what are signs of hip dyplasia?

Question

I have a six month old rott that sways her back end and has a hard time turning in her kennel.

Answer 1

This should really be in the Pets section. This area is really for human difficulties.

Some basic symptoms: signs of stiffness or soreness after rising from rest,
reluctance to exercise,
bunny-hopping or other abnormal gait (legs move more together when running rather than swinging alternately),
lameness,
pain,
reluctance to stand on rear legs, jump up, or climb stairs, subluxation or dislocation of the hip joint,
or wasting away of the muscle mass in the hip area.

Was this dog purchased from a responsible breeder? If not, the chances are about 100x as high that your dog has hip dysplasia. This is a genetic disorder that good breeders test for in their breeding pair so that it is not passed on to pups. This is why it's so important to use a good breeder - poor breeders breed any crappy pet quality dogs together, and often end up with terrible results in the pets.

Take the dog to the vet to get testing done. He'll do a full exam and x-rays. If the dog is found to be positive for dysplasia, and you used a good breeder, then you need to call that breeder ASAP. She need to know that the dogs she is breeding are throwing off genetic problems. A good breeder would investigate further and will probably fix the breeding pair. They may even offer you your money back, if they used a health guarantee.

How long is she left in the kennel for? If it's more than 3-4 hours regularly, then she's in it too long anyway. Getting her into doggie day care or getting her with a pet sitter so that she can be active and not in prison, may help somewhat.

Good luck to you.

Answer 2

Leaping - if muscles have the same hasseles in pets and humans some info that might apply
Pain can be referred from places other than the head. This deals with headaches but the principle works for all kinds of pain.
Muscles get knots called trigger points. These make the muscles tight causing them to press on nerves and other thing.
#1 The first thing is to take a couple swigs of molasses or eat a couple of bananas. They contain magnisium and potassium both of which muscles need.
#2 WATER she should be drinking 1/2 gallon minimum. The head of neurology at UCDavis likens a body running low on water to a car running low on oil (the engine can seize).
Get a good (deep tissue) massage (to loosen the trigger points) on the back, shoulders and neck. Make sure to press up at the base of the skull where it meets the spine.
You rub or lightly scratch everywhere on your head. You will hit spots that are tender these are trigger points. The idea is to rub across them 6-12 times per session up to six times per day until they go away.
For more information on trigger points read The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Davies.