Went and worked her with some friends and their labs yesterday morning. Get home and she pulls up lame so I call the vet and he says lay off a day or two. Went shooting this afternoon and let her out when I got home. She was tearing the yard up like always with no limp. Bring her to heel and throw a dummy. I send her and she throws dirt and grass ten feet in the air leaving to get the dummy. I think great, just a pulled muscle. She overshoots, like she always does, and puts on the brakes. Her hip gives out again.
Talk to the vet and he starts asking questions about her blood line and kennel. Like I say the dog was given to us and I have no idea. He says it may be hip dysplasia and at only a year old the outlook is not good. I start researching on the internet and call the people who gave us the dog.
Now for the part that pisses me off. THE OWNERS TELL ME BOTH MOTHER AND FATHER HAVE HIP DYSPLASIA. Why the Hell would you pawn a pup off on someone who you know is going to invest money and TIME in trying to make a hunting dog if you know this. Further, THEY KNEW BEFORE THE DOGS BRED.
I know the first thought is the dog was free, so what. Or if I wanted to get a dog to start working, I should have gone to a reputable kennel. Both valid points, but, these were people whom my wife knew and represented both mother and father to be fine and both had been sent for training.
It pisses me off that they had no thought for the dog. I have spent a year working with this dog and she loves to go out and retrieve. She has been sentenced to a life of pain and misery.
All this may be premature and the vet tells me after X-rays that all is well.
STILL PISSES ME OFF!!!!!!!!!!
