My 1 year 3 month old GSD x Malinios suddenly in pain when getting up/laying down

[trantrang2461]

I took my poor boy to the vets earlier as he wasn't himself at all;he follows me EVERYWHERE yet today he wouldn't get on the bed to say good morning, nor would he follow me around the house or check to see when I would prepare his food. Partner and I were really worried, especially due to the changes being overnight.

We hadn't been doing anything too strenuous with him; he plays plenty of fetch but only on grass fields and in 15 min bursts. Yesterday we did plenty of leash training and mental stimulation exercises such as the 'find it' game where we throw the ball into long grass for him to scent out.

The vet said he was definitely uneasy on his left leg when walking. He has always had a natural sway but today its been quite severe. The vet wasn't sure if the pain was coming from the knee or hip as he was very stressed and aggressive during his physical examination (he only trusts and is 110% glued to me). She assigbed a week long treatment of antibiotics inflammatory medication (meloxidyl) and if that doesn't improve symptoms he may need xrays in the future.

I'm just not sure I'm fully convinced by this. I believe this may be strong signs of hip dysplasia, but it is literally overnight and he is still laying down and whining when he gets up. He looks in pain and its killing me. Has anybody else had similar experiences?

 

[knittingwithlove]

@trantrang2461 It’s very common for GSD to have hip issues with their given physique. Hip dysplasia at the age of just 1 year would be rare and more so a cause if self injury like jumping and landing incorrectly causing issue with the joins. Hip dysplasia is many times cause by the deterioration and atrophy of the dogs hips in which it can’t support them but this age would be very young to see unless there is a weight issue in which the dogs legs are weighed down more than they should be.

 

[trantrang2461]

@knittingwithlove Thanks for taking the time to respond to this. I have just finished getting Vince checked over again, and they have ruled out a spinal issue and said its definitely a hip problem. They said I need to run his full course of anti inflammatory and let him rest for a week before having any xrays (I'm not too happy but my hands are tied). For now, he's had an injection of buprenorphine in his hip for strong pain relief.

Vet said he has a perfect composition and build, very slender, but is overall a large dog for his breed (he's a GSD x Mali, 1 years 3 months, and 35.8kg!). We were advised to keep him on the slimmer side to avoid any weight baring issue.