![]() Dogs are supposed to be good at hiding their discomfort. I think it's worth getting a few professional opinions if you can. He still has a funny walk, but most importantly, he's pain-free and living life like a happy, goofy boy - always running, skipping, and playing with his little brother. He was diagnosed with early onset hip dysplasia, and soon after had his first FHO surgery at about 6 months old. As soon as we came back, we looked for the best specialist and booked him in for a check-up. When we were away for summer break, we put him in doggy camp with his trainer, and he too noticed something with his walk. ![]() We couldn't really shake off this feeling that something wasn't right, but didn't have any options. We took him to 3 vets, all of whom said it's too early to tell because he is still growing and his bones are still "developing". We noticed our boy had a bit of a funny walk/run at a very early age. Hello, owner of a GR who had early onset hip dysplasia here! Most accepted expert advice though is that Labradors pups daily exercise amount should 5 minutes for every month of their life up to twice a day - so for your Lab that would be 25mins of exercise twice a day - & this 'exercise' isn't a run or long fast-paced walk on a lead but rather play time in the backyard with you, digging, sniff trails or interactive play with a similarly aged dog. Such is the focus on protecting those precious growing joints in this breed some experts even advocate for Labrador pups not to use stairs or jump down off surfaces until they have reached at least 12months of age. In general caring for your Lab pup's joints is important anyway, limits on exercise at this age and stage is important for all Labrador pups to ensure that they don't overuse & stress those growing bones & joints. At each end of the disease spectrum the impact really varies as at the mild end some dogs get along with weight management and pain relief but at the severe end it can be intensely debilitating & cause exceptional pain. While the optimum result is that your pup does not have hip dysplasia if he does get diagnosed with it the key is the severity of his dysplasia as that will be a big determining factor for how the condition progresses and how impacted his mobility is by the condition. The best way to rule it in or out is an xray at the Vets, that way you can be sure you know if he has it or not, how severe it is if he does have it and the proactive steps you can take now to lessen the pain as he grows. But as it is a risk in the Labrador breed it is something that should be checked if your pup came from parents who weren't hip scored. ![]() There are some actions that are indicators to watch out for in your pup.such as, limb lameness, bunny hopping when running, trouble getting up from the ground or stiffness in joints, difficulty standing for periods or shifting weight from one leg to another or even hearing a clicking noise when they're moving. Unless both parents have been hip scored it's a guessing game. ![]()
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