legg-perthes disease for peek-a-poos

[dbennett]

help! has anyone ever heard of this disease that is very rare in this breed of dog? please advise. thanks.

[MyBabyShihPoo]

WELCOME dbennett!!!

From what I understand, legg-calve-perthes disease is usually found in the small toy breed dogs, and as I once heard, esp. terriers. Experts are not exactly sure just yet as to what the cause might be, although they do have some strong ideas, genetics being at the top of their list. I suspect your peek-a-poo is fairly young since this disease is usually detected early on in age. Signs such as limping/lameness, noticeable agitation when walking, frequent chewing at the hip, among other similar symptoms, should be reason for concern. LCP can be detected and confirmed through X-rays done by a vet. LCP is caused by a lack of blood supply to the head/cap of the femur bone/hip joint. In turn, the lack of blood supply to that area causes the bone to deteriorate. LCP can vary from mild to severe, and in most cases, just affects one leg. Treatment of the problem is solely dependent on the degree of severity, although, surgery is usually necessary.

Basically, that's LCP in a nutshell!

I dug up some web sites that better explain and detail the disease in case you are interested in reading more about it:

http://www.vipoodle.org/faclpd.htm

http://www.barkbytes.com/MEDICAL/med0051.htm

http://www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/deleggcp.html

http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/legg_calve.htm

I hope some of this info helps answer your questions!

[MonsterBailey]

Dr MyBabyShihpoo to the rescueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!