1 Year old with Hip Dysplasia..wanting to avoid surgery

[Jmcgreggor]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

Aww what a cute picture. I saw the other pix; handsome boy. Someone who sees him could comment more on the walks. UPHILL that is good - 30 minutes never seemed to bother my gal, Cyra, but all dogs are different. Let him tell you. The only time she ever got stiff was when the weather was cold and wet and I did give her metacam some towards the end.

He still gets the puppy crazy where he races around the back yard like a crazed maniac. I stop him as fast as I can but that's when he gets stiff and with the cold. He never seems bothered by it. Plays with our other dog, sleeps and eats normally, never licks his hips or pays mind attention to them. Just walks like an old man from time to time. My hopes are that he isn't in.pain because it doesn't seem that way. The vet gave us Tramadol to help on the super stiff says. she didn't want to start on any anti inflammories which I guess is a good sign. My plan and fight is to get him.out of that stiff stage and stop any progression as much as possible.

[jocoyn]

The turmeric is a natural anti-ifnlamatorry. Actually it is full of natural cox-2 inhibitors like metacam. but does not appear to cause the liver damage

Of course with any medicine, holistic or not. I would consult with a vet.

WHFoods: Turmeric

Good for your vet not wanting to start anti-inflammatories yet. If you use them regularly you need semi-annual blood tests.

[jocoyn]

Oh, while we are on the topic.

My other older dog, Grim*, lost a lot of rear muslce mass due to a lot of forced crate rest with a back issue as well as a series of other events such as a broken toe, being neutered due to enlarged prostate, then a skin infection due to another injury. With the vets blessing we are doing the following every OTHER day (think weight training). I can tell a visible difference in the muscles over his hips.

• Walk in hilly area - right now just 1 mile but slowly adding distance
• Sit to Stand I do sit back up a step, then come then sit repeat 10-15 times
• I also put treats on my deck rail and have him counter-surf to get them.

*Grim's nickname is kamikaze dog, BTW.

[JakodaCD OA]

I would also seek out a Canine Therapist, laser, water therapy may help him, you want to build up good muscle tone..

[jocoyn]

100% in agreement the therapist is a vet and knows how to read the x-rays, look at the dog, and tailor a program for THAT dog. It is worth a few trips...then you can take over.

[GSDBESTK9]

How bad are his hips?? If they are really bad, I strongly suggest doing an FHO now while he is young and strong. If the hips are really bad, he is only going to get worse and worse with age when it comes to pain and arthritis. I had a rescue GSD who was diagnosed with severe HD at 10 months, I opted for the FHO surgery and I could not have been happier with my decision. She is now 10.5 and still going strong and no pain!

[Jmcgreggor]

Originally Posted by GSDBESTK9

How bad are his hips?? If they are really bad, I strongly suggest doing an FHO now while he is young and strong. If the hips are really bad, he is only going to get worse and worse with age when it comes to pain and arthritis. I had a rescue GSD who was diagnosed with severe HD at 10 months, I opted for the FHO surgery and I could not have been happier with my decision. She is now 10.5 and still going strong and no pain!

A lot has to do with the cost also. When we did the.Penn hip test about 6 ninjas ago they put him in the 10th.percentile. so I'm not sure for severity. The vet say it.looked bad but he could.live a normal life with no surgery just management.

[Jmcgreggor]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

Ok some helpful things:

Keep the mucles in the back strong. Walking him uphills and in chest high water is best.

Range of motion excercises are good to keep that joint moving as well as possible. If there is a doggie physical therapist within a decent drive it would be worth an appointment for them to show you what all to do based on his condition.

I also give turmeric 1000mg a day to my senior dog and 500mg to the older puppy ..... the old guy has some back arthritis but I am unaware if the young one has any ortho issues yet. Need to get him x-rayed for prelims at some point.

Vitamin C, Ester C - I am no expert on this one, maybe someone else can chime in with a good dose. I would start at 500mg a day...but with a young dog I am a bit hesitant with vitamin C and concerns about bone remodeling. Ask the vet about that one.

I give Grizzly Salmon Oil and Vitamin E (D form, not DL) 400mg daily. For the Salmon Oil the bottle has the number of pumps to give.

