Hip Dysplasia - Discussion on treating Dogs.

[icemanV]

Hi All,

I have a Lab, he is named Whiskey and he is 10 months old.

This is the first time that i have a dog at home, and now am extremely attached to him.

For the past 2 months i have noticed that he tends to strain himsel to get up once he goes down on all four. My previous complaints about this was attributed to the Marble flooring in the house.
I couldnt take it any more and took it down to the Vet to get an Xray done.

The Xray now confirms Hip Displasia. Now the place where i got the Xray done is not so reputable and the doctor was suggesting a surgery. he basically scared the shit ********** saying that without surgery arthritis will set in 6-8 months. On TenX's advice i took the Xray to my own Vet who does not have Xray facility. He suggested the following medicines. Now i am not seeking an opinion on the vet but just want to discuss the medicines and seek your opinions on any others apart from those mentioned in the posts.

He is taking 2 shots of 1ml each of some medicine every 3 days for total 5 times.
Chums 2tablets evry day
Megaflex- 1 spoon with each meal
HD tablets by Beaphar-2 per meal( contains MethylSulphonylMethan aka MSM)

Feed back Invited

Ice

[Subal das]

nothing will help as sustanon 250

glucosamine also useful Lubrijoint is inexpensive one and good quality, Shellcal useful too.

but sustanon is best, it is a mix of different testosterons.

[Rottmeister]

If you have faith in Ayurveda, please administer him Shallaki (u shall find that in any of the Himalaya Herbal showrooms) twice a day (9 am and 9 pm) with Lubrijoint Plus at 3 pm sharp, everyday. Besides, feeding him Royal Canine Junior 31 formula (http://www.royalcanin.co.nz/Giant%20Junior.pdf) shall give you the results sooner than you think, since it also comprises Chondroitin; else go for Bento Kronen High Performance dog food (http://www.versele-laga.com/NUTRI/Nutri ... &pro=19665). However, both the foods are extra rich in protein, so u need to administer one capsule of Gokshura every day after the first meal. Gokshura or Tribulus Terestris also increases the testosterone level in the body, which in turn, promotes healing and you shall get it with any of the leading med shops dealing in Himalaya.

Hope that helps.

One thing about vets is, one receives cuts from prescribing the products of the med company he is tied up with and would cure your dog at most 90% and not anymore, to secure his inflow of money.

[TenX]

It really saddened my heart to know about this. Just a few days back, he was having a gala time with my dogs when Iceman visited us.
Rottlord, Yaj and Subal have been giving good advice. I hope it helps you Ice..

P.S. It may help you you mention the injections he is taking too... its name, that is...

[Rottmeister]

BTW, LJ+ has some amount of Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C) into it, so Liv.52 vet, everyday, prior to the first meal is highly recommended.

[Yaj]

I am afraid the first thing I would like to know is do you trust your vet?
What are these injections he is giving your pup?
I would suggest medication containing glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate. Avoid heavy exercise,too much of jumping etc.
Green Lip Mussel extract is also recommended by many dog owners who have tried it. Avoid stuff with hormones in it, testosterone or otherwise
Avoid feeding anything above 20-22 % protein since your pup is still growing.Dont let him get overweight, see that his last two ribs are visible.
How bad is the HD? They have a grading system in the US. Hip dysplasia will invariably lead to arthritis ,what we can do is try to slow it down and keep it to manageable levels and see that he has a relatively pain free and active life.
Please keep us updated on his progress.
Regards,
Yaj.

[TenX]

Yaj, RL...
Here are some observations that I have made... a lil harsh it may sound, but I need to be honest for the right diagnosis.
Whisky is amazingly active, but does not have the very active-style build. His lower part does seem weak, and getting him to lift his fore legs off the ground is very difficult. He relies a lot on his hind legs for all his constant activity. In the few minutes that I spent, he never really did try to get off the ground to reach a snack. Also, his climbing stairs is not in leaps, and one can easily notice the slowed reaction in transferring weight between hind legs. His tail wagging is also a tad limited. When he sits down on his hind legs, he does it with caution, with more weight channelized thru his behind than his hind legs, and also arches his back a bit.
He is extremely obedient, friendly and all that a dog owner would like to see in his dog. Also, notably, his mouth breath is not at all unwelcoming well spread coat with a good shine on its hair.

