11 mo old Goldendoodle dx with Severe Hip Dyplasia

[Dina C]

"Hi, our little Ellie who is 11 months, has recently been dx with severe Hip Dysplasia in both hips.  We are investigating FHO surgery, but hope to hear of others experience with this.  Unfortunately doing a full hip replacement is just not feasible for us.  Our concern is her age...would she be too young to have this done? I trust our Vet in that he feels she will benefit greatly from this but still, we are concerned with her age...is she still growing etc. 

[Christine & Shelby]

Sorry to hear this.... have you contacted your breeder?   A reputable breeder would typically have a two year health warranty for things like this.   I am so sorry this has happened.  I don't have any experience with HD in dogs or with the surgery... but I am sure others will chime in.   

[Dina C]

Hi...yes, we are in the process of contacting her..still waiting on the Vet to provide us with the xrays and proper documentation to send. Thru a ton of correspondence before we picked Ellie up, we were told (via email) that she has a 2 yr gte...however, upon meeting the breeder (mid point) she had "forgotten" the papers.  So I have no idea what a 2 yr gte means.  I'm tempted to contact her, as an inquiry on her current litters to see if she can provide details of her gte..not that it will matter. We probably will get no where with her.  

[Jennifer Moore]

Hi Dina,    My Dazi was dx with sever Hip Dysplasis in both hips at 6 months old.   She had the FHO surgery on her left side in August of last year and then had the other side a month later in September.    She was in a lot of pain.  Her surgeon said that all her cartilage was gone and she was rubbing bone on bone causing her so much pain.  The first surgery was tough.  And after she was putting her weight on the surgery leg then her surgeon did the other side.  It was a long tough recovery and after about 4 months she was fully recovered and she can run and play and jump and is pain free.  I cried the first time I saw her running and playing with other dogs.   I cried to when I found her counter surfing for the first time since her legs were strong enough.   We walk everyday to keep her legs strong and healthy.  She is now doing great.  I will be glad to answer any questions you have about the surgery and the recovery if you like since I have been though it with my baby and can tell you a little more of what to expect through the whole thing.   I am really sorry you and your baby are having to go through this.  I had contacted my breeder who didn't care at all and did nothing to help.   Let me know if I can help at anyway.    

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Thank you, Jennifer.  I told Dina earlier today that I was going to link your old discussions. So glad you showed up and responded.  Glad to see your are out there still and that your doodle girl is doing well.   

[Jennifer Moore]

Hi Joanne,  Sorry I haven't been on here in a little while.  Dazi keeps me going constantly.  She is doing great now.  No more pain and just as happy as she can be.   I call this picture my Doodle on the rocks.  :)

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Bless You, Dazi. 

So good to see you again  :)  

[Robin and Libby Louise]

Awww, so sweet.  So glad everything turned out just great!

[Lynda Kamrath]

Make sure to contact your breeder and let him or her know what has happened.  A good breeder may be able to make some amends, but they need to know that they are allowing dogs out of their facility with genetic problems.  You sure don't want this to continue.  Surgery is hard on everyone and very expensive also.  Love and hugs to little Ellie.

[Sally Rea]

Had a Golden Doodle from Fox Creek Farms ( 5 years ago) diagnosed with severe bilateral HD...about the worst the surgeon had ever seen.  Have no problem with the breeder in terms that sometimes flukes happen.  we did have clearances from parents (however, I did not realize that parents need to be at least 2 y/o before having final clearance...the mother was 14 months old when she had this litter of pups--so I do have a problem with that).  Breeder gave us purchase price back $2000, but not the state tax in W/VA.  Surgeries were close to $40000....however did not cover the cost of the surgery or the pain and suffering the pup went through..not to mention that the dog will always have a slower and impaired gait. We will leave out the fact of what a hot mess I was after finding out.  We had previously had another golden with severe HD which resulted in bilateral TPO's.  Just could not believe that it could happen again...after I did due diligence in researching breeders to attempt to rule out this diagnosis.   We have more of a problem with the fact that she advertises when people ask her that she has not had a pup with HD (when in fact I now know of 4).

Had surgeries almost 5 years ago at Pittsburgh Veterinary Hospital.  Chuzzle is no longer in pain and is very happy little guy.  I would not trade him for the world...I just feel so horrible that his first year and a half were spent in a lot of pain.    I would say post op it probably took him 4-6 months to be pain free and moving as fluidly as he does now.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Oh Geesh, Sally Rea. What a story!   I'm so sorry this happened and not once but twice.  Thanks for sharing your experiences and giving Dina some support. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Dina,

I know you are new and it is still difficult to navigate this site. I hope Jennifer doesnt mind that I link you her story as it is full of information and at times heated.   Yet, a lot of good information on what she dealt with in terms of surgery, the breeder ( I say that mildly) and recovery.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/fho-surgery-femoral-head-o...

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

I don't have any advice but I wish you the best and I good luck making the decisions for Ellie. 

I hope you have some luck with her breeder.