[dakotaridge]

Has anyone ever heard of this?? Got an email today from a puppy owner that bought a puppy from me that was born in February 09. He said they had the pup in to be spayed and while under anesthesia the vet decided to do a "hip pop" test and was concerned with the results so the vet took x-rays and concluded that the pup has dysplasia in one hip.

Any suggestions on how to handle this?

 

[pupaloo]

They are probably referring to Penn hip...

Do you have a guarantee? What does it say?

 

[copterdoc]

I wouldn't recognize a "hip pop test" or trust the Vet's opinion of the X-rays.

Depending on how the contract was worded, I think you SHOULD demand that the owner submit X-rays to the OFA at 24 months of age.

Until the dog is at least 24 months old AND evaluated as "mild" or worse, the dog can't be labeled as dysplastic.
The ONLY exception to that, would be if PENNhip is specifically listed as an alternative in your hip guarantee contract.

 

[Furball]

Until the dog is at least 24 months old AND evaluated as "mild" or worse, the dog can't be labeled as dysplastic.

Oh yes it can. Dogs certainly can be diagnosed as dysplastic well before 24 months of age and without OFA having anything to do with it.
No, not every vet is going to be great at hip xrays but they are qualified professionals in the field of diagnosing a common orthopedic malady.

To the original poster, what does your puppy contract say? This is something you should have spelled out in your contract.

If for some reason you doubt their veterinarian then pay for your vet to xray the dog for a 2nd opinion.

 

[copterdoc]

My point is, that it would be a preliminary diagnosis only. Even if the hips graded as "mild" at 7 months, they would still need to be re-evaluated at 24 months.

Obviously if there is already DJD present in the joint, a second submission wouldn't be necessary.

 

[dakotaridge]

My contract says evaluated by OFA.

 

[firehouselabs]

He was most likely testing for "laxity" or how easily the hip could be popped out of the socket. You can have really lax or loose joints and still rate a good from OFA. Radiographes show changes in physical appearance of the socket & how well the ball of the joint fits in the socket.
Will the pup develope DJD at a later age because of the laxity??? Too early to tell at this time unless the radiographes are already showing changes in the structure of the hip. Best bet is to either get a Penn hip rating at this age or to submit findings to OFA and go from there.

 

[dakotaridge]

So another question is "Is this good for the hip to be popping it out to test it?"

Doesn't seem like that would be a good thing!!!!!!

 

[copterdoc]

So another question is "Is this good for the hip to be popping it out to test it?"

Doesn't seem like that would be a good thing!!!!!!

I don't think it's a good idea to intentionally dislocate a joint either!

Even if it pops out easily, it's not a good sign, but in itself doesn't mean the dog is going to have hip problems. A dog can be evaluated as "fair", "borderline", or even "mild" just because of subluxation with no DJD present.

As far as I am concerned, if the sockets are deep enough and the heads are nice and round I don't think the dog will have hip problems. If the sockets are shallow, I don't care how tightly the heads are seated, I think they are going to develop DJD as the dog ages.

The OFA evaluates several things before grading a set of hips: http://offa.org/hipproc.html

I have my doubts about this "hip pop test" meaning anything at all. I just don't think it is a repeatable, scientific process.