I would seriously consider putting him down. He is not living a quality life going through all of this. I would talk to my vet to determine the degree of the severity, but if it is severe or worse and he is in this much pain now...its not fair to the dog. Ask your vet if it is reasonable to expect him to live a pain free life. If he was 7 years, that's one thing, but to go through an entire life with this pain, is not being done for the dog.

 

Thank you for your reply, I have to agree with you, I think I will book a vets app on Monday and get a second opinion. My vet did say to give him a chance. She refused to put him down when I asked her if that is the best option for Gabe. She said to wait and see. We only have one vet on the Island so I can't get a second opinion. But you are right, its not fair to the dog and will discuss again with the vet - Thank you.

 

Have you looked into FHO that may be something to consider instead of his suffering on.... If your vet can do the procedure?

 

Is surgery an option? If so, what is the prognosis post surgery?

If he is in constant pain, and surgery for the HD is not an option for him, I would let him go like Cliff said.

 

I live on a small Island and the vet can not do the operation. Flying him to Australia for the op will be very hard. Customs will make it impossible for Gabe, I have considered this. Gabe seems to be in pain when he has been laying down for too long. But yesterday he bolted out of the house, ran around the house and covered our 2 acre property as if nothing was wrong. He has his moments, but I can't tell if he is always in pain.

I Once tried to get a tick of off his paw and he yelped, it made me wonder whether his pain thresh hold is quite low and that is why he might be so vocal. When the vet normally takes blood from him he yelps as if though he is being abused. So it does make me wonder in how much pain he really is? Its hard to tell.

What is a FHO btw?

 

Supplements should take 3 WEEKS, not 3 months to kick in. The trick is getting the right combo going with the right exercise combo.

Can you get acupuncture where you live or laser therapy?

My dog Massie had severe bilateral HD at under a year. She lived to be just under 12 years old. I did replace one hip (only) when she was 5 years old.

Here's what I would do:

Walk him 3 times a day. Gradually increase the distance. Swim him every day (if possible).

Triple dose of a really good joint supplement (I use Springtime Inc. stuff, others use others with good results)

Work up to 2500mg/day of powdered C. I use Ester C but I think that's a problem for puppies.

Add something like hyaluronic acid or another joint supplement with different ingredients. I found that combining two really helped.

Fish oil capsules.

At night I give the supplement called "Get Up and Go" by Only Natural Pet. It makes a huge difference.

ARe you using the homeopathic remedy Zeel or Traumeel? Or Arnica or what? Those work instantly, no building up in the body.

What are you feeding?

 

I'm with others that say putting him to sleep may be a reasonable option if the vet doesn't think he can live a pain free life. It's going to get worse - not better.

However, you should ask about other drugs that may help. Our 11 year old Golden Retriever developed arthritis that became somewhat incapacitating until we put her on a COX-2 inhibitor called Rimadyl (Carprofen) that's also indicated for HD according to the literature. This a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory that made all the difference in the world. It made the difference between her being able to get up and down the stairs or being too sore to move. It definitely made the last 2 years of her life manageable. We ordered it online (though I think we needed a prescription).

FHO = Femoral Hip Ostectomy. It's a last resort surgical procedure. Though it's mostly used in smaller dogs.

Best of luck.

 

FHO is sucessful for many dogs, GSD's included when hip replacement is too expensive. I wouldn't hesitate to give it a shot.

 

Hi, I feed him raw meat, with cooked rice and soaked pellets, I also give him Omega's, and small amount of Olive oil. I give him 3000mg of Vit C a day. Ok, I will increase his joint supplement and mix like you said that is a good idea,

Haven't heard of hyaluronic acid, but will google it and get it.

No acupuncture. Gabe would also not tolerate it, he screams like child when the vet injects him or take blood.

I like your advice about Zeel, Traumeel, Arnica and Get up and Go, will google that too and order it. It helps knowing that you have seen results with it, because I felt like I was aiming hopelessly at supplements.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! Much appreciated.

 

You want Zeel OR Traumeel OR Arnica.

Acupuncture is nothing like getting a shot. The needles are small and light and (usually) painless. There is also laser therapy.

But definitely look into the FHO.

I have another supplement to recommend but I can't think of it right now...I will post it when it pops into my head!

 

I will call my vet tomorrow and ask about the FHO options, thank you for that.

 

google is a great tool... read up before you consult your vet so you know as much as possible to absorb it all. I hope that option is doable for you and Gabe.

 

Hi Jane, thank you, yes, I have 25 tabs open on the internet researching at the moment

 

I would not recommend putting this dog to sleep! This dog is only 7 months old and this is a FIXABLE problem. If you cannot afford to get him the treatment he needs then find a rescue that will take him!

