Question:
This evening while playing in the yard with the gang, I noticed Meik started running with his 2 back legs tight together, and doing the dreaded bunny hop When we came in, he had a tremour in his hind end for approx. 1/2 and hour after........
GREAT!!!!!! Another tale of a back yard bred dog, with something wrong.
Now...
I have to bring him in soon too... I have to know if its his hips ( which I just learnt tonight is also an issue with Border Collies) My DOG.... I have to say, I have learnt a VERY valuable lesson with him... R E S E A R C H the breed!!!!
I know most of you on here already know that, and prolly are thinking to yourselves, "well no *&%# erykah" but I was nieve, if you will, at the time.

If it is his hips ( please dont be ) im nipping this in the butt ASAP, I cant stand to watch another of my babies go through what Puppy has been for the last year.

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How old is Meik?

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Gonna be 6 in May

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In my experience real HD shows up in the first few years. Perhaps he was just overdoing it and wrenched something a bit. Do you have any Metacam you can give him?

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no metacam, the only stuff i have is Puppys stuff, but Im not gonna give him any.
Sigh... hope im just over reacting.

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Try warming up a heating pad and putting it on his hips if he will let you. I've done that with Lucy when she has some stiff days. I really wouldn't worry to much at this stage. If he is six years old and never had problems then I doubt it would be HD. Maybe he just slipped a bit on some ice or the cold is bugging him a bit. See how he is tomorrow before you get to worried.

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Thanks Teri.... its just a daily thing around here, hips!
I rubbed him down and gave him one of Puppys massages, he fell asleep. I just cant help but fear the worst lately... cause well , you know, when it rains it pours.... and lately its been raining.

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I hear ya . It gets real hard when things are like that and then the tiniest little thing just pushes ya over the edge and wham ....

Good vibes for ya that is is just a minor ache and pain and will be better quick .

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If he is six and hasn't experienced any problems then either his hip problem is minor or he injured himself while playing.

Eventually the rain has to stop and the sun has to shine.

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how's Meik this morning?

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I hope Meik is better today Erykah

In our experience, the bunny-hopping doesn't happen suddenly--it's sort of a gradual thing and you notice a whole bunch of other symptoms, first, so maybe it's just a pull or a sprain!

I hear ya about the raining and pouring......that's exactly how it seems to go sometimes. But coppperbelle is right--eventually the sun has to come out! I hope it's today!

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Hi Erkah. I never saw yours posts before. I just found out that my 9 mth old puppy has severe HD, and we were seeing signs for weeks. Now that look back, I remember a couple of months ago that he was running kinda funny (bunny hop), and I was totally ignorant to HD, and just thought it was cute the way he ran! (OMG I was so dumb!) I would doubt that it would happen all of a sudden like that. I agree with the others, more than likely an injury.

I am curious though, you said that you had another puppy go through this? How old is that dog? I still have a hard time swallowing the fact that my puppy, and only 9 mths old, could be this far advanced in the HD area. It's scarey. I never knew it happened this young.

Anyway, I hope that Meik is fine. You will notice changes if it's HD. Let us know how he is.

Nikki

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Actually Puppy is his name ( kinda like calling a beast Tiny lol) he is roughly 8 years old... I have had him a year now, and he most likely had this his whole life, but it was allowed to progress and nothing was really done to help him.

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How is Meik doing today? Hugs for him and Puppy too.

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I really hope it's nothing serious.

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We didnt go out for much play time today... as i feel like crap again... Ispent much of my time on the couch watching movies.
He is still kinda shaky, but like I said, we didnt do a whole lot today. Perhaps thats a good thing If it is indeed a sprain or something like that Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow and we can head out for some gentle play time and see from there.

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With all the snow and ice, it's likely it was a pull or a sprain. Meik is fine.

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Playtime may actually aggravate and make worse, typically they should have 2 weeks of just leash walks to prevent overdoing while they heal up, and then start gentle exercise

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I hope meik is doing better today and you to.
I understand when you say when it rains it pours. my friend always says things get better in ten day regardless of what it is just count the days.

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Originally Posted by TeriM
In my experience real HD shows up in the first few years.

I can't say that I agree. Dogs compensate incredibly well for their "deficiencies" perhaps out of some instinctual necessity. They would be living targets if they didn't and despite their disabilities they know they want to have the same kind of fun as all the other dogs ~ so they try.

I look at Ceili, who showed no physical symptoms in puppyhood or her early years until she ruptured her cruciate. Up until then I, and her vet(s) thought her " I'll run for the ball a few times then sit in the middle of park" and her "I needn't learn any tricks whic involve any physical activity because after all I'm lovely" was just a bit of the "attention-loving" and stubborn, lazy grrrly which fit neatly with her behaviour at home and on-leash ( I am indeed a Princess...) . She has an exceptionally bright sister who learned commands and tricks "just like that" ~ unfairly I compared them and figured she was in the "beautiful but not bright" category.

What I learned when I saw the X-Ray of her hips and knees after her cruciate rupture is that she physically cannot jump nor can she run, sit, lay down or get up without pain. Now of course at age 7 her HD is very clear and when I think back on her puppyhood, I now see all the signs that I and everyone else missed as physical because she hid her disability with her attitude and her beauty. I think there are alot of dogs out there "in hiding".

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Today we decided to take it easy in the field.. i strapped my snowshoes on and just took a walk with them... he had a tad of a trot kicking for a bit, but nothing too strenuous. He's not hopping the bunny hop today , but doing a funky more or less one legged bounce Im starting to lean more towards a strain, later on, we'll go for a walk to the corner ( Puppys walk) and see how he does.

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For what it's worth, ALL the farmers here have border collies, and HD is not prevalent at all, nor has the vet here heard of it being prevalent to the breed. Anyway, sounds like just a sprain of some sort, and glad he's on the mend and doing better.

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Just heard that Lew's sister's dog (Golden, 18-19 months old) has HD. I thought I noticed a "funny" gait to her, but it was just blown off. Turns out I was right

wish I hadn't been, poor Ginger!

They got her from the local "Nature" store, I guess not the best choice of place to buy a breed known to be prone to HD, but when you don't know you make mistakes. she'll be ok.

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