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BrettG

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At what age can you do hip X-rays and determine if you have a hip problem?

My 14 week old pup came up lame last week and after a week of crate rest she's not limping any more but her right leg has an odd angle. She's going to see dr Payne next week just wondered if I could see enough to determine whether to continue with her or not.
 
Hip x-rays for validation of suitability for breeding can be done at one year (prelim reading but no number) or two years for validation.

Of course, if a dog is displaying hip problems he should be seen fairly quickly. The issue may be an injury rather than dysplasia and may require correction.
 
From the OFA website:

"The OFA accepts preliminary consultation radiographs on puppies as young as 4 months of age for evaluation of hip conformation. If the dog is found to be dysplastic at an early age, the economic loss from the cost of training, handling, showing and so forth can be minimized and the emotional loss reduced. These preliminary radiographs are read by the OFA veterinary radiologists and are not sent to outside radiologists. The same hip grades are given to preliminary cases.

A recent publication* compared the reliability of the preliminary evaluation hip grade phenotype with the 2 year old evaluation in dogs and there was 100% reliability for a preliminary grade of excellent being normal at 2 years of age (excellent, good, or fair). There was 97.9% reliability for a preliminary grade of good being normal at 2 years of age, and 76.9% reliability for a preliminary grade of fair being normal at 2 years of age. Reliability of preliminary evaluations increased as age at the time of preliminary evaluation increased, regardless of whether dogs received a preliminary evaluation of normal hip conformation or HD. For normal hip conformations, the reliability was 89.6% at 3-6 months, 93.8% at 7-12 months, and 95.2% at 13-18 months. These results suggest that preliminary evaluations of hip joint status in dogs are generally reliable. However, dogs that receive a preliminary evaluation of fair or mild hip joint conformation should be reevaluated at an older age (24 months).

*Corley, EA, et al. Reliability of Early Radiographic Evaluation for Canine Hip Dysplasia Obtained from the Standard Ventrodorsal Radiographic Projection. JAVMA. Vol 211, No. 9, November 1997."


Aside from that, take your pup to vet now and get it checked out. 14 week old pup is growing fast and if there's an issue of any kind, it should be addressed pronto.
 
Hope the pup is OK.
 
Most likely just something she did around the house. Get her to the vet and let them check her out.
Good luck with her.
 
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