Hip displasia

Hi everyone,

As I said in another post, Sandi has been limping for a while on her rear right leg, and sort of bunny hops when she runs. It came on all of a sudden about 4 weeks ago. She doesn't appear to be in pain and still charges around like normal. We thought it may be her knee, however we took her to the vets who suspects it may be her hips. We need to get an x ray to confirm it. I have read up on hip dispasia and it doesn't look too good. She is only around 18 months old (we think, she was a rescue dog). I was just wondering if anyone else has any experinece with this? Has anyone elses dog been treated for hip dispasia? Was it successful? From what I have read, it is a lifetime condition that can be managed, or in extreme cases surgery may be needed. Just wanted to hear about other people experiences so I know what to expect. The thing that upsets me most is that Sandi absolutely loves chasing her ball, and if she has hip dispasia it will have to be low impact excercise only - no more balls which Sandi won't be happy about.

I'm sorry to hear that, I haven't been through it or experienced it. When is the X-ray? Good luck and I hope for the best XX

It really depends on the extent of the dysplacia (if it is that & not just a strain or twist).

Slight dysplacia can be treated with pain killers when necessary but will need nothing further unless it gets worse. There will be no need to reduce exercise, but high impact exercise should probably be avoided (running up & down hills, jumping etc).

SEvere HD can be treated with painkillers, anti-inflamatories & if necessary a hip replacement (I hope you're insured!) which can be as much as £3000 per hip.

I'd wait for the x-ray to see what the level of HD is, and then discuss matters with your vet.

Hope it all works out. Maybe she just pulled something.

Also, have a look at some of the homeopathic sites that specialise in traeting dogs - there may be something there that will help.

But really, there's nothing you can do till you know for sure from the x-ray.

We are thankfully insured! But our limit is £4000 per illness. At least that will go some way to paying if she does need an op. I have ordered a big bottle of something called Synflex today, it has glucosamine and lots of other good oils, that is supposed to help with joints and arthritis, it also specifically mentions hip displasia. Even if that is not what Sandi has, the supplements won't do her any harm. The vet has given us Metacam to give her every day, which I am not too keen on doing long term.

I have a RR and a St Bernard with hip displasia ! Both are flying and are 6 and 4yrs old, their hips are SHOCKING on xrays but they have no clinical signs, no lameness or pain, they go for 2 x 1hr walk daily off lead on grass or dirt tracks.
They are on Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM supplement as well as Fish oil RICH in EPA and DHA, also get collagen, vit c and Devil's Claw (natural very potent anti inflamatory/pain killer) when they do streneous excercise (hills/mountains).
They still need to excercise to build muscles, as the body can rely on the muscles to help bad joints, thats what happened with my 2..
So if managed properly and always supplemented daily your baba can live a completely normal life.
PS: I knew my RR had bad hips and coz Im a vet nurse I xrayed her at 8mths old before she had signs.
my St Bernard belonged to someone else and even though had 1 hip replacement was still lame on the other hip and was on extremely high levels of NSAIDS, I took him off them, gave him the supplements, switched him to BARF and started excercising him and swimming...
Whatever you do DO NOT walk your dog on concrete, pavements, roads... it damages the joints big time!!!

Hi,

Thanks for your post. It is good to know that even if her hips are bad, Sandi may still be able to lead a normal life. We have always excercised her a good couple of hours (at least!) a day, so her muscles are good, and her weight is perfect. I am hoping to be able to continue her walks, we mostly walk in fields anyway. I'm starting to think that playing fetch with her ball may be partly to blame, as when she used to play fetch she would run so fast, and really slam her back legs down on the floor whilst running. We have stopped that for now. The vet has told us to just walk her for 3 10 min walks a day for the moment. This is nowhere near enough for Sandi! I took her for a short walk yesterday in the field, and I couldn't stop her from charging around, I think she has energy to burn due to not getting her long walks at the moment. Hopefully we will know more after the x ray.

This is the stuff I have ordered, does it look any good?

http://www.glucosamine-liquid.co.uk/