# NEED INFO SOON!! BobM chaws anyone



## dieseldog (Aug 9, 2004)

Ok here we go again my 6 year old lab that just had acl surgery 3 weeks ago and was coming along nicely was laying outside and i didn't see her and backed over her with the vehicle and now she has a broken ball in her hip joint same leg as acl surgery. vet wants to do a FHo surgery and remove the ball and let the scar tissue and muscle hold the hip. I also was given the option of going on to somewhere else and having it fixed i am not sure how. But with pins and screws and such they just can't do that part of it at my vet. What is my best option??? She is scheduled to have the FHO on thursday. I know her hunting days may be behind her now but i want her to be comfortable and regain as much use of her leg as possible. Everything i have read on FHo says it works better on smaller dogs but is ok for larger dogs to just might have more of a limp. Or should i look at total hip replacement. I just want her to be comfortable even if she is now just a house and farm dog. She is 6 years old and about 90 pounds. I am pretty sure that she hates me about now. Also anyone know of any good vets to do the other types of surgery i was told to go to Sturgis SD or Saskatoon canada.


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## Jimmie's Pop (Mar 29, 2009)

The pins and screw surgery will most likely be more expensive, but if it's successful she should be more functional. Ask the Dr. what the success rate is with this surgery in a large dog, I'm guessing it's fairly high. Let the vet know that you want to continue to hunt the dog and ask what the advantages are compared to a FHO. Not sure what they'll charge but keeping the femoral head should give her more mobility. The question is how much are you willing to spend to retain it.

I don't have any experience with a FHO but I can't see a 90lb dog being very mobile without a femoral head.
Either way make sure she's not carrying any extra weight during hunting season and watch her like a hawk. If she's anything like my GSP she won't be looking out for her own well being in a field with scent.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

My experince is limited to a FHO done on my pitbull as a pup he is fully functional and now 2 years old and can run great he weighs 82 pounds nothing but solid muscle so for a duck dog just doing retrieves I doubt it will be a big change and feel she will adapt to it.

IF the dog is used for extensive upland work I think it will limit her my pit gets sore with a lot of exercise and starts to favor his leg. So for a short burst of exercise like a retrieve I think it will be OK. You will have to play that as you see fit.

My dog was a pup and they cant do a replacement on a pup because they are still growing.

This is my only experience with this I am not a vet so I would follow the vets advice, my dog does remarkably well. He is the fastest dog I've ever owned and I have field trial Eps and GSPs, he can run them down easily.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Have you ever let the pit chase coyotes? I'm thinking about getting some type of coyote killing dog.


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## Slimpickins (Jun 9, 2009)

One thing you should consider is how much the arthritis is going to set in. She is six now and goes 90 pounds. With that much scar tissue the arthritis is going to be terrible on a dog like that.

Either way you will have to deal with it but I would think that type of dog and the size it would do alot better with the hip replacement surgery.

BTW: Watch out for your animals!


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

That's awful! I feel for ya! I guess I don't have a lot of experience with that stuff or really know much about it to tell you the truth. From what's been posted I'd say follow their recommendations. The arthritis is going to set in really good with that much invasive surgery so I'd also say to look into additional supplements after the surgery for the joint protection ongoing in life. Also, take a lot of weight off the dog.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

Dave I do everything I can to keep the pit from getting his prey drive reved up but I have no doubt he would be a great catch dog for hogs or coyotes if hounds or something was used to bay them first.

Hes the kind of animal that takes a ton of monitoring and with all my bird dogs I dont want him killing canines.

Hes extremely fast for about 300 yards but hes a sprinter not a distance dog. I think a coyote could outrun him if it had a good head start and the sense to run.

I cannot stress how totally amazed I am with his athletic ability though


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

IF you look real close you can see the scar from the FHO along the back edge of his upper rear leg , the one thats raised.

Only you will know if the dog is over weight.

I like to see the last rib showing and a good stomach tuck on my dogs, anything more than that is overweight in my judgement. 90 lbs does sound real large for a female lab, but I'm not looking at the dog. Ask for a honest appraisal of the dogs weight by the vet.


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## dieseldog (Aug 9, 2004)

The vet said he would like to see her get to about 83 lbs so we are working on it. I think she will adapt fine like i said she willbe done hunting hard but the occasional field hunt for geese and small sloughs for pheasants. I will just have to monitor her closely. Either way she will make an excellent house dog.

Slim I do watch out for my animals. Like i said before she was recovering from acl surgery and was supposed to be in the house and my wife decided to let her out and enjoy some sun without me knowing it and she decided to lay by the vehicle for some shade i would guess and well you know the rest. It is unreal how bad something like this makes a guy feel.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

accidents happen dont beat yourself up, although its hard not to.

I lost a beautiful dog last year to a car last year and it ruined my whole season still bothers me a lot. You just have to let it go.

Good luck with the dog she may do fine and really surprise you, labs are tough dogs.


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## Jimmie's Pop (Mar 29, 2009)

Arthritis is disease of the cartilage. If the femoral head is removed it will be bone on cartilage. It won't take more than a month or two to progress to bone on bone.
If you or a relative has had a joint replacement then you've had experience with arthritis. It is a debilitating disease, and the average human can't take diseased cartilage to cartilage contact before seeing a Dr. for a total joint.

Bones have a much higher concentration of nerves. I'd be willing to bet that pit bull has a higher pain tolerance than most dogs. Keep an eye on her and keep her in the water.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

I think the bone on bone thing doesn't happen the body makes a false cartilidge.

If my dog was an adult at the time of his injury I would of done the hip replacement it was not an option for a pup.

If you do the whole hip replacement I would go to the very best vet school that specialized in that surgery though I dont think its something every vet commonly does.

WHen the pit is in training especially ecollar work he has less tolerance to pain than my shorthairs quite a bit less than most, the very lowest levels of stim get his attention, however once he gets his prey drive up that changes.

Hes a hard dog to figure everything almost I thought about pits has not been true. very nice dog but a lot of trouble to manage because of aggression and total lack of caution or fear.

I would not recommend one as a pet but I admit I am very fond of this one.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

That is a topic I haven't seen here before...good information for the rest of us. And Jimmie's Pop, welcome to Nodak!


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## dieseldog (Aug 9, 2004)

Went ahead and skipped the fho surgery and found a vet in Bismarck that was able to put the ball back together. Figured with her size we would go that way first. Surgery was today no for a long rehab.


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## MossyMO (Feb 12, 2004)

dieseldog
My best wishes to your pup and keep us updated your pups healh.


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## Jimmie's Pop (Mar 29, 2009)

I'll be the first to say that I don't know much about training dogs. This is my first, but I know physiology. Surgery is never good but you made a good decision.

Hip fractures are a common occurrence in elderly humans. Ortho surgeons perform them on a weekly basis. A good vet that has surgical training and experience should do this with a high success rate. 
The body cannot regenerate cartilage. Cartilage has no blood vessels, no blood means no growth. When bone hits bone it bleeds. Bleeding causes more bone to grow. The growth varies but it can fuse a joint, leaving you with minimal motion. At 90lbs you might have had a peg leg dog.


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