My pup is 6 months old and people have always asked about his hips/back legs. I have taken him to the vet for it and we concluded due to his tenderness during the exam that his rear leg had a minor injury. We got anti inflammatory medication and he seemed to be doing better with it but his overall strength in his rear is still low. At first, when going to the dog park he would trip/fall all the time but after a few weeks it got better but he still bunny hopped and had the loose walk (this has diminished a bit since). He has trouble squatting and ends up having to constantly re balance himself while doing so. He also has trouble on our linoleum and tiled floors and can't seem to find traction sometimes. When playing with a rope toy, while pulling back his legs spread and most of the pulling comes from the front.  I'm preparing to take him back to the vet for further examination and a second opinion just so see whats up. They have previously felt no tightness or immediate abnormality in the hips. I really want him to be able to play around without fear of getting injured and do the puppy thing, he's a real sweet dog and everyone comments on how calm he is. Any suggestions or experiences?
Thanks, Josh

I would personally get him checked for hip displaysia.

I second that. Sounds like a classic case.

I'm sorry to hear about your buddy's troubles.

Hip Dysplasia has been a concern for me, It would be unfortunate if he does turn out to have it. He's my first husky.

The one thing that doesn't seem like a slam dunk is that your pup is young and from what I gather HD doesn't usually manifest itself at that young age. I could be totally off, but that's what I've casually gathered here and there.

My Husky did a lot of lazy sits when he was young and I had a bout of paranoia about HD and did a lot of research. He's fine, however.

Wishing you the best.

What's his background? Where did you get him?

I've looked into it a little and i found some may show it young if it's bad enough (hoping not the case since there has been some improvement). I took a 6 hour drive out of state to get him, he had papers and the oldest on my certificate dates back to 1998. The other adult dogs (parents + 1 from previous litter) looked healthy and they had a clean environment. Not much else I can say about him.

HD can show as young as 3-5 months old. I would take him to get his hips xrayed asap. If he does have it, there are some treatment options that he will miss out on if you wait too long. Also, make sure you go to someone familiar with doing hip xrays. If they don't position him properly they won't get an accurate result. I hope he's okay!

Also, do you know if the parents were tested and registered with the OFA? If so, that would give you an idea of his likelihood of inheriting the problem.

In addition to what has been posted, have you spoken to the breeder about it? That would have been the second person I spoke to after the vet...well that is assuming you bought from a reputable breeder.

It might help if you were able to post a video as well. I went through something similar with my puppy, but it turned out he had pano (essentially growing pains). I was convinced he had HD and was showing all the signs (I was seeing a minor limp and convincing myself it was a bunny hop). So, I had xrays done at 5 months. He has great, well formed hips, but he had tenderness around his stifle joints. He was a very rough and tumble puppy and it was always something with him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's had a concussion or two with all the banging around and face planting he did when he was growing.   He was fearless!

Also, don't feel bad if you purchased from a breeder that doesn't health test (meaning the OFA certification I mentioned earlier). Many people don't realize the congenital problems that are common in our breed, especially since this is your first husky, and don't know it's an important question to ask. My first puppy was from what would be considered a backyard breeder. I got lucky and she lived a very long (16 years) healthy life.

The bottom line is that xrays are the only way to accurately diagnose HD.

Yeah he was basically a back yard breeder, akc papers no other health guarantee or ofa or contracts. I was aware of HD, neurological and eye problems with the breed. I guess I'll have to go see for xrays just so I can know what is going on. He's otherwise very healthy.

That's good. Hopefully it's nothing major. I'm glad I did the xrays because it gave me peace of mind, hopefully it will do the same thing for you.

Have an appointment tomorrow with a more experienced vet, he got neutered yesterday and is more lively than before the surgery but ill still get him checked out, he actually jumped a little and got his back legs off the ground for I think one of the first times. Hopefully he just has funny legs.

I also wanted to add that you should put rugs on your floors. If he's slipping and not able to find traction, that is putting him at significant risk for injury, especially being so young.

Sheba&Kennedy wrote:

I also wanted to add that you should put rugs on your floors. If he's slipping and not able to find traction, that is putting him at significant risk for injury, especially being so young.

Agreed. That's what we've had to do in our house because our Shadow has a weak hind end as well. Hers is due to congenital neurological issues, which is something you should have your Shadow evaluated for if the x-rays come back clear. Based on what you've said though, it sounds like a chronic pain issue. The fact that he's bouncing around after being neutered really backs that up, he probably feels better because of all the pain meds in his system. Good luck, and I really do hope it turns out to be nothing

Ok so, I decided not to get x-rays as there was no pain and normal range of motion. However the vet did diagnose ear infections (bacterial) and showed me how to clean them out and put the drops in. Today while squatting he didn't have to re-balance nor did he end up walk-pooping, slippery floors are still a bit of a problem. This leads me to believe that the ear infections have had an effect on his balance and they are beginning to clear up. If this is the case then it has been about 2 1/2 months since we first recognized a problem but for the wrong reasons. Hopefully the ear infections are the only issue, I will be getting him hip checked when he's more fully grown (with x-rays and the whole lot) around a year or later just so I can be sure that he will have a normal adult life before he gets old.

here is some video of walking.

Watching him walk makes my stomach hurt...

IMO, you need more then xrays at this point. Like Meredith said on your other post (blueeyedghost), you need to look into taking your dog to a specialist. Not your normal vet.

Have you let the breeder know this is going on? I know you said he was basically a BYB, but hopefully by you passing this along it will convince the "breeder" to either start health testing his breeding stock or stop breeding all together..

That just doesn't look right. Hopefully someone else with more breed experience can chime in.

He is young but I agree the next step needs to be an OFA prelim set of films on his hips...while he's under get films of his back and his knees.  Something seems very structurally off with him, and if I had to take a guess it's going to be severe hip dysplasia...You need to let the breeder know.  With how bad it looks in just those short clips, this could very well be debilitating for him and a long haul for you.

Yes, ever since people have pointed out his walk (almost every time) I have feared the worst. Im going to save up and have him checked out asap by an orthopedic specialist. It really sucks and has me in a sort of denial since he's my first pup i've owned on my own, While I don't fully realize how debilitating HD is I do know it can be pretty bad. I still have hope but it fades as time goes on.

The thing with CHD is it progresses with age, weight, and wear.  This is not something that will get better on its own...likely requiring a surgical repair to make him more comfortable.  This is also something a good breeder should have recognized before placing the pup so for that I'm truly sorry you are going through this, worse that this pup is going to have to live with this.

To understand how debilitating this can be you have to first understand how the hips are put together.  The head (ball) of the femur should fit with little play into the acetabulum (cup) of the pelvis.  Ideally you want to see at least 75% coverage cup to ball.  As there is less coverage, the lesser grade the hips will receive and more room to aid in break down.



This is where to look on x-rays


This is a set of films on a severely dysplastic 9 month old puppy


The dots are to illustrate where the femur head should be placed within the pelvis


And this is a normal set with the OFA certification (one of mine)

2 years is generally the proper age for x-rays, right?

I've seen breeders list "too young" for the certification in dogs under 2.

Granted, this is not for testing for a manifesting problem but for breeding line integrity.

I think in this case x-rays are a must-do.

2 years to get OFA certified. You can get prelims at any age.

Two is the proper age to CERTIFY the hips- with what, IMO, appears to already be obvious hip dysplastic issues I would not wait to get a prelim set taken.  They don't necessarily have to be sent in to OFA, I'm guessing it will be quite obvious once the film is developed.

*EDIT* Kelsey beat me to it