Hip/Elbow Dysplasia

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nijinsky

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Does anybody have a dog with either of these?

If so, could you tell me what medication is being given, how you are finding it and if you were prescribed with certain medication have you changed over to something else that you found worked better. Thanks.
 
My In laws have a lab with both hip and elbow dysplasia- the old story of not asking about hip scores etc of parents then falling for a cute puppy.

Anyway they were told to feed him glycosamine daily and keep his weight down by the vet and walk him little and often. They do the first but unfortunately not the second as he is a massive 40kg! The vet has also said that he is likely to need a hip replacements in the next couple of years.

He is coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks at what I like to call 'FAT CAMP' to get some of the weight off. They just don't realise the problems they are causing the poor dog. Two weeks of no (undoggy) treats and loads of walks with my Holly will get a bit of weight off him.
 
No he's not on anything. The only time he is visibly sore is if he's gone on a longer walk (2 hours plus) and then he's quite stiff the next day. But in general he manages okay except that he has to be lifted into and out of the car as he can't jump but some of that is due to the fact he's 40kg rather than his hips.
 
Our rescue dog has hip displacia (he is a lab). He manages OK, but is on 20kg of metacam. He goes for 2/3 walks a day for aobut 3/4 of an hour at a time and always seems to enjoy it!
He can't get into the boot of the car by himself, he can get his front legs up but needs help with the back end.
He has recently started hydrotherapy and it seems to be doing him the world of good and he seems loads more flexible after it!
He is also on the pedigree chum joint chews and they seem to be doing him some good, he's been on them for about 10days.

Here's a pic of him just because he's cute!
HarryatSherborne011.jpg

He did need help to get onto the bench with the back end!
 
my boxer has elbow dysplasia and now advanced spondylosis of her spine, aged 4
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she was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia aged 1yr old when she was lame intermittently, worse after rest. she went to college (the RVC) and we did a CT scan which showed elbow dysplasia in both front legs, but worse in the right so we did an arthroscopy and cleaned up the joint. she's been on Synoquin since then and hasn't really bothered her since. occasionally she's a bit sore on it, but now it's really her back that bothers her and she is very stiff behind. i'm trying cartrophen jabs and also she's now trying rimadyl because metacam gives her an upset tummy. might try previcox if the rimadyl doesn't work. dont like zubrin as had some bad reactions. all these are nsaids. if these stop working i'll put her on PLT which is a steroid based drug.
 
Thanks all.

Star - the reason I'm interested in what medication was given is bascially this.

Similarly my dog was diagnosed with ED in both front legs. Again similarly arthoscopy. Was started on rimadyl but not really having much effect so went on to previcox. He's looked at every six months. Last visit to vet saw a locum, he was amazed that dog was on previcox (half a tablet daily is his maximum dose) and said he doesn't recommend it - his words were "your dog will die of renal failure before his legs give out"!!! I also had dog on cortaflex for the glucosomine.
Vet recommended glyclo-flex which is pretty much the same as cortaflex, turmeric powder which is apparently what is used in curry, and is an anti-inflammatory & fish oil (omega 3) and only the previcox as & when he needs it.
My dog is only 2 and is very much still full of life, seems very happy & tears and about like a nutter when it suits him. My worry is the pain he could be in. As much as I don't want him to die of renal failure!!!! I wonder if he is in pain, he's a staffie and I know they have a very high pain threshold. I give him the previcox probably once a week as opposed to everyday when I feel he looks sore.

Just wondered what medication others were on & do you have the same worries ie what is the medication doing to them long term.
 
i definitely have similar worries. i hate seeing my dog in pain, but i refuse to have her on nsaids every day because i'm so worried about what they're doing to her guts and her kidneys. have certainly seen zubrin cause some nasty reactions. previcox has been ok in my experience so far, but it's still a relatively new drug and we dont know what long term side effects we could be looking at.

recently put mine back on rimadyl at a high dose, now gradually weaning her off it and hoping to just give it to her on her bad days. synoquin is definitely better than cortaflex. glycoflex is similar to synoquin.

cartrophen is another helpful product rather than a drug - it's a polysulphated GAG and helps the joint function - think it has helped her a bit. she had injections 1wk apart then now having monthly ones.
 
I have my arthritic lab on metacam, seems to do the trick. hated having to give a tablet a day, so use the metacam in their food, seems to work so far!
 
My german Shepherd has hip dysplasia. It was diagnosed at around 9 months and he was booked in for a hip replacement 4 months later. He couldn't cock his leg and would cry like a baby when he'd been for a walk. He's nearly 6 now and you'd never even know he had anything wrong with him. It was just the slightly worse hip that was replaced and he manages fine now. Luckily my insurance paid for his operation!
 
That's excellent news. My boy gets around fine ATM but obviously his condition will deteriorate with age. I did chat with the vet re elbow replacement but I believe it's very much in its infancy stage at this moment in time but if anyone has any experience of elbow replacement I would be interested to hear about it.
 
I don't know if it'd be of any help or not but the vet that did Murphy's hip replacement specialises in orthopaedic and soft tissue referrals. If you'd like his email address or phone number pm me. He is based in Fife but could perhaps speak to you about elbow replacement and maybe recommend a specialist closer to you
 
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