- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
awww I'm sorry. My ILs sheltie had hip dysplasia, they found out a few months after they got him. They opted to have surgery right away and the poor thing had a cone one for quite a while! After it healed he was all good but in his older age you can definitely tell his hips were bothering him a lot. He would constantly come up to you and want you to rub his "butt" when it's really his hips that needed some massaging.
It's so sad when our pets are ill. :(
I haven't dealt with it yet, but our chocolate lab who is 4 1/2 is showing signs of it. When he really gets into a sprint run or chases the puppy for extended periods, he limps for quite awhile. He's having trouble getting up the stairs sometimes, not everyday, but at least once a week. Then the kicker for me that had me worried was when he was trying to get in bed with me wednesday night, he couldn't get the strength in his backside to jump up. He just sat his paws and head up on the bead. I'm looking into supplements and he had his annual checkup next month so we will see what the vet says. I just don't want my baby to hurt!
@MissGreen: Mine does the same thing. He used to jump right up onto our bed but now he just puts his front paws up and stretches his neck out toward you like he's saying "just help me up so I can snuggle!" Cooper started limping after having been out playing fetch with FI and we initially thought he had just hurt his toe or something. It was so odd to me how just seemingly out of the blue he started limping when the whole time his hips weren't growing correctly. When the vet showed us the x-rays I kept thinking maybe they were wrong because he was just doing normal lab stuff when the limp started. The vet said that's usually how owners finally find out what's going on--the limp. I'm sorry your baby is also showing signs. Part of me wants to not be so sad about it since it's SO, SO common in the breed, but seeing him struggle just hurts me so much. He never whines or cries and is perfectly happy and healthy otherwise (goes crazy when we say "go for a walk", or "ride in the car") but when I see him propping his back foot up on the toes because he doesn't want to be weight on it after playing I know it's hurting him. I highly recommend getting him in a glucosamine supplement ASAP...even if his hips are fine its really, really good for the joints anyway. We buy bulk Dasuquin off of amazon which also has condroitin in it which is really good for the joints as well. It's definitely helped him. When he's been really "busy" and has bad days like these we give him some asprin to help the pain while it gets better.
Aww, he just walked up the stairs to find me!!
And your boy is gorgeous!! I would love to share a pic of Cooper, but it won't let me upload :(
Would you consider looking into something like Rimadyl to help manage the pain?
We adopted at ~5yr old Rottie/Shar Pei mix a couple years ago and knew she was having issues right out of the gate. After long walks she would limp, would have trouble or at least look strained when pulling herself up from lying down and after a long period of lying down would stand keeping her weight off her hind end. When she would eat breakfast, you could actually see her hind legs tottering off the ground.
We found out she has mild hip dysplasia but her real problem was a bum knee... but up until her surgery, we put her on Rimadyl which greatly improved her quality of life. Now post surgery, because her HD is so mild she needs no pain management, but we always have a few rimdayl on hand for a random bad day (like after a huge trip in the car etc).
Having her knee replaced was a really trying process. The recovery process was heart breaking, but she's a totally different dog now. She acts like a pup again. For us the surgery was totally worth it in the end. That said, our vet also talked to us about the surgeries available for HD and they seemed pretty radical... I really don't know if I could do it all again x2 legs. Its tough, but your pup being a little younger (and assuming he doesn't have bad muscle atrophy) might handle a recovery a lot better... but it could be worth looking into pain management first to see what difference that makes.
Good luck and I hope he's feeling better soon!
@LAGS: Thanks for the tip! I haven't heard of Rimadyl but I'm going to look into it. Our vet said his HD is very mild, but annual xrays will help determine if it's worsening and how quickly it's worsening.
When you wrote about how your dog would struggle to pull herself up after laying down really hit home...that's exactly how Cooper is and I know exactly what you're talking about. Our vet described in detail the different procedures we could opt for if it got to that point and he said that the difference in the quality of life was astounding. It really is something we're going to consider, especially after he has another x-ray in a few months. I just keep hoping that his hips are on the slow progression side, as opposed to progressing/deteriorating really quickly. Thanks for your post--I'm so glad your girl had a surgery that helped her tremendously.
