Hip problems GSD....

May2013

I’m pretty sure my 8yr old GSD’s hips have gone….his back legs have looked a little weak recently but last week he developed a limp and now he’s showing all the signs…won’t go up the stairs, clearly in pain when he walks, laying down all the time, uncomfortable when he changes position.

We’re planning to get to the vets tomorrow but just wondering if anyone else has been through this with their dog and what the likely prognosis is. Our last GSD developed bone cancer in his front leg at 5yrs old and we made a lot of wrong decisions in his treatment which led to amputation and a miserable quality of life for him for just 6 months before the cancer spread to his lungs.

Would be grateful if anyone could prepare me for what I’m likely to hear at the vets tomorrow.

gettingready

Sorry to hear about your dog, unfortunately many GS suffer from this type of problems....

Zara is 5 yo now, earlier on this year I took her to the vets as she was "bunny hopping" - running with her frint legs normal but back kind of stuck together like a bunny hop, dragging her back legs after a longer walk etc etc

She had Xrays which clearly showe arthritis and hips displasia, she was perscribed Metacam and I was advised not to exercise her too much and do not throw a ball for her (her fav thing) as running after the ball - short run, twist of the hips etc was making all worse.

I tried her on Metacam - after 2 weeks I saw it made no difference at all. The vet sais she is very close to the time when I hae to make a decision about a hip replacement (both legs) as her xrays were so bad.

Anyway, as metacam did not seem to make any difference.. I started looking for other help as did not feel the op was something I wanted to do at the time - 1st floor flat, no way I could manage with a post op dog who would need to be on cage rest and absolutely not allowed to use the stairs.

What I am going to write now, please please take it as only my personal experience and by no means an advice to you - please do consult your vet.

I have stopped the Metacam (as it was making no difference to Zara), I started her on Ester C (available from Boots) at 3 tablets per day (Zara weights about 36kg) and got her a bio flow collar at the same time.

Within a week I seen the difference. She is not able to do massive amounts of exercise but she is ok with an hour walk with SOME ball throwing and her legs are fine.

She has been on Ester C and wearing the bioflow collar since March - I will put the op off for as long as possible.

Link to some Ester C info:

http://workingdogs.com/doc0039.htm

http://shepherdcentral.com/viewtopic.php?t=12199

Rest.. on Google.. just search for Ester C and dogs

gettingready

If anyone knows of a vet in London that does Gold Beads Implantation - pls let me know.. thanks a lot.

staffiecat

Hi there,
My little mite also has hip dysplasia. She is only 15months old and her xrays show one hip is very bad and the other will only get worse. We have seen a specialist and he recommended no more than a 20 min outting to the park twice a day. We still throw the ball for her but very gently, she is full of beans bless her.

Like you gettingready, ours does the bunnyhoping thing with her back legs, thats how we knew there was a problem. She is also very very stiff after sleeping.

For the time being we are giving her glucosomine/chondrin (can't remember spelling), vit c and fish oils. I have changed her diet too to give her slightly more wet food then she was used to, as per vet suggestion. We have metacam in the cupboard if necessary but so far haven't needed to use it.

Her long term prognosis is to try and get her to age 5 and then she will probably need an op on one if not both back legs.

May2013

Thank you for your replies – I’m so sorry to hear that your dogs are affected with HD and at such a young age…so worrying!!

Having been to the vets we’re still not much clearer about what’s going on….other than the fact that I’d got my poor old boy’s age wrong and he’s actually 9½…where did the time go….he’s still in the over excitable ASBO stage in my eyes!

The vet didn’t seem too worried about his hips at this point but was more concerned about the thickening on his knees which suggests he has arthritis, she feels this could be down to cruciate ligament damage. We have come away with Metacam for the pain and Glucosamine and Chondroitin for his joints (he already takes cod liver oil daily), she has also advised that we keep him moving with regular short (lead) walks to stop him seizing up.

The vet suggested that as he's in his senior years we really need to be looking at quality of life over length of life but has said that an X-ray will help to determine if an operation would be worth while based on the overall state of his hips and joints. He's booked in next Monday and I guess we’ll take it from there.

Right now I'll just be pleased to see him out of pain and I’m delighted that we can take him (and our other dog who is also really quite old) out for a gentle stroll. It looks like the days of long walks in the woods are a thing of the past…we need to start treating our old hounds like the senior citizens that they are….maybe in hindsight we should have been slowing them down a year or so ago! It all seems to be changing so abruptly, just a week ago he was tearing around like the lunatic that he is

Gettingready – I asked the vet about Ester C but she wouldn’t be drawn on it (I’m not surprised as they only recommend things that they can charge a fortune for) but I shall be going to Boots tomorrow to pick some up, the reviews that I’ve read are all really favourable and as it certainly won’t do him any harm there’s nothing to lose…thanks for the suggestion.

Thank you both again for taking the time to reply….I hope your girls respond well to treatment and make a speedy recovery when and if they have surgery xx

Rowan9

May2013 wrote: »

We have come away with Metacam for the pain and Glucosamine and Chondroitin for his joints (he already takes cod liver oil daily), she has also advised that we keep him moving with regular short (lead) walks to stop him seizing up.

Hi - our older Golden Retriever (12)has been on Flexadin for 4 years now. I buy it online from vetuk.co.uk (or something like that) as it is cheaper than buying it from the vet. She is also on anti-inflammatories now (been on these for 6 months), which we do buy from the vet.
Good luck with your doggie
W

Millie2008_2

Our 10yo GSD has arthritis in her hips. On vet's advice (well vet ok'd a joint supp), we started her on Riaflex (google it) as we have the pony on that particular supplement and it has made a huge difference to her

It took a month or so for us to notice a difference, but then the change was remarkable, she was so much more free behind, wanted to walk further than she had in a long time and found it easier to climb the stairs. She has been on it for over a year now and we are going to keep going with it.

May2013

Thanks wmf & Millie2008. It's so encouraging to hear that your dogs are still doing fine so long after diagnosis....I've been feeling all doom and gloom anticipating the worst....but maybe it's not so bad after all.

The bill at the vets today came to £168...that was for the consultation (10 mins), 7 days of painkillers and 120 Glucosamine tablets :eek:. I completely lost all MSE logic and just bought everything there and then. When I got home I checked the costs on the internet and would have saved £65 buying the meds online!!!


Thanks for sharing what's working for your dogs....I'm optimistically hoping that we could be in this for the long haul and if that's the case I will be open to trying anything that improves his quality of life....having said that I'll start by using the tablets we bought today being as they cost so blooming much!!!

Thanks again xx

gettingready

YOu can get Glucosamine in.... Tescos....

That is for future reference

May2013

The vet told us that dogs can't absorb glucosamine designed for humans in the same way that horses don't get the benefit from glucosamine designed for dogs....she told us that she did a paper on this as part of her training.....do you think she saw us coming??

I really hate all this....emotionally we are at our most vulnerable when we take our beloved pets to the vets and as they are the professionals we tend to accept anything the vet says...or at least I do. I would be just furious if she was feeding us a line!!!!

gettingready

Do not stress so much.... find a GS specific forum and ask advice on there.

Find as much info as you can, from VARIOUS sources and... go with your instincts.

All the best...