# Hip problems , Cane corso



## Lisa mcquirns (Nov 21, 2009)

I know this is forum for true working dogs,but my corso is quite high drive 

He has always had a funny walk, at ten months he had a x-ray showing him to have problems with his right hip

In the last few month he has really taken a drive in mobility and mood http://www.vimeo.com/7643935

I had an x-ray taken yesterday,the vet seemed full of doom about the affect of his hips on his quality of life

but his hips in my view don't display the damage that would account for his immobility and discomforted


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## Kyle Sprag (Jan 10, 2008)

The hip socket, dogs Left, My Right looks like bone on bone. JMO


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Those hips look like shit. He should be showing pain with those. I am sorry about that.


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## Michele Fleury (Jun 4, 2009)

These are bad hips, no question. Every dog is different in that some dogs with hips like this may show little sign of discomfort while others may be dramatically affected. I don't know what your plans for this dog were, but a working career is probably out of the question. How you treat this depends on how uncomfortable the dog is and what you can afford, ie surgery vs. conservative therapies. The number one thing you can do is keep this dog very lean. Then keep him moving with swimming and walking to keep his muscle tone up. I had a Rottie with hips like this before age 1, it sucks.:-(


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Kyle Sprag said:


> The hip socket, dogs Left, My Right looks like bone on bone. JMO


That's actually kinda what you want to see it fit real snugly, but not quite bone on bone. Space in between the acetabulum (the cup of the pelvis) and the head of the femur should be closely associated with just enough room for cartilage (which doesn't appear on radiographs if I recall correctly). It does get to be a problem when you get bony changes from the cartilage wearing down and causing arthritis and pain. Also around 50% of dogs that have dysplastic hips don't show any signs for a variety of reasons. In active or working dogs, it's usually because they are stoic and/or have a lot of muscle to help support their movement. That's one of the big keys to keeping them as happy for as long as possible. 

You can also tell what side in this guy is the problem by the video. Horse people generally know it better since they're always on the watch for lameness, but also watch the head. It's hard cause he's sniffing at the ground a bit, but if you trot a dog, their head will go down on the unaffected side and usually pop up on the affected side. Also called "down on sound."


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## Michael Swetz (Jul 27, 2009)

Sorry, but his hips look pretty bad. He is also showing substantial lameness. I know you probably came here hoping to hear better news, but I think your vet is right. If his quality of life takes a real downturn, you should probably put him down. Where did you get him? 

I met one of my wife's old professors when we were visiting her hometown a couple years ago and they kept their poor lame English Sheepdog just laying on a blanket in their living room. It couldn't get up or do anything, which is no way for a dog to live. 

I know it's hard, but after a certain point you have differentiate between what is best for the animal and what is really about you.


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## Lisa mcquirns (Nov 21, 2009)

Michael Swetz said:


> Where did you get him?


He his litter was for sale on Cane9corso.co.uk run by Kenny James, Who refused to give me the breeders address or phone number which i had lost.The breeder Steve Crowe also refused to get in touch

At 10months he was x-rayed and showed he had hip problems, unfortunately i also discovered i have heart problems and epilepsy around the same time 

I've pretty much got my heart troubles under control now apart from the odd high stress day 

I really believed all the sales talk about breeding functional mastiffs (more fool me )

The more i have researched the dogs invloved the more dogs with 40+ Bva scores come back 

Two low scoring dogs don't mean much if the lines are throwing dogs with such high scores so often

Everyone involed seems to have wiped their hands and pocketed the money 

I was lucky in that someone came froward and gave me the address of the breeder in the last few days

Its just a matter of keeping an eye on my own ECGs and not letting it stress me out 
But its hard because all the kids in my family contastly want to know if Nero is going to be O.K


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

I'm so sorry that you have such problems with your dog. I think you should know that the best breeders are involved in working dogs. The breeders of the heavy beauty varieties are not honestly concerned with the hips, elbows, spines of their dogs as a rule. They are not now meant to trot, they are supposed to serve as ornaments in the gardens of those who bought them, at the worst. At the best, maybe as protection dogs, even if they can't run after a would-be thief. For me, it's tragic, I had a Fila Brasileiro, an athletic dog with a long life, that forunately, with medium HD, had quality dog life as he loved tracking, search squaring, etc. and had strong muscles but he still had limitations towards the end due to the hips.

A lot of people tend to see HD as a necessary evil but when I read such stories, I feel sad. There are other diseases such as spinal diseases, torsions, etc. I know, but HD is nearly extinct in some working line GSDs. Surely others can follow suit. 

The dog needs good hips to run.......


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