Training and HD

[jonesjoyful]

Roxy is in obedience class now..she is almost 8 mos..she was dx at 6 mos with severe bilateral HD..she is on rimadyl and glucosamine/chroindroitin supplements ..just a brief backgroud...

Here is the thing..This is our 3rd week of training..Tonight especially, I noticed that she "downs" alot during the sit time...such as when we are getting instruction and in between practice...she has a lazy sit most of the time anyway..I was just wondering if perhaps the "sit" hurts her hips and that is why she "downs" alot..Has anyone had this experience?

thanks

[targonrotts]

she might be a bit uncomfortable. is the class too long? if so, you might want to give her a break every so often.
also, she might be going thru some growing pains too, and this might also add to the discomfort.
many times, as they get older and start to muscle in the rear some, they do better. keep her thin, take her swimming to help develop her rear and add stamina. exercise with moderation.
have your vet recheck her. she may be a candidate for surgey if very severe.

[Terri Lambert]

It could be her hips hurt, but also if she is going into a down between practices and instruction she maybe bored. I have a dog with moderate HD and one who has good hips and they both will lay down if they get bored during instruction or down time.

[jonesjoyful]

thanks for the replies...it is like she doesnt sit for very long at all and i am having to make her get up...i do hope we make it thru this growing period!!!

i would love to take her swimming but really have no where around here to go...there is a pond i have access to but i bet it has snakes and all..plus, who knows if she can even swim...she has never been in water...

[Weltterr]

I have read (don't remember where) that dogs with HD are uncomfortable in a long sit. Not knowing this at the time, I did observe an older dog with HD that rarely sat at all. She would sit for meals, to go out, but never on her own at all. When left to her own choice, she was always in a down, or on her side. I think the hd needs to be taken into consideration when determining your training expectations.

[codglvr]

My first male was diagnosed very young with severe bilateral HD. Once he learned sit, down, etc well, I minimized the amount of time he had to sit or the number of times he had to stand back up from sitting, down, etc. Even when he was still learning, we made training time count and didn't go too long or too many repetitions.

[jonesjoyful]

thanks...this week we had to take a break from our training for a rest for roxy...

codglvr...how did your male that was dx with HD very young end up doing..just curious..thanks