Hip Dysplasia And Agility...

KumoES

I got Kumo neutered yesterday and had his hips radiographed to check for hip dysplasia.

My experience with hip dysplasia dogs is apparently greater than the first vet I took kumo to when I was initially concerned when he was 3 months old. Allow me a moment to gloat/be annoyed at that stupid vet.

So, I am now faced with a herding dog with hip dysplasia. There is *no* way to turn this dog into a low-energy, calm dog short of drugging him to his eyeballs.

I'm putting Kumo onto cosequin to help his joints, but I'm wondering about any advice for building up joint and muscle strength to still allow my dog to do agility. We won't compete now because of his hips, but I think that he will still drastically need the mental stimulation of it.

Anela

I had a dog that had HD. As she aged, she acquired other issues and cheated death three times before she finally went at 14.

When I first found out she had it, the vet I had at the time (since fired for stupid things) said not to let her run. My main question, similar to yours, was how do I keep a 3 year old dog, who lives to run and chase things, from doing what she loves most?

Her HD was not the most severe, I have read about lots of other who have immensely more difficult situations than I did. I did put her on Cosequin which helped. She also on occasion got Rimadyl (sp?) when she really needed it, but because she was a Lab/Shepard, I found out after many years of using it only occasionally, that she should not have had it at all (I've had REALLY bad luck with vets, that's another looong story).

I basically let her do what she wanted. The best thing for me was to offer her regular exercise. We always walked twice a day, no matter what unless the weather would just not permit. I'm convinced that this did so much to gradually keep her muscles strong without damaging them. After she reached about 10, she just didn't like to run that much.

I really believe that dogs just have to be dogs and do dog things. When she was lame, I would also sometimes give her an Ascriptin.

Anela

Inga

Do you have any place where you can take him for water therapy? Some vets and boarding facilities have the big Whirlpool tubs for just this thing. It makes a world of difference. Walking to keep up the muscle is a huge help also. Pain management is the biggest thing too. I am sorry to hear that your dog is dysplastic. It is so unfair. Young dogs just don't know to take it easy either. I know what you mean about gloating. I had a vet that checked out my dogs foot because I said I think she broke a bone in it. He told me there was no way that it was broke because as hard as he cranked on it she (my dog) would have bit him in the face. I insisted on an x-ray and low and behold broken bones showed up in her foot. Vets are only Human but it is nice to knock one down when they get too high up on their pedestals. Most vets are wonderful, this guy was just a bit too smug for my taste.

007Dogs

I don't think I would continue with agility even on a fun level. The weave poles and the lateral movement required to do these things could increase pain and wear and tear on the dog. Along with the other moves required to do agility.
I agree that water thrapy is a wonderful idea. As well as normal walking. I know it is going to be tough to keep a dog with that energy level in check. But you are going to have to accept the dog is going to have limitations. And it really stinks for both you and the dog. But that is life sometimes, not so fair. The biggest thing with using Rimidyl is kidney and liver function. Do blood work prior to the dog going on to it, and repeat the blood work every 6 months to monitor those things. And use it sparingly, and it should be fine.

Dieselsmama

I am going to buck the trend here and say if the dog were mine I would continue agility with it. I would make sure the jumps were kept very low, slow everything down a bit, and skip the competitions, but the mental and physical outlet this provides is important. I would also continue to work on slow walks up and down hills and grades to help keep the muscular support at a max for those compromised joints. There are clearly lots of joint support additives and supplements on the market that will help slow down and/or minimize joint degeneration. You said this was a mild case so this is how i'd probably handle it. Of course water therapy is great so lots of swimming whenever it's an option is ideal. I know if she really enjoys agility I'd just try to make it less stressful for the joints but the benefits far outweigh the risks IMO. You know your dog best so watch for what she's telling you, if it's hurting slow everything down, if she's doing well and needing more exercise, offer it carefully. For me, the emphasis should always be quality of life. Would your dog be happy without the outlets mentioned? Yes, they may cause her to be more lame later, but she should have the option to enjoy her quality of life while she has it.

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Wimble Woof

I'd start a regime of glucosamine, condroitin and msm immediately for the rest of your dogs life.
I personally dont like the side effects of rimadyl or Dermaxx and other commonly prescribed meds, but they do help. If you do start up on one of these prescriptions be sure to add in Apple Cider Vinegar and Milk thistle to help repair the damage that will be done to the liver ect.
As for the agility... I dont know,
Myself I probably wouldnt continue with it as it will add extra stress to the hips, but in the end its your call, and im sure you would recognize when it gets to be "too much" for your dog.
Is there a pronounced "bunny hop" already when running?

cascabel

I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t want to comment too much directly on the agility since I think that is something you as the owner will really have to watch and see how your dog responds. I just want to offer some suggestions in addition the the glucosamine (I'm sorry if some of these seem too obvious…I don't mean to offend!):

-keep the dog very lean. This is of course always better for the joints, but it becomes extremely important for a dog with HD.

