Advanced hip dysplasia/arthritis

mynutmeg

mynutmeg

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My collie is 9 and has advanced arthritis due to hip dyplasia. She's on joint supplements, metacam and tramadol to keep her comfortable as well as hydrotherapy to try and maintain some muscle.
A while ago she went through a spell of being really stiff and uncomfortable even with increased tramadol, over the last few weeks she's massively improved even better than she was over a year ago, she's bouncy and playing and wanting to run and coping with exercise much better.
However she has lost a lot of muscle across her lower back to the point I can feel her pelvis where I couldn't before, she also will not/can not let me stretch her leg back at all from the hip - is it possible that her hips have fused to some extent on their own?

Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted at how well she's doing but would like to know whats going on, I am reluctant to give her a GA just to re-xray, given her age.

This is her x-ray taken a year to 18 months ago
Megship-1.jpg
 
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No clue on the fusing but this page is definately worth a read
IMO.http://dogaware.com/health/arthritis.html

Also have heard that getting a dog to go uphill is great for building up muscle on the back legs. Can be made more challenging by getting the dog to drag a weight but may not suit a dog with HD, and I would speak to your vet before you did anything like that anyway.
 
PM KCMac on here, she has a link to a vet who doesn't give GA, just sedates enough for an x ray, near Southampton, I think.

Hydro, hill work and walking in sand is helpful (is your school sand?) Supplements to try-salmon oil, turmeric, glucosamine, chondroitin, green lipped mussel. Cartophen injections may help.
 
She goes to hydro once a week which really helps and is on green lipped muscle pills which have all the gluscosamine etc in them, but she can't have the catrophen because of being on the metacam
 
They can have cartrophen with previcox which is an alternative NSAID. They like the dog to be off the previcox for 48hours prior to the injection but can go back on afterwards. May be worth asking your vet as an alternative to metacam.
 
I used cartrophen injections on my old gsd for spondulytis, it seemed to help her a lot.
Depending on where you are in the country, the vets I use in Cheshire also x ray without a GA. However as you now she has hd I'm not sure how much you would gain by re x raying, if you can increase her hydrotherapy to help build more muscle that may help.
 
I haven't talked with the vets about needing to do a GA, I know she'd lie still for me (she's brill even if I do say so myself) it's more that on her back she crosses her legs and won't relax so they wouldn't be able to get a decent x-ray without heavy sedation or a GA and although she's fit and healthy, she is 9 and I can't see us changing her management from it so wouldn't want to do it purely for the x-ray. If she was in for something else then we'd x-ray then which is what was done previously, I just would love to know whats made such a difference to her. This morning we went for a walk and I was able to throw her ball for a decent length of time before she started lying down and she's nowwhere near as stiff this evening as she would have been 4 months ago with half as much exercise, it's great!!!:D
 
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