 

It sounds like the OP lives on a remote island where these surgeries are not done. Who knows if they have a GSD rescue let alone one that would take over the cost of the surgery (flying the dog to another country) and post-op care? I'm not saying the dog should be put down right away or isn't worth it, but it sounds to me like the OP is doing the best she can with the resources available.

 

thank you I would appreciate it if you could let me know what the other supplement is. I tried to order the products that you mentioned, but its almost impossible to get the stuff shipped here. I will have to deliver it in Australia to a friend and then she can ship it to me, I am slowly but surely working my way around this. I also contacted a vet to see if he is willing to fly over to Vanuatu to do the FHO. The vet here does not have that experience. Will find out about the Acupuncture. Thank you

 

Thank you Vicky, at the moment I am doing everything I can with the little resources I have here on the Island. My gut is telling me to keep trying with Gabe, I feel that I will get him through this. I will change my supplements as I think the ones that I am using is not working. At the moment, money is not the problem, its the limited resources but I am working my way around it.

 

For the turmeric, does he get the pills. I have learned that turmeric contains a number of NATURAL cox-2 inhibitors (same stuff as in NSAIDS) but the spice is very low and the capsules have much more. A teammate of mine gives her dog 1000mg a day of the capsules. Also A good omega-3 fish oil is very helpful for inflammation. Do you have copies of the x-rays?

Does he get ENOUGH calcium in the diet? I know we normally worry about them getting too much but is he getting bones with the raw meat?

I do agree with the others--if he is suffering it is not a life worth living. It is a shame you cannot work out the FHO surgery where you are as it may be what would do the job for him. South Pacific Islands? Sounds like an excellent vacation opportunity for a vet from the states.........come over, do a surgery, spend a few weeks in paradise.

 

Cheaper to fly in one vet, than fly out & back with a dog in a crate! Good idea Nancy!!! And maybe that vet can teach the island vet the procedure for the next hip.....

 

Wow, 1000 mg of tumeric, didn’t realise you can give the dog so much, I am giving Gabe a teaspoon full everyday of the spice that I buy at the supermarket.

I can get a copy of the xrays that is not a problem. I already emailed a vet in Australia to hear what the options are performing FHO.

Our water supply is from a nearby underground cave that has so much calcium in it that we use a water softner to prevent the pipes from blocking up, I give Gabe water that comes out of the water softner so the calcium is still quite high and he gets a multi vitamin everyday along with his other supplements.

He gets bones everyday sometimes twice a day and he eats proper lean raw mince (that same that I would eat) with low fat in it.

Gabe seems to be having a good day today, he’s following me around and he’s walk is not hundged. I give him random treats so that he would follow me around and get that bit of extra exercise.

Yes, Vanuatu is amazing, it really is a tropical paradise, it does come at a price though, especially in these type of circumstances.

 

It sounds to me like you're doing all of the responsible things. You're investigating additional drugs and supplements and looking into surgical options. But if those fail, I think it's also reasonable to consider putting him down without guilt.

There will always be people who say that you have a responsibility to do even more. But it really comes down to a fundamental philosophy on life. Personally, I wouldn't want to live a life of pain and limited capacity. Others want to live as long as medical science will allow it. I think both sides are valid perspectives. Do what you think is right after taking all REASONABLE measures. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty for deciding that you've both gone through enough if it gets to that point.

On the other hand, the right drugs can make a lot of pain completely tolerable. NSAIDS are a great first step.

 

Can you provide a link for the joint supplement you're using right now as well as for the C you're using right now?

What other joint supplements are available?

Try to find something with ingredients like this: Genesis Resources Joint Support Plus Dog Supplement

The other supplement I was using was Advanced Cetyl-M Joint Action Formula.

Also, Zeel has been shown to be just as effective as NSAIDs. It's homeopathic and has no side effects.

Please, post whatever plan you put together.

 

Hi,

I am using Sasha’s Blend (for bone and joints) I was lucky enough to learn that my local vet sells this (Gabe has been on it for 4 weeks now) I have doubled the dosage Sashas Blend Powder 250g by Sashas Blend | Free Shipping | Canada | CanadaOnly

My vet recommended Carprieve (I get the tablets directly from her, he’s been on that for 2 months now) Carprieve Norocarp Tablet 50mg - £0.40

I also use Joint Restore Natures way (only started this 5 days ago and started giving him more of this supplement as the vet also recommended this) I am working him up and will double the dose by next week Joint Restore Glucosamine + Chondroitin | Nature's Way

Fish Oil

Sugarless Vitamin C http://www.epharmacy.com.au/cartedit.asp?justadded=47377&returnURL=home.asp

One teaspoon of tumeric (just the normal spice)

Multi Vitamin from Aristopet: Aristopet Multi-Vitamin & Mineral Supplement for Dogs 150g | VetShopAustralia

My biggest problem is not being able to get my hands on proper products as no one ships packages this way. I will be going to New Zealand in April and I can get few things shipped there to pick up when I arrive. The local post office here has lost soooo many of my packages!