ETA: was your dog taking Rimadyl because of chronic pain? I'm reading up on it now, but I should add that Cooper's pain isn't chronic (as far as we can tell. The limp occurs after lots of action/exercise). I'm so happy this isn't steroidal thought. That's awesome.
@missgreen I wish I could figure out how to post pics from my iPhone. Our ruffers could be twins!
Initially our vet prescribed it for chronic pain. She took half a pill twice a day kind of thing... but my husband and I weren't comfortable keeping her on it daily for all that long. We eventually made the decision to cut back her dosage, then eventually just started giving it to her on a needs basis. Even with her bum knee (which was full of arthritic spurs ontop of her blown ACL) we didn't feel she was in pain all day every day, it just flared up after a longer walk, or if she tried to play with another dog etc. so I think our vets dosage was kind of overkill. Its an NSAID, so after a while we kind of just gave it to her like we would an ibuprofen for ourselves. It seemed to make a difference, but obviously for her was just a bandaid with the surgery being the solution.
There might be something better suited out there than Rimdayl specifically, but their bad days, like you know, are heartbreaking and its nice to know you can provide some relief. Here's hoping his progression is very slow!!
I have a 6 year old beagle that was just recently diagnosed with hip dysplasia. She also has some cervical disk issues. She does well most days, but every once in awhile, she's in so much pain that with just about every step she lets out a yelp. On her worst days, she is barely able to pee outside. We currently have her on a glucosamine supplement daily and when she gets to the point of yelping, we give her an anti-inflammatory that seems to help a lot! I have not yet discussed surgical options with the vet, because I feel like if it gets to that point, I think it might be best just to put her down. I can't fathom her already being in excruciating pain and then going through surgery for hip replacements when there is no guarantee that things will return to pre-dysplasia state. Its tough to even think about it.
One of the things that we do with both dogs to help with their joints is swimming. There is a dog pool not far from my house that we go to several times throughout the week. There are very few beagles there, but TONS and TONS of labs--and they all do very well!
@akp0702: Thanks! I'll look into amazon for sure!
Tip for posting pictures from phone: first I use the photobucket app asafter it's downloaded it gives you 4 links. I then click the HTML up in the bar of the comment box. That will link you to another page and copy and paste the link in that box and submit. It will download into your comment box.
My Newfoundland dog has sound hips, but he has arthritic changes in his elbows and shoulders, that cause him pain after lots of activity. We use Deramaxx prior to activity when we anticipate any higher than normal level of activity, and that has helped him a lot. Before starting to use prophylactic deramaxx he would be in so much pain that he couldn't get off the ground without help, and even with our assistance, he would cry and yelp when we lifted him to get hom outside to potty and such. His pain episodes would last 1-2 days after extra activity. Now we just give him one pill prior, and maybe 1 pill 12 hours later, and he is fine.
I'm a vet, so here's my opinion. If you can afford it, there are surgeries that can help manage your dog's hips. Hip dysplasia isn't the problem in itself; it's the secondary arthritic changes that cause the pain, so these surgeries are designed to work around that. Femoral head ostectomy is one surgery that can help improve quality of life; total hip replacements are pricy but also an excellent option. Your regular vet can probably do an FHO; a total hip replacement would be done by an orthopedic specialist. The bony arthritic changes aren't reversible, so you should talk to your vet about surgical options before his hips get too bad. For conservative management, Glucosamine chondroitin supplements are great; also making sure your dog stays at a lean body weight is one of the most important factors in keeping them comfortable. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Rimadyl, Deramaxx, Previcox can all be used to help with the pain, but these are lifelong meds and you will need to have periodic bloodwork monitoring while your dog is on them.
Hip dyspcaia is common in certain pure bread dogs. Even when they come from breeders. Shepards especially!! (I'm an certified animal care aid who worked for the humane society)
Cross breed dogs tend to actually have less problems & are generally healthier.
