Hip dysplasia with arthritic changes.

Spiritedly

Spiritedly

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My GSD was diagnosed with hip dysplasia in both hips and also arthritic changes today. The vet has given her some Tramadol for the pain and also suggested Cartrophen as an alternative if we'd like to try it.

Does anyone have any experience of either drug for this condition and how did you find it worked?

Also did you try any other treatment? Hydrotherapy or surgery for example.

It was also suggested that I try some kind of joint supplement for her and nutraquin was mentioned as a possibility as we have to be careful as she also has EPI. It's not something I had heard of before so has anyone tried it and how did you find it worked?

Thanks for reading.
 
On the whole I suppose that is good news, as bad new goes?
A friends collie has HD and he has regular hydrotherapy, she thinks it helps. How much insurance do you have, if a lot would it be worth going to a referral centre and finding out about surgery options?
We use yumove which works for our lab with bad elbows. I have not tried nutraquin.
 
Clodagh said:
On the whole I suppose that is good news, as bad new goes?
A friends collie has HD and he has regular hydrotherapy, she thinks it helps. How much insurance do you have, if a lot would it be worth going to a referral centre and finding out about surgery options?
We use yumove which works for our lab with bad elbows. I have not tried nutraquin.
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It was a better diagnosis than we were all thinking as we thought she had DM.

I don't know how much surgery would be but the vet did say she would refer us if I wanted to try that route,insurance wise I have lifetime cover for her with a yearly condition limit of 2000 but I don't know how much surgery would be :(
 
Cartrophen is worth it's weight in gold for me - I have an ESS who is on a 4 weekly dose when working and it's very effective for him (he has both hip and elbow problems).

Supplement wise I use Cortavet for horses given pro-rata as it works out much cheaper (I have 4 dogs on it!)
 
Tramadol worked for my dog, but they can't have anything else while on it and it's long lasting.

One of my younger dogs is dysplastic: he's on green lipped mussel, which seems to be effective. He swims lots in the summer and we limit his walks.

The best advice I was given for dysplasia was to keep the dog lean and don't stop exercising, get the muscle round the joints built up to support the joint. Walking through sand (school) and uphill is also recommended.
 
Christmas Spirit said:
Can the owner go in too? She is so nervy that she won't even walk with anyone else let alone get in the water with them :(
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A good hydrotherapist will be able to treat your dog effectively. They are so used to dealing with all breeds and all types of behaviour. You will obviously be there too. Hydrotherapy has given our dog a quality of life that she would never have had without it. Even the vet has been amazed by the results. I really feel for you in your situation because I've been there......but if I were you I'd try hydro before surgery.
 
The 3 main things I tend to try and emphasise with arthritis is

WEIGHT.thess dogs need to be kept lean! The less extra weight they have to carry the easier it is on the joints.

EXERCISE..muscles hold up the entire structure and a strong musculature can cope a lot better then atrophied muscles(muscle loss from pain and lack of use) or unfit dogs. If your muscles support your bones properly even with oa you will be more mobile.
In time once fitness improves we often are able to drop the medications needed
Swimming/hydrotherapy is great as the water exercise involve less impact so tend to be easier and less painful on the joints,as well as building up vital muscles with the resistence training involved in swimming or walking through water.uphill work and sand can be good for building up the hindquaters but it depends on the degree of muscle atrophy/loss already present.if weak behind needs a very slow intro or you will have a stiff sore dog.

PAIN CONTROL!
It's difficult to exercise a dog that is in pain. I will often start on a pain med even with the carprophen injections until we can get the pain and muscle atrophy then tends to be present when we diagnose these issues under control. Once the animal is showing signs of improved comfort we generally try and wean down the stonger painkillers where possible. There are massive amounts of painkillers out there and multiple types.What suits one dog may not suit another.They all have the potential for side effects to varying degrees but proper paincontrol massively improves quality of life so IMO is always something to consider.

Cartophen I like...but it doesnt work for every dog.It does need a 4 week intro course also and I always do the full 4 week course as it seems to take time to begin to show the benifits in a lot of dogs.
I would say around 70 percent of dogs show improvement on it personally.
some do brilliantly and its the only drug therapy they need.others dont seem to have any reaction at all and need other medications to manage their pain longterm. Its very much an individual varience.

There are also massive amounts of supplements available but personally I have not seen particular benifits of one type over any of the others atm.
Chondroitin/glucosamine/omega 3 fatty acids/green lipped mussle/tumeric seem to be the most commonly used supplements.
 
Also I would very much try and get the muscle and fitness building and weight management under control before considering surgery.
Unless the dog was suffering and we were unable to control the pain of the condition medical management is always something to try first.
If nothing else going into surgery at the right weight and an improved level of fitness should help with the recovery period.
A total hip replacement potentially bilterally with hd is not a surgery to go into lightly but it can be lifechanging so is worth considering if the condition is not manageable medically.
Also if this is an option your considering and the dog isnt used to being confined I would also recommend crate training before surgery to make the recovery weeks a bit easier for man and beast!
 
Thank you everyone for your responses.

Weight......the vet is very happy as she is a tall, straight backed GS and her weight is currently 36.1 kg and if anything she looks a little lean....with her EPI is hard to keep weight on her!

Exercise.....She used to come running with me but I had stopped this when she started to get a bit 'wobbly' behind and the vet has advised not to take her anymore as it is mainly on hard surfaces so she is now limited to her walks and when she feels up to playing with our other dog.
 
flurrydor said:
A good hydrotherapist will be able to treat your dog effectively. They are so used to dealing with all breeds and all types of behaviour. You will obviously be there too. Hydrotherapy has given our dog a quality of life that she would never have had without it. Even the vet has been amazed by the results. I really feel for you in your situation because I've been there......but if I were you I'd try hydro before surgery.
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The trouble with Tiki is that she will try and eat anyone that she doesn't know if they attempt to do anything with her when I'm not with her and is so tense when they touch her that it's almost impossible to do anything with her :( I even had to stay with her whilst she was sedated yesterday as there was no way she would let even the vet she knows near her if I wasn't there too!
 
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