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The above is a link to an xray of my dog's hips. She is a 5 month old Rottweiler.

The vet who took her xray (and examined her under sedation,) said that her hips were fine. However as she displays all the classic signs of hip dysplasia I sought a second opinion, the second vet said that he suspected medium to severe hip dysplasia and was talking about a TPO (triple pelvic osteotomy) or other operations.

I was quite suprised and worried that the two vets came to completely different conclusions from the same dog and xray. The first vet said that it was OK to continue exercising my dog and that she would probably grow out of her problems, which included being very lame on one leg. The second vet said that I should refrain from exercising her for the time being until a course of treatment has been finalised.

You can understand that somewhere in the middle of this is me and my poor dog. I really don't know what to do - should I pay for a third opinion from yet another vet? The second vet was very quick to find out if I had insurance and he quoted me £4000 for TPO on both hips, I wondered if he was a little too eager and maybe thinking about the money.

What are your opinions on this? Also - in the UK can you recommend a vet surgeon who has had a lot of experience with hip operations particularly the TPO. The vet who suggested that op as a possibility and quoted £4000 didn't sound like he had carried out too many of those ops.

I am based in the West Yorkshire area.

Were either of these vets orthopaedic specialists, if not that is the only vet who can really tell you.  GP vets can be notoriously bad at evaluating hip status often telling people the x-rays look bad yet when scored by the BVA panel they come back perfectly OK, and vice versa.

Did you realise those were upside down and the positoning for x-ray doesn't look right.

Have a look at this article: http://leerburg.com/hipart.htm about the importance of correct positioning.

My previous vet (his skills was NOT the reason for us changing practices) is in South Yorks and he specialises in bones and surgery and referrals. I would recommend him highly. http://www.beechwoodvet.co.uk/referrals/

Sorry but it would be easier to view if it were the right way up!  I'm no expert but they don't look terrible. 

i would say the same they are upside down turn the photo round then you can see,no expert here either but looking at my dog x rays over 20 years you can see if good or not,

where about are you in the country.

I would want a second opinion or in this case a third and with a consultant specialising in this area.  I'm surprised they are suggesting an operation at such a young age too, as I believe it is best to wait until a large breed has fully grown before operating on limbs. No wonder you are confused.  Looking at the exray the hips don't look bad when I compare them to one of my dog's hips that had HD.

What are the signs that you say your dog is showing?

Have you been advised to take her to hydrotherapy?  Brilliant exercise for building up the muscles. Also, don't let her run up and down the stairs, or jump on and off furniture and only do lead 30 minute lead walks and no off lead until she starts to improve.  And maybe give her glucosomine/chondritin (sp) and omega 3 will help added to her diet.

I'd look at the op as a last resort, but if you need a recommendation, I can recommend this practice:   http://www.nwsurgeons.co.uk/meet_the_team.php a brilliant and caring practice from my experience.

I'm surprised the simply did a straight forward X ray-would have been better if it was a Penn Hipp series-far more reliable that a nomal X ray when assessing puppies hips

At five months she should only have about 25 minutes formal exercise anyway.

Is there any chance her problems are panosteitis which they grow out of.

To be honest I wouldn't be worried or using any surgery until at least 12 months of age! Being so young I would rather suspect a muscular rather than skeletal problem. As far as I can tell the X rays look ok. There are neat rounded ascetabulum and the femoral heads don't show any signs of disruption or arthiritis. I would go to a specialist and maybe hydrotherapy or whatever the specialist advises. I wouldn't be relying upon anyone on here being able to give you a clinical opinion(with respect!) You need to physically examine a dog to realise the full picture.

There is a difference between allowing 'free range' exercise...i.e running round a field at their own pace, against the continual pummeling of road walking, which is a rather 'harder' exercise. Road walking should be limited in a Giant/Large breed and allowed plent of free running in the Park/Garden etc.

As I'm sure you are aware(and obviously worried about!) I would have to be really convinced that the dog needed surgery before going down that route!

Have you been in touch with pups breeder? If they are experienced and knowledgable in the breed they should be a great source of info for you.

