Disclaimer:
Information presented in the “Living With…” sections of the SCARF website represent the personal viewpoint of the individual who made the journal entry and do not represent the opinions, positions, or viewpoints of SCARF or the veterinary community. [see complete disclaimer at bottom of page]
I’ve had four Samoyeds, two with hip dysplasia. My first Samoyed puppy was purchased as a pet when I was in high school . We found her through an ad in the newspaper. She turned out to be a good-looking specimen with a decent pedigree and we decided to try showing her. People around the show ring said her movement was excellent and she received one point towards her championship. We thought it would be fun to have puppies and had heard about hip dysplasia and wanted to be conscientious so we had our vet x-ray her. He said she was “borderline normal, okay for breeding.” We bred her (stud owner never asked for OFA number). Then we heard about the OFA, so we had her x-rayed again. The OFA didn’t agree with our vet; their diagnosis was hip dysplasia, so we ended her show and breeding career and had her spayed. I learned that excellent movement is NOT a guarantee of good hips, and that the OFA may not agree with one’s vet.
My second Samoyed with hip dysplasia was adopted as a spayed adult from the local Humane Society and was definitely not show quality. Due to Delta’s obviously poor breeding I always suspected hip dysplasia, but didn’t have her x-rayed until she was older and had symptoms. One morning, the day after a long play session with our younger dog, Delta was in pain. Our vet x-rayed her hips and showed us the results. Her dysplasia was so bad that I couldn’t tell on the x-ray where the hip socket was supposed to be, it was that shallow and flat. Due to her age (around 10), we decided not to have her hips replaced. We tried anti-inflammatories, but they upset her stomach making her vomit. Our vet recommended Dasuquin (glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate) which seemed to help. It took about a month to see results. We didn’t let her gallop around the yard anymore with our younger dog, but did continue to take her on morning and evening walks every day. Our vet said that it was very important to maintain the muscle tone. If not, he said some morning between pain and lack of muscle tone she wouldn’t be able to get up. We also made sure that she did not become overweight.
I said two of my four Samoyeds have had hip dysplasia. What of the other two? Both were purchased from careful breeders; sires and dams both had OFA numbers. One was x-rayed and received an OFA number. The other has never been x-rayed because she was purchased as a pet. At ten years old she runs around like a puppy with no sign of any troubles.
Disclaimer:
Information presented in the “Living With…” sections of the SCARF website represent the personal viewpoint of the individual who made the journal entry and do not represent the opinions, positions, or viewpoints of SCARF or the veterinary community. There may be discussions of drugs, devices, additives, foods, vitamins, herbs or biologicals that have not been approved by the FDA/CVM for the particular use being discussed. SCARF assumes no liability for the accuracy or outcomes of any suggestions, advice or other information provided by the “Living With…” postings on the SCARF website. All treatment decisions should only be made after discussion with your pet’s veterinary health professional, and no changes in your pet’s treatments or diet should be made based on any information found on the SCARF website.