Hip Dysplasia

[Imakcerka]

My best friend in the whole world has hip dysplasia.  I'm afraid of surgery due to two friends who went ahead and opted for that with their dogs and it didn't actually help.  In fact it was worse.  Which was very devastating for them. 

Does anyone have any good outcomes and if so what was the method?  I've heard about liquid glucosamine,  I'm going to ask our vet about it.  The options from him are NSAIDS, Pain relievers or surgery.  Surgery could help or hurt it's 50/50.  The other two can't really be used long term.  I'm selfish I want my best friend for as long as I can have her and I refuse to cause her more harm.  I'm already looking for another vet for a second opinion.  Otherwise I'm all ears.

[starrlamia]

how old is your dog? If it is a younger dog the surgery is usually recommended more, it also depends on the grade of dysplasia in both hips. I would consult an orthopedic vet. Glucosomine and other joint suppliments are recommended, I know people who have used gycoflex with good results.

You want to make sure that you maintain muscle mass, hand walking and also swimming are good low impact exercises to maintain tone.

[Imakcerka]

Thanks Starr, She's 4.  We saved her at 4 months and she was huge.  I had gotten her to be my running partner and within a month of taking her out just for walks it was apparent that something was not right.  Her hip constantly popped out.  If she sits she can pop it back in.  I can put it back in but I'd rather she did it since it's her body and she's still capable.  For the most part things have been good.  We don't take her running we do walk with her and she plays with the DD's daily.  She has a twin bed to sleep on and if she doesn't use that she sleeps with us.  Kind of a bed hog.  I'm going to pick up the Glucosomine after I talk to the vet about dosage.  She doesn't seem to be in pain often.  Yesterday she was having some issues, it was obvious.  We have to find a way to get her to just lay down.  DH massaged her hip and lower back yesterday evening you could tell she loved that and when she got up she physically looked more relaxed and stable.  My two older dogs are pretty much waiting on their ticket to dog heaven.  But my big girl... I've already told her no matter what it takes she's staying by our sides until I'm gone!   

[lonegirl]

I want to direct you to this site.  It will answer most questions about hip dysplasia:

http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/HealthConditions/SmallAnimalTopics/HipDysplasiainDogs/

This is also interesting

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=590701

[Miasmamma]

I had a weim with bi-lateral dysplasia. Surgery wasn't an option for him since he was affected in both hips and due to his size. He was diagnosed at age 2 with his OFA x-rays and we dealt with it till he was 9 and I finally had to make the decision to put him to sleep as his pain wasn't managable anymore. We did Duramaxx and lots of gloucosomine. I also started him on multiple other supplements to help lubricate his joints and boost his immune system. What kind of surgery was given to you as an option? Will they remove the ball joint? I've heard of hunting dogs that had that type of surgery and continued on with long hunting careers. But, they were smaller, like 45-50 pounds. My weim was 72 pounds at his lightest. I kept him VERY thin as to not increase the strain on his hips with any extra weight.

Good luck to you.

[Imakcerka]

One option I just heard about is to reshape the bone to give it a hinge effect.  My friend showed me his dog.  Kind of a hop a long now.  He has one leg shorter than the other but no other problems.  I would imagine it will eventually effect his back.  Going to look into it more. 

[FarmerBeth]

Our dog is a lot older, so we went with NSAID's instead of surgery.  He's a big 100lb black lab.  His tummy was off from the NSAID's, so we just started glucosamine.  The main thing that's helped so far is keeping his weight down and he doesn't walk on any hard surfaces, we just walk him in the woods and beach.  If I had a younger dog like yours, I'd research the surgery more, because a young dog has a better chance of good results and recovery (at 11, I don't think Tucker would have as much luck, and he's already survived surgery for bone cancer).