My dog Snickers, a chocolate lab, was having problems a few weeks back. He was screaming if he moved to fast, stood up or walked up the stairs. The vet told us to be on the look out for signs of hip dysplasia. He was a chunky monkey and grew so fast as a pup. Growing fast and chunking up quick is a warning indicator of possible hip dysplasia in the future. He's four now and we knew the vet told us that we weren't to exercise him too much. We try to stick to about 20 minutes a day, if that. But he is a lab and he loves to chase those balls! I had to look up what else to do.
Turns out it was the hip dysplasia that my vet had told me about. From everything I read we needed to get him off the floor and onto a comfy bed/pillow. Sleeping on the floor (he always slept on a blanket on the floor) isn't good for hip dysplasia. Neither, it turns out, is hard wood/concrete floors. The fact that they can't get traction causes more stress on their hips.
Just getting him off the hard floor has caused him to no longer scream when he stands/climbs stairs etc. We are so thankful something so simple worked for us. Any more ideas for me for his hip dysplasia? What's worked for you and your dog? If you're having problems now come back and tell me what else you've done to help his/her hip dysplasia.
