puppy' stage. At what age is it best to have them x-rayed to check their hips, and how much on average does this cost? Where can you have it done? It is so strage as HD is the kind of disorder where you can wrap a pup in cotton wool and they can come from low hip scoring parents, and still develop HD, and some pups can bomb around, and come from high hip scoring parents and end up with a low hip score.

hi tinaradway
i'm so very sorry to hear about your dog and i hope he has made a good recovery following the operation.
i must point out that the sway i am talking about is something a bullmastiff would be expected to have ...i'm afraid they do walk like this ..lol..even when fully grown they walk a little like john wayne used to when he got off his horse :>)))
but this all disappears when they need to cover any ground and a healthy bullmastiff is a pleasure to watch covering ground with great power and drive :>))

the question originally asked was about a bullmastiff and i responded to that ..i honestly have no knowledge of other breeds so cannot say whether or not a sway would be signs of hd in your breed or any other .

another point which may be food for though is that many studies are being conducted (and have been ) which actually show that vitamin c given every day to a puppy through to adulthood may help to fight off hd ..this has not been proved yet ...but as our dogs are poor producers of vit c and very few foods have it in as it oxidises very easily and the high heat proces of preparing dried food would probably destroy it anyway..it may not be a bad idea to supplement with vit c ...it certainly will do them no harm ..and who know it may help ...i have given it to all my dogs :>)

regards
debbie

Hi Nannyogg your pup is only eleven weeks old and they're not steady on their feet then so i would'nt worry to much, if it's still a worry in your mind once your puppy gets abit older get him/her xrayed to put your mind at ease.  My bullmastiff too walks aswell as if she has a nappie on after reading these posts i feel less concerned although once she's of age i will get her hips xrayed to makes sure everythings as it should be.  I wish i didn't worry as much also every little thing i'm looking in a book god a worry over her more than i do my kids.

Warm regards Susan

Cheers for that - I think becaue I am a first time owner I have a tendency to overworry about my puppy (and fuss over her I expect!) I will keep an eye on how she does though, but thatnks for the reassurance! Take Care xxx

Dont worry i'm like that to and the slighest thing has me off worrying aswell.

Warm regards Susan