hi all this is going to be a bit long .
                                      so cup of tea or coffee and thinking cap,s at the ready please
my three year old lab has had bad back leg,s for a long time. it looked like it was his stifles well that,s what his vet was thinking .we went to see a orthopaedic chap on 11 june my vet had sent x rays of max,s back legs down to him .and what a shock we got when we meet him he told us that max,s pelvis had fused on one side at the caudal aspect of the left sacro iliac junction.when max.s was four week,s old he got stuck half way in half way out of the whelping box. the breeders told us about this but we did not think he had done any think as they were not worried about it. they do not know what we have found out. i do not know if i should tell them or not i will have to think on that one .
we have also found out that due to what he has done to his pelvis he may have lumbo-sacral disease i,m told by my vet that this is common gsd.
so what i really need to know is there anyone out there that,s been there done that and got the t shirt and how do there dog,s get on in day to day life we have a list of thing,s he can,t do as long as your arm and it,s all the thing,s a mad lab love,s to do there is lot,s he can still do but he can,t be mad anymore .but try telling him that

                        thank,s for taken the time to read this
                           and hopefully there is some one with that t shirt out there

I would get in touch with the breeder as I am sure they would like an update on things. It is difficult to say though that the incidence when he was four weeks old can be the direct result of his condition though :)

What treatment has the vet suggested for Max ?

Have you tried hydrotherapy as I am sure that will help with his muscle tone and strength but will have minimum impact on his joints :) Also what diet and supplements have you got him on ?

Lucy
xx

hi lj when he did what he did he also cut his tummy and as got a scar and it,s just where the sacro lilac junction is .we are looking into hydrotherapy we need to fine a place with a water walker as max will not use he back legs very much when he,s swimming .he think,s his front leg,s do just fine we have got to gently take him for long and long walk and get more muscle on his back legs .he is fed on nutro choice adult sensitive chicken and rice because he,s got a very sensitive tum and he,s also on vet vit,s flexi joints  

Is he on any pain medication as he maybe restricting his movement if it is causing him discomfort ? If this is managed he maybe more inclined to use his back legs and then that will improve the muscle tone giving more stability in his back end.

What are the ingredients of the vet vits flexi joints you are giving him ?

How is he on eating oily fish as this will also help with joints ?

hi ljs he has zydol if needed he can,t take antinflammatory drug,s
the flexi-joints have got glucosamine sulphate 400mg chondroitin sulphate 75mg vit c 50 mg and vit e 10 iu per tab and he has three a day
i think the fish would go out the other end very fast lol

What about getting Glucosamine and Chondroitin here instead. Apparently Chondroitin is the more expensive ingedient so often general 'joint' care things will not have enough of it. My vet recommended the 500/400 ratio - one twice a day for a borzoi weighing 42kg

I would let his breeders know, as I would want to know if I bred him, but I don't think you can blame them. :)

hi chaumsong thank,s for the link.and i would never blame the breeder we know that he did it they told us all about it it,s just one of them thing,s none of us new how much damage he had done he just got stuck as we though there bone are so soft at that age as we all know if i feel brave i will tell them

Hi
Firstly, I must say I have no experience of sacro-iliac injuries in dogs;  however, I frequently see such injuries in horses and when trauma has been involved in the SI junction pain is usually found in the surrounding gluteal and caudal femoral muscles causing spasms and lameness.  You may well notice a degree of atrophy.  A lot can be done with deep massage and ultrasound - also giving cutaneous stimulation to lead to ventral flexion and thereby working the joint is exceedingly helpful.  Suggest you find a good canine physio who will work on vet referral and discuss with them.

Good luck