I also made a flower essence for Gabe which has changed his mood tremendously since yesterday so I am very happy about that.

For time being I am going to keep Gabe on the above until I can get my hands on more advanced formulas. I even asked the pharmacy here if they could order a few extra formulas for me whilst they place their next order from Australia, unfortunately they said no. So many companies have also said that they will not ship packages to us because our country is not on their list.

My local vet will be back from holidays in a months time so I will see if I can arrange with her to allow another vet (that I will hopefully fly in to Vanuatu from Australia) to use her facilities and then also hopefully give other pet owners a chance to get the same op on their pets done. As bad as its now, I think a lot of good might come from it.


I also emailed a vet in Australia that sells Zeel, so fingers crossed that he will post it via DHL shipment, thats the only way to get stuff here lol!


But for now, with what I have, this is my one and only plan.

Thank you for your support!

 

I would wonder about the wisdom of giving turmeric AND a drug which is a cox-2 inhibitor; there can be too much of a good thing. [I just looked up caprofen]

I assume the vet is going to do blood panels every 6 months and knows about the turmeric. But I realize when you are in such a rough situation you have to think of immediate relief.

The problem with turmeric is that I really do not know of specific dosing and it is probably highly variable. 1000mg is just two normal adult human capsules.

I did, however, switch my old dogs over to metacam after they were on it for post surgical pain relief for different other things and I saw a tremendous improvement in other areas (they were very high energy before but the medicine made a transformation of puppy proportions/Grim has spondylosis and Cyra severe HD but neither dog seemed particularly troubled) ....I chose metacam because you can adjust the dose to the lowest effective but discontinued the turmeric for those dogs and they are getting routine bloodwork so I can discontinue if we start to see problems.

Side note on Turmeric
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/curcumin/
{Linus Pauling institute-As a chemist and as a pacifist, Linus Pauling is my hero! He won both a Nobel peace price for physics (and possibly would have beaten Watson and Cricks on DNA but he was "blacklisted" and not allowed to go to England -- in any event his elucidation of the structure of proteins using x-ray diffraction was a buidling block in the discovery of the structure of DNA / AND he won a Nobel Peace Price for his efforts to stop above ground nuclear testing. }

 

Hi Nancy thank you for your feedback, I will research this more. I had Gabe's liver and Kidneys tested the other day to make sure that its not suffering because of his medication and it was 100% and his blood seemed fine from what the vet could tell.

Here is another catch though, all blood work that needs to be analyzed in detail has to be send to New Zealand and by the time it gets there they can't do a proper read on the blood so you never get an accurate answer anyway. But good thing you told me about that, I had no idea.

I am going to look up metacam. I give Gabe small amounts of Tumeric (spice i buy in market not the capsules though) I give him 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon per day.

Thank you

 

I think metacam and rimadyl act very much the same and have the same inherent dangers - but I was sold on the metacam because of the ability to adjust the dose (it is a liquid and comes in a bottle with a syringe and you give with food -- actually any NSAID should be given with food)....There is a cheaper generic human version of metacam but I was read and confirmed that the human dose is not adjustable, dissolves differently, and has caused some perforated ulcers where there have been no cases of this with the veterinary formulation.

 

Please DO NOT put Gabe down. Give him a chance!

My boy started having trouble at 7 months. Took him to the vet and he was on prevocox for a week, he was better and I thought all was well. Few months later he was limping, yelping again with his leg. I had xrays done, it was HD... I thought it was the end of the world! I was so upset

The vet put him back on prevocox and joint supplement (Adroitin -M). A little over a month he was doing better and i decide to take him off the prevocox .

I decided to try some other joint supplements to see if they would help more. VETRI-CMO has worked the best for him. he is also on Nupro joint supplement. No more crying, yelping. I think he doing really good. He is 2 years old now. I dont know whats gonna happen later in his life put I glad I have him now and he is doing well.



It soulds like your on the right track. Reading all your can and trying supplement. You need to look up " juvenile Hip Dysplasia" here is one link

ACVS - Hip Dysplasia in Dogs