# Early Signs of Chondrodysplasia?



## kao9016

My puppy Riley is almost 9 months old. For the past several months, I've noticed a very subtle limp while we're on walks. The instant after I notice it, it's gone. Riley is able to run, jump, and go on long walks, but I'm very concerned that something is "off." What are the earliest symptoms of chondrodysplasia? Is this something I should be concerned about and evaluate further? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

-Kari


----------



## Jennifer Clevenger

You need to soap down your puppy and look at the front legs. You can take pictures to post so that we can check for you. It could be a variety of things so don't jump to conclusions. If it is not the front legs, it could be patellas or it may be as simple as a strain to a tendon.


----------



## Kathy

kao9016 said:


> My puppy Riley is almost 9 months old. For the past several months, I've noticed a very subtle limp while we're on walks. The instant after I notice it, it's gone. Riley is able to run, jump, and go on long walks, but I'm very concerned that something is "off." What are the earliest symptoms of chondrodysplasia? Is this something I should be concerned about and evaluate further? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Kari


Kari,
A limp really should be checked out by a vet. Most dogs with CD don't limp but the ones that are severly deformed might. There are many breeds that are bred to be Chondyplastic like Corgi's, Bassets and other's never limp.


----------



## kao9016

I got Riley wet and did my best to get her standing straight but it was difficult. In 1 of the pictures, one leg is in front of the other so they may look a little funny because of poor positioning. And I just had to include one of her adorable little face! 
As I said in the original post, it is a VERY subtle limp that resolves before I can examine it further. Riley always seems happy and comfortable, and shows no signs of fatigue or stress while walking.


----------



## JASHavanese

kao9016 said:


> My puppy Riley is almost 9 months old. For the past several months, I've noticed a very subtle limp while we're on walks. The instant after I notice it, it's gone. Riley is able to run, jump, and go on long walks, but I'm very concerned that something is "off." What are the earliest symptoms of chondrodysplasia? Is this something I should be concerned about and evaluate further? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Kari


Do you see the limping in the front or the back? Have you checked the paws?


----------



## Jennifer Clevenger

Both legs look like they are slightly curved. The second picture looks worse than the first and that may be positioning. It's not even close to the point where I would say they would be causing pain. Run your hands firmly down each front leg. If that doesn't hurt then I would look somewhere else for the limp.
BTW... She is absolutely adorable!


----------



## kao9016

She definitely didn't have pain when I rubbed her legs. I'm bringing her to the vet today for a checkup and will have him check her paws. I agree that her legs look a little curved. Is this just how she's built? Or is this something more?


----------



## Jennifer Clevenger

We know that it is genetic. She probably won't have any issues with it. I bought a puppy for show that ended up with legs just like hers. I ended up having to neuter and place him. He is now a happy three year old with no problems at all. I wouldn't worry yourself about it. Some dogs have CD so bad that they end up needing surgery because it causes them to be in a lot of pain. That is why I had you run your hands down her legs to make sure she was okay. Just like Kathy said, some breeds are made that way and don't have major issues.


----------



## kao9016

We just got back from the vet and got some unnerving news. He said that her hind legs have luxating patellas. On a scale of 6, he said hers were a 2 or 3. He also noticed the curvature of her front legs. He suggested that we sedate her for an X-ray to further evaluate and determine the need for surgery. He said that although she is not in pain right now, she could develop earlier arthritis and discomfort when she's older. The other option (if we decide not to go through with the X-ray) is to give her supplements (glucosomine) and make sure she doesn't gain too much weight (which would put pressure on her legs). I am having a rough time deciding if it's worth it to put her under anesthesia for an X-ray since she's a happy and comfortable puppy right now. Has anyone had anything similar happen? Any opinions would be appreciated.


----------



## Beamer

First thing I would do is contact your breeder and get some advice from him/her. (and also to let them know they are producing puppies with possible issues)

Ryan


----------



## Leslie

Kari~ If you haven't already found it, here's a link to a thread you where you may find some info to help you regarding her front legs.

Preston's Legs

BTW~ Welcome to the forum! :biggrin1:


----------



## Cheryl

There are a few dogs on this forum with luxating patellas. I am not sure if any of them had surgery. Hopefully one fo them will respond to you.