Anyway, my best suggest I've heard is shark cartilage. It's supposed to work wonders. Just spinkle on their foOd.
We have a 2 year -4 month old lab mix that was diagnosed with HD at 1 year old. It's tough, but we've been doing great.
Our dog had his first surgery in January 2011, on his right hip. We went with an FHO (femoral head ostectomy) surgery, as he just wasn't a candidate for a THR (total hip replacement). He just had his second FHO (left side this time) this past Wednesday.
We opted for surgery earlier in life, to let him live a life of less pain. Our dog would limp within about 45mins of going to the dog park (sometimes even sooner), but the next day would be fine. Our trainer had the same surgery done on her dog (both hips as well) and he faired well, so we went for it.
Have you had x-rays done? I have mine posted on the blog, if you wanted something to compare to. We found that both sides of our boy were bad, and oddly enough, the 'better side' was the one causing him the pain to begin with.
I started a blog about my dogs recovery process last year. I made it to 2 weeks, then forgot to update. I'm starting it again for his recovery this time around and hopefully can keep up with it. If you want the link, message me and I'll send it to you. Also, there is a Canine HD group on Yahoo. That group really helped me through his diagnosis.
Our vet recommened GylcoFlex 3 for our dog, so we have him on that. If you aren't interested in surgery right now, what about talking to your vet about adequan shots? We talked to ours about going this route after his first surgery, but decided to just do the other leg as well, due to the upfront cost of the shots.
If you are looking into surgical options, look into NC State. I had called over there last year - I wish I could remember pricing. It was cheaper than here, but more than VA Tech I believe. I had called both schools to see costs on a THR, as we really wanted to do that to begin with (before we were told it wasn't an option for him). You can get a referral from your regular vet to go to these places, and often times it will save you a lot of money.
Be careful with using NSAIDs (like Rimadyl) to manage the pain, especially in labs. I've seen a lot of issues with it in labs (including in my other dog, a purebred lab). If you go this route, talk to your vet about what to watch for. It was the black runny stools that gave it away with our other pup. If it's going to be used for an extended peroid of time, I'd be having bloodwork done every so often to make sure there are no organ problems.
@missgreen thank you!! Here's my baby.
He's 4 and a half and thankfully no hip problems here yet but I'm afraid it's coming since he loooves jumping, running up and down the stairs, and diving off the dock. Hopefully not though!
My rottie/shepherd mix had it from when she was about 5 and all I used was glucosamine. She lived to be 17 and didn't seem to have pain, just a little wiggle in her walk.
Thanks so much to all of your for you responses. I try hard to put this in the back of my mind most days because it can consume me. It's so odd..my brother was born with a birth defect that caused the femur in one of his legs to never grow, meaning he has a 1/4 inch difference in the lengths of his legs. This means that over the years, his hips have suffered because the weight is displaced. He had a peri acetabular osteotomy a few years ago to re-work the joints of his hips so they are more fluid and less painful. To know that Cooper essentially has the same issues is sort of ironic to me.
It's been a rough couple of days because Cooper has noticeably been limping more. He's had the same level of activity (walks, low impact), but he almost couldn't stand up on his hind legs last night. FI had to carry him up the stairs. He doesn't whine or whimper, but I know he's in pain. It completely devestates me. I want to be in denial, but I think in my heart I know he is likely progessing a lot faster than we'd hoped. When we found out, I hoped and hoped that he would have the type of dysplasia that would progress slowly and not necessarily ever need surgery. I am fearful that he's so bad off that he is on the road to lameness or paralysis. I can't handle it. I sobbed and sobbed last night because I know that what I've feared is probably his reality.
I think we need to get his new x-rays done sooner rather than later, even though originally we were told he'd only have to have them every two years. We're not even at the one year mark. I just wanted to share because I am really struggling today. I just love that dog so damn much.
If you can, compare your last x-rays to the ones of my dog on the blog I sent you.
