Anyone any experience?

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Skhosu

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Ok, so our lab is just not happy. She has arthritis isn several places and in particular is very sore on one front leg. She is losing weight slowly which doesn't seem to be helping in any way. We've tried both sets of medication given and no use, moderate to severe limping all the time. Dad was wondering, as he is an orthopaedic surgeon, is it possible to do hip/elbow replacements in dogs? Just wondering if it is possible and worth considering, or whether it's worth taking her to the vets again to ask if there's anything else they can do? She still loves playing, walking, eating!
 
I know a black lab who had both hips replaced (not at once obviously) and it really changed his life for the better. Unsure of the costs, though it was a few years ago so prob different now anyway.
Perhaps make a vets appt would be best and ask them.
Best of luck.

FIona
 
thanks. Just wasn't sure if it as possible! Will arrange to see the vet and see what our options are.
 
Oh life would be so much easier if our dogs could talk and tell us exactly how much pain they are in. I also have a lab bitch, they are brill. I do also have a Westie Bitch with arthritis in 3 of her legs quite badly, she is 15 now, but has had arthritis for years, she is on Metacan and Joint aid, but is very stiff and takes a good 10 minutes to warm up, and I sometimes wish she could tell me how much pain she is in and they do tend to suffer in silence. Oh please keep us informed how it goes with your vet.
 
Can you find a hydrotherapy pool? For dogs! Yes they do exist. They are really good for arthritic dogs as they help to maintain muscle tone which they lose when inactive. Your vet might know of one.
 
Hey there
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It is possible for your vet (or a referral centre) to perform hip replacements and recently in the UK the first few elbow replacements were successfully performed at the Royal Veterinary College in London.

As you are already aware options for management of arthritis fall into 2 categories:
Medical OR Surgical.

1) Medical: with the advent of various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Metacam, Rimadyl, Carprodyl, Zubrin, Previcox...our dogs (and cats) have been able to deal with the pain associated with arthritis.

Also mentioned in one of the replies is a joint supplement Joint-aid, it's good to see that these are also being used - there are a number of them on the market now formulated for dogs - Seraquin, Joint-aid, Cosequin but to name a few... They are designed to be the building blocks of the cartilage within the joint if you like - keeping the joint movement as fluid as possible.

Also mentioned is Hydrotherapy - which is a great form of exercise for dogs whether it be to manage arthritis OR to help with weight loss. It works so well because it is no-impact exercise on the joints but encourages fluid movement whilst at the same time helping to burn off those stubborn calories which arthritic dogs would not otherwise be able to burn off. I normally recommend weekly sessions to my clients with the sessions going at the pace suited to your individual dog.

Something else to consider would be physiotherapy and acupuncture - i have had a number of clients whom we have been able to reduce their anti-imflammatory drug dose and still manage their arthritis very well. Definitely something to think about.

Remember alot of these complimentary therapies should be covered by insurance...

2) Surgical

The options for larger breed dogs such as labs, collies etc...

It is possible to perform hip replacements now in dogs - they are performed one at a time with approximately a 3-6 mth gap between ops - post op the dogs do very well and tend to achieve a much better quality of life.

We don't perform elbow replacements at our practice but am sure that more surgical facilities across the UK will offer this surgery nowadays.

I think the biggest issue for my clients is the cost - so it is normally only my insured clients who go for the surgical option.

I hope that this has been of some help and that I haven't bored you too much with my drivvel.

Hope all's well

Ollie
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Our Staffie's mother was limping badly and the vets kept saying it was the arthritis, we kept on and on and finally got referred to the specialist dog place in Hertfordshire, it turned out that she had two small bone chips in her elbow joint, they operated took them out and she is now back to being a complete nutter again. although we still have her on her arthritis medication she is now a much happier dog. So if you think there may be something further going on don't back down keep getting the dog seen to and if not make them refer you.
 
thank you very much for all your thoughts. Glad to hear it is possible. I will contact my vet and discuss these options I think
 
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