Tips to prolong his life

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sarahHugo

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Hi Guys

I am a very pround (and a very upset) owner of a 18 month choc labrador with double hip D and stretched ligaments (to compensate) Vet told me he was born a cripple, hes not in any pain (yet) and that I should take him home and give him the best life I can.

I love him to death and its so heart breaking - surgery would not be a viable option for him as both of his legs would need cutting from top to bottom on both sides and vet thinks hes to enegetic to be crated for over a year.

So...

Until we have to go on painkillers, I am trying everything I possible can to look after his joints. Its so hard to stop him jumping up and running around. But I am doing my best!!

I have been told by two vets and homeopathic doctor that I cannot overdose on Vit C (apart from giving the runs) Gluc, MSM or Chondroitin as it occurs naturally and anything his body doesnt use, he will just pee out.

He is on homeopathy tablets to strengthen/maintain ligaments and a cocktail of supplements which seem to be doing the trick.

Do you think it would be a bad idea to buy a super supplement which has upto 10,000 mg of glouc - or do you think this would do him some harm? Its just that I know his body needs extra and I want to make sure he is getting enough - even if he does pee half of it out.

Thanks very much

any hints and tips on the condition are also appreciated
he has a bioflow collar on which I think is great
 
So sorry to hear about your lad. You say he is not in pain, what symptoms is he showing, and did you have his hips scored? I have a GSD with a problem with her spine and my vet has given her Cartrophen injections. These do the same sort of job as cortaflex apparently. Green lip mussel is a good supplement for joint problems, might be worth trying. Swimming is a great exercise for dogs with hd, particularly if you can find a hydro pool for dogs, maybe best not swimming a dog with joint problems outside in this cold weather. I obviously don't know how bad your dog is, but I had a GSD who when she was x rayed at 12 months old had terrible hips. A hip expert said she would be off her legs by the time she was 2
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She lived a long and active life, when hip scoring was brought in I had her re xrayed at age 6, she scored 98
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I lost her at 13 with cancer, and she was still strong on her legs then.
 
Sorry to hear about your boy. Just a thought but can you get a calmer (similar the ones you use on horses) it may prevent him from getting excited and running around quite as much.
 
i saw on an american website (some years ago) a hip support for dogs that looked like a pair of tight neoprene cycling shorts! they were designed to limit the hip movements of dogs ie GSD, flat coat retrievers etc... that are notorious for hip problems...they arne't designed for constant use but just for when the dog is likely to 'over stretch' itself i.e. when out on walks...

No idea if they'd be any good, but its maybe somethign else you could look into?
 
First, I can understand that you want him to take it calmly because of the hips, but don't beat yourself up (referring to the "I'm doing my best, but it's hard to stop him"-part) for the times when he does run or jumps a little, when you can't stop him just try to enjoy that he is happy here and now.

I always hope that my dogs will live to become the oldest one of it's breed, that became my aim after that the one cross-breed I've had Thera, had to be euthanized when she was just about 2 years old. I know it's not likely my dogs ever will reach my aim, but I still have it.
The one thing I really regret the most about Thera, is the times when I feel I could have allowed her to have more fun, but I wanted to go home, I didn't want to train more or walk longer that day etc. I know I did it because I didn't know that Thera wouldn't be there for more time than she was, but I still regret it. I also know Thera was happy over the fun she got and didn't know anything about me expecting her to live 10 or more years. Thera was happy then and there and that is what mattered to her.




I've heard from a dog nutrition-something that it's better to give Fish (maybe some sort of cartilaginous from fish?) because dogs can from that, how should I put it (I so know what I want to say in Swedish), sort of "create" a glucosamine that the dogs body can make use of/absorb or similar. But the glucosamine that is in supplements doesn't suit the dogs body system as well, so most of it just goes straight through.


Have you tried massage, stretching and/or acupuncture? To help with trying to strengthen his muscles so they can sort of compensate.
If you try acupuncture, don't rule it out as worthless after one visit, and for lasting effect (from 6 months to more than 1 year) you usually need between 4 to 10 "sessions". Oh, and the needles shouldn't just be inserted and about 25, 30 minutes later taken out again, they should be turned/twisted at least once during the "session".

As MurphysMinder, I also want to recommend swimming, either in hydro pool or when the weather becomes warmer, in reasonable amounts of course.
And again ditto MM, try New Zealand Green lip mussel.
 
I have a lab who has had arthritis from 2, and she is on metacam and has been for a significant length of time.
She is 8 now, and blind, and I suspect the elbows have arthritis, she still pootles about happily, swims, chases balls, yes it can be heartbreaking (particularly due to her lack of sight) but she has a happy life.
 
