Hip X-Rays Flattening of Femural Head

[Cherry Heart]

I took Arwen (15 months) to the vet this morning and I had them do X-rays on her hips. The Doctor called awhile ago to tell me that she was waking up and I can come pick her up within the hour. He said her hips look pretty good for a rottweiler, but then said there was slight flattening on the femural head. When looking this up online this doesn't look good at all but like moderate dysplasia.

I am going to go in and see the x-rays and pick her up soon and I just wondered if anyone had words of advice or questions to ask him when I get there. I will post an update on what I find out when I get home. I hope this doctor isn't horrible like the last one. He told me my dog (who is always overly friendly and sometimes jumps up when excited) is shy and needs to be socialized more with people . Shes never been scared of anyone. And when he called me, he kept calling her HIM. Even I can tell the difference between boy dog and girl. :::worried::::

[Cherry Heart]

We just got back with Arwen and I am so happy. The vet brought out the x-rays and they looked just like all the "good" pictures I looked at online before we left. He and the vet tech both said they were surprised and happy to say she has the best hips they have seen on a rottie in our area in a long time (huge BYB/Mill state).

The "flattening" as he mentioned on the phone he said is more then likely a little cartilige area that could still fill in at her age. He said i could probley put 10lbs on her and she would still be in great shape (she lost 5lbs since last time we weighed her as we've been excersizeing her at the basball feild lately). I asked about glucosamine and he said "It can't hurt but she looks so good I wouldn't have recommended it if you haden't asked". I am really happy to hear shes looking so good.

[SABELLESMOM]

Originally Posted by Cherry Heart

...He told me my dog (who is always overly friendly and sometimes jumps up when excited) is shy and needs to be socialized more with people . Shes never been scared of anyone. And when he called me, he kept calling her HIM. Even I can tell the difference between boy dog and girl. :::worried::::

Glad the x-rays are fine.

Yes, a dog who jumps up on people does need more work socalizing with people. She needs to learn the behavior you "expect" which is to keep all fours on the ground. She can be shy and unsure, without being scared. In fact it undoubtedly has nothing to do with being scared. It has to do with lacking training. Teach her what she needs to know.

Lots of people call dogs "him" or "her" without even thinking about the actual sex of the animal, tho I think a vet would try harder. It's a habit, more than not knowing, I'm sure. My stepson calls all dogs "him" because he, himself, has a male.

[frontierrots]

In 21 years in the breed I've had many techs and some vets point out a flattening of the ball on xrays. Typically it is practices which do not do a whole lot of OFA xrays but not always.

There is supposed to be a small flat spot on the top of each ball. You can clearly see this when looking at photos online and the size of this flat spot varies by breed

Go to the OFA website http://www.offa.org and you can see diagrams of how hips are rated which in addition to ball and socket construction, look at how much of the ball is covered by the socket walls- more is better

[Cherry Heart]

Hes does do OFA but in the area we are in there are mostly small breeds or mean barking backyard guards with no tags or manners who haven't seen a vet in ages if at all. I looked at alot of the pictures before I went to see the x-rays and some more when I got home and she looks like all the "good" ones (to me kind of inbetween good and excellent but I am not a pro and I am going off of the hand drawings on Ofa site).

I was just hoping for anything "fair" or better so I am a happy mom. This means I need to keep up the obedience and socializing (still can't beleive she was acting SHY!! ) because my dream/goal with her was obedience and agility, and when her hip started to click a bit when she was 9 months or so I was afraid that dream was gone (well the agility part). The hip no longer clicks at all, I guess she grew out of it, and now next year after the official OFA I can start her with agility! Only 9 months to read up on it and get obedience perfected! (well... better )