My Mastiff develpoed a limp and at 6 months old, xrays confirmed he had elbow displasia, he also had his hips xrayed at the same time because both myself and the vet were concered with his movement - it seemed too 'loose' but on waking seemed stiff and he looked like he lacked strength in the back legs and had intermittant limp in them. The vet said the hip-xrays showed his hips were not very good. He also had problems with his pasterns which the vet said would need opperating on.
I got in touch with the breeder who explained that it's very common in this breed to go through some very akward growth stages etc..he also told me be about a 'corrective diet' (as I had deviated from what I was frst told :( ) and not to worry he would be fine, he also advised against any operation for the ED until the pup was at least 12 months old.

In the mean-time, the vet had sent the x-rays to a specialist who said the hips were fine!!! The specialist aslo confirmed the pasterns would need operationg on.

Now the dog is 15months old, his back end is great and he is walking fantsatically and there is no problem with his pasterns (& not had the Ed opperated on), everything the breeder said was spot on :)

Large and giant breeds can go through some very odd growth stages that some vets will not recognise. Please get in touch with pups breeder before you consider an opperation, 5 months seems so very young, they should be able to offer advice on what route to go down, if any.

Oh, just to add, when my pups ED was first diagnosed he could barely walk (hence the vet saying it needed opperating on ASAP), after sticking to the breeders advice you wouldn't even know there was a problem with him :)

Mastifflover...is that YOUR weight or the dogs at the end of your posts?? ;-)

> Mastifflover...is that YOUR weight or the dogs at the end of your posts??

LOL, that was my weight but I've put on 4lbs sine then & I'm supposed to be on a diet :(  the dog is heavier!!!!! Last weigh-in for Buster about 3 months ago he was 152lb, but he's grown since then :-o Not too sure what he wieghs now, need to get him to the vets to find out.

WTG...I think you don't need to lose any more??? Put Buster on a diet!! lol just kidding, he looks lovely! He wouldn't even fit on the scales at our Vets...they only have 'ickle ones! It was a 'guesstimate' for the Newfies! ;-)

> Put Buster on a diet!!

LOL :)

Actually weight is a good point.
Since Buster was diagnosed with ED it has been mine & the vets mission to get him at (and maintain him at) the leaner side of a healthy weight, (much to Buster's disgust as he's a greedy pig!). It's important for all dogs to be a healthy weight, but even  more important to make sure that a developing large/giant breed pup isn't carrying excess weight as this adds un-neccesary strain to the bones and joints - a very important factor to consider when there is any doubt to the health/development of joints. In some (or many?) cases, hip/elbow displasia can be managed simply by exercise and weight management (as in Busters case). I thought this would be the route chosen in the first instance for most dogs anyway before surgery is taken, especially with such a young pup?

Yep...good point...see far too many Newfies too that need to lose a few pounds...especially in the Ring! Some people seem to equate Giant breed with 'overweight'!

Thanks for all your posts. To answer a few questions - yes one of the vets was a orthopedic specialist, it was he that said she had medium to severe CHD. However the other vet was no mug - I mean he was a partner in a well respected local practice, I would be amazed if he was dishing out such bad advice willy-nilly as he would have soon lost his reputation.

In answer to all those that say do not consider surgery at such an early age - TPO (triple pelvic osteotomy) has to be performed at an early age, in fact at 5 months old the window of opportunity is already passing. If both hips need doing then these are seperate operations usually with a couple of months between them.

The problem is that a total hip replacement could be an option later in life but if you have an unsuccessful TPO done as a puppy then this means a hip replacement is not possible (apparently.)

As you can imagine I am quite bewlidered with all the options.

> In answer to all those that say do not consider surgery at such an early age - TPO (triple pelvic osteotomy) has to be performed at an early age, in fact at 5 months old the window of opportunity is already passing. If both hips need doing then these are seperate operations usually with a couple of months between them.

According to this link the window for the TPO is 7-9 months and they are orthapedics taking on referals.

This link shows some xrays and other procedures for HD.

Do as much research as possible before deciding to go ahead with the op so you can make as informed a decision as possible.
Please get in touch with pups breeder, they should be able to offer some good advice.

mastifflover, my staffy piled on the weight after a series of successive ops that meant she was on very restricted exercise.  We have been going to the local hydrotherapy pool and in a matter of weeks her shape is changing for the better.  she is looking leaner and more muscular which is great.