97 Tips for Raising Labs
Following are approximately 97 questions readers of BigYellowDog.com submitted in recent years. They were answered by a licensed veterinarian on the site as a general service to all Lab owners. This information is for general reference only. Always consult your veterinarian for any questions about your Lab's health. We hope this information is somewhat helpful. At this time, we are not accepting any more questions.
Question
About a month ago, my 5-month-old Lab, Woody (male), was being treated for a digestive problem at the vet. The X-ray revealed something unusual. His pelvic cavity is shaped oddly. Instead of an oval opening in the middle, the X-ray revealed an hour-glass shaped opening. My vet said it didn't neccesarily mean dysplasia because his hip joints seem to be fine. However, she also said she hadn't seen another one like it before. Is this unusual or dangerous? Does this mean I should not breed Woody? Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Answer
Sometimes radiographs taken on younger immature dogs are difficult to read because of the growth of their bones. If Woody has no other digestive problems, I would recommend that the radiographs be retaken and re-evaluated when your puppy is two years old. At that time, you can have your dog's hips rated for dysplasia by OFA, which will rate his hips as poor, fair, good or excellent. After you get this rating (again you must wait until he is a mature two years old), you will have your answer because a dog with only good or excellent hips should be bred.
