Sometimes puppies are too well behaved

​Meet Aries, he’s a 13 week old puppy that is recovering from a surgery called juvenile pubic symphsiodesis or JPS for short. This procedure can ONLY be done between 10-18 weeks of age which leaves us a small window of opportunity to lessen lifelong suffering and make a huge difference in a dog’s quality of life. The JPS procedure can also save their human compounding veterinary medical bills throughout their new puppy’s life. 
   Aries’ owner brought him to his veterinarian because he didn’t seem like a normal, active puppy. Instead Aries' activity periods seemed short and he would readily lay down after playing. Aries was displaying this behavior because his hips would become sore due to instability. Aries was referred to Dr Dena Lodato to be evaluated for hip dysplasia and she took him to surgery to perform a JPS. There are several surgical procedures that can help hip dysplasia but the earlier you can catch it, the less invasive, costly and more effective a procedure can be. 
    The American College of Veterinary Surgeons website page on hip dysplasia states that a recent study reviewed published scientific studies concluded that JPS surgery is a method of consistently providing normal pain free hip function. JPS is a minimally invasive surgery that closes a growth plate at the bottom of the pelvis. This results in selective growth of the pelvis and the hip cup (acetabulum) increasingly covering the ball (femoral head) as the puppy grows during the following 4–6 months. Patients may be able to go home the same day after this procedure. If your puppy is  “too good”, displaying a “default sit” or lays down more often than the normal dog, especially after playing, this may be a symptom of a hip dysplasia. 
    Aries rechecked with the physical rehabilitation service today and no abnormalities were found. He, in fact, looked like a perfectly normal dog. 

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