Harry’s Hopping Story
by Melanie Thomas
My Bolognese Harry is now 6-years old. I bred him as a show dog, he was pick of litter and I was looking forward to getting him in the ring. I trained Harry from a young age for the show ring, regularly taking him to classes. Although his sire & dam both passed their patella checks, I started to worry when he was about a year old because he kept hopping. I took Harry for a veterinary examination and certification for his patellas and was half expecting an issue. The patella is the knee cap and in dogs sometimes the groove it sits in is not the right shape meaning the patella slips out and causes pain (this is hereditary, so breeders get it checked by a vet at about 1-year old). However, the vet said his patellas were fine and issued him with a clear certificate. As it happens, I have not bred with him and its unlikely that I will now, but his litter sister has had a litter, so I’m pleased the blood lines have been passed on.
After I knew his patellas were fine, I started to ask other breeders and chat groups for any idea why he could be hoping and how I could prevent it. I also had him checked by another vet, who also said his patellas were both fine and on physical examination there was no reason for him to hop. Although its rare, I had heard of other dogs in our breed with a similar issue, the owners had spent a fortune on tests and never found out why or solved the issue. I also heard of dogs having to give up showing because of a hop. I had also sometimes seen Bolognese hop in the ring. I was a bit downhearted about the situation as Harry was my only show dog and I was not going to breed again. But, on the positive, Harry was a young dog, so I hoped he had time on his side and things would get better.
Harry’s hoping was intermittent, I was taking him to ring craft and it rarely did it. However when he was on his walks, I could see him hopping. He just hops on one hind leg. Crufts was a few months away and I really wanted to show him. I was clutching at straws, but decided to put him on YuMOVE. Somebody had suggested either a double adult dose or to get the stronger ones from the vet. I started Harry on double the adult dose. After a few months on the YuMOVE, he stopped hopping, I was very happy. After Crufts, I thought, I will cut the dose down by half and see what happens. However, after I cut the dose down, he started hopping again. In the early stages, when I was experimenting, I found that if I cut the dose, it would take a few months for him to improve when I raise it again.
For the last few years I’ve just kept going with the high dose to be on the safe side. He only hops a little. I don’t show him that much now, a few Championship Shows a year, Crufts and some matches at training. At Crufts 2024, Harry was Reserve Best Dog in breed. I must say that the judge at Crufts didn’t move the dogs very far, so that was to my advantage.
Harry is now 6-years old and I have had to keep him constantly on YuMOVE at double the adult dose. Next year, he will be 7-years old, so I may move him over to the Senior YuMOVE and keep my fingers crossed it still does the trick. Of course when I am handling him, which is all the time, I cant see if he is hopping. But I ask the trainers at ring craft and they say no he didn’t hop. I know he does hop sometimes, but I’m managing to show him and it isn’t a major issue anymore – so long as I keep him on the YuMOVE.