Hope this helps...

[Vikram]

Iceman,

Sorry to know of your dog.Hope he gets better.Yaj is an experienced veterinarian but firstly a dog lover to the core.I would pay a lot of attention to what he has to say.

Rott, no offence meant.We can do away with painting with broad brushes or it's better to add qualifiers.

Best-
Vikram

[Rottmeister]

For Iceman:

http://www.offa.org/hipgrade.html

[Yaj]

Iceman,

Sorry to know of your dog.Hope he gets better.Yaj is an experienced veterinarian but firstly a dog lover to the core.I would pay a lot of attention to what he has to say.

Vikram, I must say that I am a dog lover but have no formal training in the veterinary sciences. Whatever I say is based on what I have read, experienced, and on my formal training in treating humans
I mostly treat my dogs myself because I have found the level of veterinary care in Mumbai(for dogs) to be poor and the drugs used are the same (though there may be differences in how canines tolerate them).I have some very experienced friends too, I take their advice, further research the topics and then do the needful.
That is why I avoid giving advice on the net with specific dosages and regimes etc because it can be dangerous. I usually give a general idea of do's and donts , treatment guidelines which can be considered etc.
Regards,
Yaj.

[Vikram]

Thank you,Yaj, for the correction and your reluctance to prescribe dosages.Mia culpa . But, you are as good as a Vet, aren't you?

Best-
Vikram

[Yaj]

But, you are as good as a Vet, aren't you?

For my dog's sakes I better hope so
Regards,
Yaj.

[icemanV]

Thanks to Rottlord, Yash, TenX and Vikram for the feedback.

@Yash

How much do i trust my Vet?

1.) I dont know him personally.
2.) He comes highly recommended, all my friends neighbours who have bought pets from him or take them for treatment speak well of him.
3.) I have bought my pet from him only.
I havnt yet heard anything negative.

@Rottlord

I have checked the site you mentioned and he seems to be between Mild and Moderate. The hip bone and the socket are not exactly as well aligned as the pic suggest, so it is difficult for my untrained eye to interpret the Xray. I am trying to take a pic of the Xray here they are.



If you are unable to see the other pics in the stream let me know.

Regarding ayurveda, i dont mind trying it. I am plagued by doubts like

1.) Can they be given along with the existing medicine?
2.) If they cant, which is more effective?
3.) If i give both, will it be a case of too much?

I know my answer to yash's question will bring some clarity, but i am really confused.

TenX,

Now that i am giving him these meds he is a little more active(hyper actually) then normal.

Vikram thanks. Will be sending you a PM soon.

Ice

[Yaj]

Thanks to Rottlord, Yash, TenX and Vikram for the feedback.

@Yash

How much do i trust my Vet?


Ice

Iceman if that was directed at me I am Yajnesh or Yaj.
The reason I was asking about your vet is because of the injections he is giving your dog.As far as I know there are no quick fixes for this requiring injectables.Very often these injection schedules are a way of making a quick buck and keeping the patient coming to you.
The grading of the hip is usually done at bout 2 years of age since there is quite a bit of moulding which takes place until then.
There will be a lot of changes still taking place in your pups hips but I am afraid the X rays dont look too good
If you bought your pup from your vet I think he deserves a earful since he should know better than to breed dogs with bad hips. That is the problem here, nobody screens their breeding stock for HD and ED even though breeds like Labradors and GSDs are badly affected by it.
Regards,
Yaj.
.

[icemanV]

Sry about that Yaj,

I will check about the injections and get back to you. For the moment i will stop them if you recommend it. I was told it is acourse of 5, one every 3 days, each 300 bucks. I have already done 2.

Since the changes are still possible till 2 years is there any possiblity that a Puttur type cast by setting the bones in place will work on the pets.

If it gets any worse do you have any info regarding hip replacement surgeries, are they done in India and how much do they cost?


Ice