Thanks for the advise.

Well the vet has told me that he will start to show signs of pain when he develops arthritis. I can honestly say he shows no sign of pain - never reluctant to jump, run or run up the stairs (when he can shove past the stair gate!!) but he does bunny hop somethings, and I have noticed that if he does jump he swings his back end round and plops both legs on the ground. He doesnt know anything different i suppose

I really appreciate that point about wrapping him up in cotton wool. I am so undecided whether I should let him run and have the best life, or whether I should stop all of the hooning about. Perhaps I am being selfish as I want him to be with me as long as possible. He loves coming to see the horses, and being outside the stables is still mentally stimulating for him, and he has a little dig in the muck heap and hay which is hopefully low impact and of great amusement to him!. H does have little runs - but he could honesetly go on forever. Before we knew he used to run for hours on walks. I only found out because I wanted his ligaments checked out as they looked weird.

I have taken him to a chiro and he cant do anything. I have researched the hydro and thats an option. He has fish once a week and I watch his weight like a hawk.

His hips were scored and dad 3/4 and mum was apparently the same. He was from a so called 'working' breeder in swaffham and he came with all of the KC papers. I just feel so sorry for his brothers and sisters as I am spending £30 plus on supplements a month plus Hills diet food. Expensive dog! but hes worth it.

Thanks for all of your replies.

Fingers crossed Murphysminder that he reaches a grand age like your dog.
 
I know you want to give him as long a life as possible but if I were you I would let him run and play as he wants. My aforementioned bitch was constantly on the go, she was also shown successfully and did loads of hill work getting her fit for this. I really think it was the fact that she was so muscled that kept her going so long.
Were your dogs x rays actually sent off for scoring, and if so what score did he get? I will probably get shot down for this but some vets are not the best at reading hip x rays
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One bitch I bred had her hips x rayed and the owners phoned me in tears because the vet had said her hips were so bad it wasn't worth sending them for scoring. I insisted and she came back with a total score of 11
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I don't want to give you false hope but if he is willing and able to run forever then I certainly wouldn't write him off yet. With regard to his brothers and sisters, there is no reason for their hips to be bad, it is just one of those things. If both his parents had low scores you really cannot blame the breeders.
Good luck with him
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Vets don't usually hip score unless a dog is to be used for breeding - it's costly for the owner and in HD won't change the diagnosis or treatment (unless the vet made a mistake).

The most important thing you can do for him is make sure he gets regular exercise (not too much but he needs to keep muscle tone and enjoy life) and also keep the weight off him. You want a thin dog!

Glucosamine (I prefer cortaflex but it really costs) is magic
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Perhaps depends on the dog and the severity of the HD? With mine, when she was young, I found her to be naturally quite lazy - not usual for the breed. Then we found that if we took her for long walks, she would be stiff and sore the next day or two - that's why she was eventually x-rayed and diagnosed when she was about 2.

We did still let her play and take her for reasonable walks, but we stopped imagining she enjoyed long strenuous walks
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I guess you have to work out what each dog's tolerance to exercise is and just try not to exceed it.
 
No I dont have his hip score. I was a bit annoyed as my partner picked him up after his x rays and he nevers asks enough questions. I went back (as vets is inside a pet shop) and got some advise, but they just said that both hips were 'bad' and that his cruciate ligaments have stretched to compensate.
You can only really tell when he cocks his leg up for a wee. His ligaments on the remaining leg cant hold him for to long, and it sort of collapses. He just moves and does it again!
Apart from that he is a happy dog and full of energy. Just felt so sorry for him, couldnt imagine what it would be like to have a really poorly child! He is bad enough.
Thanks for all of your advise
 
Not a big fan of the vets in pet stores I have to admit, but that is just a personal opinion. If you did not pay extra and fill forms in to submit the x rays for scoring they will not have been done. A shame because it could have given a better idea of how bad they are. I know it is not essential for a dog to be scored if they are not going to be bred from, but I am sure his breeder would have been interested to know the score. Have you discussed his hip with them?

I would be really interested if star or ann-jen (or any other vets who may come on here) could explain about cruciate ligaments stretching to compensate for bad hips. It is something I have never heard mentioned before.

If he is a happy, energetic dog, I would just let him get on with his life. As someone else said, keep him slim, and muscled up and hopefully you will have him for a good few years
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Oh dear!. I have working strain cockers and for some (probably silly) reason I think the workers are healthier as they are bred for performance not appearance. Wrong again and they are usually not hip/eye scored! Poor you though - how deeply distressing. I would give your dog the most fun you can without overdoing it and when the time comes - know that you must do what is best for him/her...
 
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