----------



## JASHavanese

I agree that you should get in touch with your breeder and let them know what's going on. I'm guessing the limp you've been seeing is from the luxating patellas. Glucosomine can help if there's been an injured patella but I don't know with both as that doesn't sound like an injury. I think I'd get several opinions before doing anything with the front legs.
Sending hugs to your sweet baby


----------



## Jennifer Clevenger

Dear Kari,
I am so sorry that you and Riley are going through this. 
Just like Ryan said, contact the breeder. If it were me, I would want to know so that I could help guide you. There have been many people go down the road with luxating patellas with their dogs. I have heard time and time again not to jump into surgery. They sometimes are advised to wait until it gets to a grade 3-4. I would start her on glucosomine to see if it helps. As far as the front legs, I don't see where it is in Riley's best interest to sedate and x-ray. JMHO 
We are here if you need anything!


----------



## kao9016

It is comforting to hear that many dogs are able to live just fine with luxating patellas. It just doesn't sit right with me to sedate her right now, because she really is acting just fine. The occasional limp does not even appear to bother her, and always clears up on its own. However, the vet said that if the X-ray shows severe luxating patellas, they'd have to do surgery before she's done growing to correct the problem. But if they were severe, wouldn't she be showing signs of discomfort? Are there any owners on this forum who have older dogs with luxating patellas? 
Since almost everyone that's responded to me encouraged me to contact the breeder, I did so. I will wait to hear back from her. 
I really appreciate everyone's input..it's really nice to hear input from the Havanese experts. Even though I trust my vet, he doesn't specialize in the Havanese breed!!


----------



## Kathy

I would also suggest to take the wait and see approach. How old is this Havanese? The slightly curved front doesn't concern me too much as it doesn't look severe. If the vet felt it was very bad, I would assume or hope he/she would have suggested a specialist in this area of concern. A grade 1 or 2 shouldn't be too much of a problem. There is information on the OFA web site you might want to read as well. www.ofa.org

I am glad you contacted the breeder. Knowledge is power and the more the breeder knows the better breeding decision can be made.


----------



## Tom King

There are many Champions with worse fronts than your dog. I wouldn't worry about his front so much. Pam and I have evaluated 100s of Havanese and that is a fairly common front. I don't think it's bad enough to need anything done to it.

When he trots away from you do his hocks go from side to side? Can you provide soaps of the side view of his rear leg? I don't have any experience with luxating patellas but do understand how "faults" in rear leg conformation affect horses who have stifle or patella issues. I have an idea that if his hocks move straight then he will have less long term problems than if his hocks move side to side which causes stress to not only the patellas but the stifle. Wobbling hocks are most of the time caused by the gaskin (horse term for that part of the leg sometimes also referred to as the lower or second thigh by old-time dog breed standards) being longer than the femur and also sometimes combined with high hocks.

I found this interesting site with a page on Luxating Patellas: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/medial_luxating_patella.html


----------



## Galwaygirl

Hi There; this is my first post and I was wondering what the outcome has been for your little dog. My male is 16 months old and it looks like he has CD as well. I don't understand how he can be CKC registered as a purebred if he does indeed have it. He is taking metacam for the next 10 days or so as he has been limping and I only noticed how "bow-legged" he was when we got him shaved for the summer. His sister (litter-mate) is fine. Once we are done giving him the metacam, we will return to the vet to have her reassess at that time and if he is still having problems, they will do an x-ray.

Cheers.


----------



## krandall

Galwaygirl said:


> Hi There; this is my first post and I was wondering what the outcome has been for your little dog. My male is 16 months old and it looks like he has CD as well. I don't understand how he can be CKC registered as a purebred if he does indeed have it. He is taking metacam for the next 10 days or so as he has been limping and I only noticed how "bow-legged" he was when we got him shaved for the summer. His sister (litter-mate) is fine. Once we are done giving him the metacam, we will return to the vet to have her reassess at that time and if he is still having problems, they will do an x-ray.
> 
> Cheers.


First of all, registration has nothing to do with whether a dog has CD, problems with their patellas or any other health problem. If both parents are registered, the puppy can be registered. As simple as that. Is your dog registered with the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) or another registry that uses the same initials? Some of these other registries have even less stringent requirements.

Second, as it said earlier in this thread, dogs with CD _USUALLY_ don't limp or show signs of pain unless it's VERY severe. (in fact, we have a couple of members with CD dogs who ARE very severe, and they don't show any signs of pain anyway) So you may want your vet to check your dog thoroughly for other possible reasons for his pain.

We also have a member who has a Hav that came from a very reputable breeder, out of parents who had straight legs, and ended up with CD. It does happen.

If you want a dog for show or breeding, CD is a problem. A dog with CD should't be bred. I wouldn't knowingly buy a dog with CD, nor would I knowingly buy a puppy from parents with CD. But if the dog is your pet, and has developed CD, it's entirely possible that he will still live a long and happy life.


----------