For the glucosamine, I like glucosamine + MSM. I give actiflex 4000, and calculated the level based on the glycoflex iii dosage. But cosequin is definitely good stuff but high dollar. I have heard dogs really do wonders with injections

Keep him lean and muscled. No jumping and avoid sharp turns on runs. They told me not to run my dysplastic female but I think it helped her because they were graded severe and never gave her any trouble till the day she died.

The other thing I would do is see if there is a holistic vet near you. My old guy is having some spinal issues and they are doing acupuncture and cold laser therapy and it really seems to help him.

How much does your dog weigh and how many pumps of the grizzly are you giving?

[BowWowMeow]

I would definitely look into an FHO. Lots of people on this board have gotten that surgery for their dogs and it has made a huge difference. It is not nearly as expensive as a THR.

My first dog, Massie, was diagnosed with severe bilateral HD at just under a year old. That was many years ago and I was young and poor and the vet recommended a surgery that is inexpensive and is no longer done (a pectineal myotomy) so I went with that. I managed her HD after that with lots of long walks and hikes, swimming and homeopathic and herbal anti-inflammatories (because that's what I knew about at the time). When she was 5 I saved up enough money to do a total hip replacement on one hip. She lived to be almost 12 and died of hemangiosarcoma.

Rafi also has HD and some other joint problems. I have not had him x-rayed but he was in bad shape when I adopted him. You would never know anything was wrong by looking at him. Here's his protocol:

Raw diet
2200 mg Ester C/day
Springtime Inc. Hip & Joint Health + Longevity (he gets about a triple dose)
Springtime Inc. Omega 3-6-9 (the fish oil CAPSULES are more effective than the pump b/c the fish oil becomes rancid quickly when exposed to air)
Only Natural Pet Get Up and Go (I give this at night, before bed--it is an herbal anti-inflammatory and I just added it about 6 months ago b/c he wasn't moving as well)
He also does A LOT of walking (4-6 miles/day) and although he does run and jump and spend a lot of time off leash, I do limit the high impact exercise. I never allow him to run or jump on pavement.
In the summer he also swims.

I am about to start acupuncture and laser therapy with him.

I like to mix up the joint supplements and will probably take out one of the Springtime products and add in something else as soon as i finish the batch I have.

[Jmcgreggor]

Originally Posted by BowWowMeow

I would definitely look into an FHO. Lots of people on this board have gotten that surgery for their dogs and it has made a huge difference. It is not nearly as expensive as a THR.

My first dog, Massie, was diagnosed with severe bilateral HD at just under a year old. That was many years ago and I was young and poor and the vet recommended a surgery that is inexpensive and is no longer done (a pectineal myotomy) so I went with that. I managed her HD after that with lots of long walks and hikes, swimming and homeopathic and herbal anti-inflammatories (because that's what I knew about at the time). When she was 5 I saved up enough money to do a total hip replacement on one hip. She lived to be almost 12 and died of hemangiosarcoma.

Rafi also has HD and some other joint problems. I have not had him x-rayed but he was in bad shape when I adopted him. You would never know anything was wrong by looking at him. Here's his protocol:

Raw diet
2200 mg Ester C/day
Springtime Inc. Hip & Joint Health + Longevity (he gets about a triple dose)
Springtime Inc. Omega 3-6-9 (the fish oil CAPSULES are more effective than the pump b/c the fish oil becomes rancid quickly when exposed to air)
Only Natural Pet Get Up and Go (I give this at night, before bed--it is an herbal anti-inflammatory and I just added it about 6 months ago b/c he wasn't moving as well)
He also does A LOT of walking (4-6 miles/day) and although he does run and jump and spend a lot of time off leash, I do limit the high impact exercise. I never allow him to run or jump on pavement.
In the summer he also swims.

I am about to start acupuncture and laser therapy with him.

I like to mix up the joint supplements and will probably take out one of the Springtime products and add in something else as soon as i finish the batch I have.

After another member suggested the FHO i looked into it more and called my vet about it also. He wouldn't be a candidate. Basically we stand at total hip replacement or supplement. She doesn't think he will need any surgeries for a few years and adding supplements will extend that. she was also saying that he isnt completely done growing and sometimes when they are done growing and have good muscle mass, the stiffness may subside a bit.