When we had surgery done, the vet took new x-rays, both before and after.
One thing you should be thankful for is that you caught it early. A lot of people don't even notice there is something wrong with their dog until they are a lot older, and at that point, the dog has already had a painful life.
If you have the FHO done, you may be surprised at how quick they return. Our vet has us back 2 times (2 weeks and 4 weeks) and they say after that they can return to 'normal activity'. The told me to wait 2 months or so until we did off leash playtime.
After Milo's last FHO he could run, jump, play, and be himself. He jumped up on our extremely high bed with little issue. He's not even 2 weeks post op right now from his second and he'd already jumped on the bed once (..bad me for not watching).
The recovery to an FHO is a lot easier than a THR though. You don't have as many restrictions, and the worst you can do is prolong recovery. There is nothing to dislocate. This was one thing my vet told me, as I was so afraid we'd hurt him.
@snoie: That's so good to know, because as I was reading through the FHO guide you sent me, I was already worrying about what he or we could possibly do to hurt him/ruin the work they'd done in the surgery (which I know is irrational on some level, but like I said...this is just consuming me with worry).
I have a Pit mix who is 2 year old and he has hip dysplasia. The vet never would have noticed it if my boy's ACL wasn't torn so badly. I'm about to start him on glucosamine supplements now that he's fully healed from his ACL surgery.
We haven't seen any problems with it and my vet seems pretty sure that he probably won't have any problems because of it.
I know it's hard not to think about it. I cried when the vet told me my Gus had it, but other than a slight limp after lots and lots of play time, he's perfectly normal.
@SouthernGirl: A significant limp after lots of playtime is how it started for us. What was a few hours become less and less over time. Just something to watch out for. Before his second surgery we started noticing an attitude change (snapping at other dogs which he never snapped at before) followed by some limping. Limping = pain.
Dogs do mask pain. I know our dog was in pain as a puppy, but he played through it and we didn't notice. They learn to just 'live with it', unlike us humans that whine and moan when we have an issue.
I'd keep an eye on that, and if you haven't, get x-rays done just to determine how bad it really is.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Brielle | 44 |
| ndreighton | 36 |
 vorpalette |
29 |
| caseyleigh10 | 27 |
| les105 | 24 |
| ellisrobertson | 24 |
| mypinkshoes | 23 |
| fishbone | 23 |
| lionskitty | 22 |
| SouthernGirl | 21 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| NehaPrasad92 | 5 |
| Cady | 5 |
| abbyful | 3 |
| jaguar | 3 |
| Irish Terrier | 3 |
| takemyhand | 3 |
| Mjubeck | 3 |
| SouthernGirl | 2 |
| Bichon Frise | 2 |
| mtrl01 | 2 |
We found out about a year ago that our lab (now 4.5 years old) has hip dysplasia. We adopted him from a family that had purchased him from a breeder (we suspect it was actually a puppy mill), and he had shown no signs of hip problems until about 3 months before he was actually diagnosed. Our only indication was that we noticed he had a slight limp after vigorous exercise or playing.
We've since put him on a glucosamine supplement as well as low-impact exercise. He still limps at times after he's been really active. Our vet encouraged us to not "baby" him too much, since he should still be able to enjoy his life and as far as he (our dog, Cooper) is concerned, he still wants to be a happy go lucky dog. we don't over exert him, but it absolutely kills me to see him limp after he's been laying down for a while. Once he couldn't even get up the stairs and FI had to carry him up. I hate the thought of him in pain, and just want him to be a happy dog.
What is your experience with hip dyslasia with your dog(s)? We have discussed surgical options with our vet, but he has not progressed far enough yet to warrant any. I would opt for surgery if it got really bad when he was still young enough to live many happy and active years. It just kills me sometimes. I love him so much and dog's lives are already so unfairly short, I wish that he didn't have any pain, weakness, or soreness at all.
I just am a little down about it today, he went to the dog park on Thursday and has since been limping a little bit more than usual. My poor baby :(