Oh no! Dakota has Hip Dysplasia!

Yep! That's right - our Dakota was diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia this past Saturday morning! She had been getting stiff in the back left leg for the last couple of months after she had been exercising and such. DH had enough and last week made an appointment for her to get checked.

She hasnt been in any pain but just stiff and uncomfortable. When he showed us the x-ray, you could definitely see the left hip was not good. Thank goodness though - the vet put her on Metacam and told us to start her on a joint supplement - no surgery! He said we want to keep her exercising in order to continue to build muscle mass on that leg cause that will help greatly with her condition. He also instructed us to get her to lose about 5 lbs (she is 85lbs) to get the stress off the hips. Of course, she has it in both but the right is so slight at this moment, we dont want to make it worse. The Metacam may be used for the rest of her life but we will easily take medication over operation!

I was surprised about the exercising part but it made total sense. He says that if she handles it well, then she can do it. Of course, no running marathons with her but she can still do agility training and running in the dog park. Thank goodness cause I couldnt imagine trying to keep her crated up. She is not even 2 years old - can you imagine the build up of puppy energy!?!?

So, it isnt as bad as it could have been but we are happy to have a diagnosis and that the vet isnt wanting surgery. Please keep Dakota in your thoughts and prayers. This is definitely not something we wanted for our girl but knew that, with Labs, this can happen... she is a tough girl though and we couldnt imagine life without her... even with bad hips!