-supplement with fish oil to provide plenty of omega 3 fatty acids which are anti-inflammatory agents. (just remember anytime you add omega 3s you must add vitamin E as well or they will strip the dog of necessary antioxidants. You can get fish oil with vitamin E already added or supplement it separately.)

-Vitamin C in the Ester-C form, calcium ascorbate, is another good supplement for joint problems. (the ester-c form is buffered so it is easier on the stomach and it is also absorbed much better) You can buy it in powdered form and build up how much you add to see what your dog can tolerate. More is better up to the point your dog can tolerate it without bowel problems. (in large amounts, vitamin C acts as a laxative) So you can start by adding it in small amounts and increasing until the stools get soft and then backing off. If you want an estimated amount to give, usually it’s around 10 mg/ lb. of body weight for dogs.

-use a low carb/grain-free, high protein diet (grains contain a large quantity of omega 6 fatty acids which are inflammatory) Raw/home-cooked is excellent for this, if you can’t prepare it then maybe consider pre-made raw. There are lots of brands you can look for (Aunt Jeni’s, Primal, Nature’s Variety, Oma’s Pride, Northwest Naturals, and many others...) If you can’t do raw/homecooked, the next best thing would be a kibble along the lines of Orijen’s 6 fresh fresh or NV raw instinct.

KumoES

Thankyou all for the advice.

The water therapy sounds really good, and my boyo has always seemed to have a strong desire to swim so he'll probably enjoy that. I'll also start taking him to places where we can take slow, long walks on varying grades (gentle hikes! woo!).

The one thing I truly can't do is limit his energy level. Restraining him from activities he currently enjoys (chasing dogs and balls, etc) would be actually harmful for him. He needs stimulation and his instincts are *strong*. Just keeping him 'quiet' yesterday he was showing mental strain. He was constantly fidgety, mouthing, crying and barking, chewing on *everything* which he normally does not too, and being a general needy pest who then proceeded to bounce at the end of his leash for about an hour in the attempt to chase things. There is literally no stopping him without making him bonkers. Which sucks to a point.

The potential for diet changes would be interesting, and feeding raw is tempting. Kumo does seem to have some food allergies as well (ye gods, the problems!) so that could take some time to figure out.

Keeping the jumps low is a *very* good idea, thankyou.

As to his symptoms, while he doesn't bunny hop he does run 'funny' and slow considering his build and breed and age. At age 3 months I began noticing that he was sitting slumped to one side, and had a curious rolling motion to his trunk when he walked.... just as my mom's dog who had bad hip dysplasia did. We put Shelby on the glucosamine and she lived many happy, if a little sore, years running and chasing my Aussie all day. She was so happy that I'm going to follow that same methodology with Kumo. "Let him be happy".

ZensMom

How old is your dog?

Our eight month old german shepherd was diagnosed with severe HD. We opted for surgery on the one hip he was eligible for it on. The other hip already had a bit of arthritic damage. He has to stay quiet for 8 weeks at least, and that's not been easy but its also not been terribly hard.

The orthopedic surgeon we consulted with before deciding on surgery told us that when a dog is growing and is dysplastic, tiny fractures occur around the joint, but many times when dogs' skeletons stop growing the fractures heal up and the dog goes into "chronic" mode and often does not feel pain until their later years. Still, you would want to limit the damage to the joint as much as possible. If your dog luxates over the joint, it loosens up the muscles over the joint making them ineligible for total hip replacement down the line. I don't know if you are into surgery or consider it, but we were in order to make our dogs quality of life better and reduce his pain.

Swimming/water therapy is very good for dysplastic dogs.

KumoES

He's 6months old, and while clearly apparent on the radiographs, it's mild. He shows no real signs of it unless he's been running like mad for a while, or if we've taken two of his 2-mile walks within a few hours of each other. And the only sign he shows then is a slight favoring of his right hind leg.

foxuk24

hi
I too have an energetic dog who has just been diagnosed with h/d.

Jake is 13 months, a flatcoat retriever and has always been an extremely energetic dog who will sit and whine or start trying to be destructive if not exercised a lot. By 10 months old we did 3 to 4 walks a day with him.

We had no reason to ever suspect h/d, his energy was boundless, he would run, jump and never appeared lame. He has always refused to jump in the car but we just thought the car was a particular dislike of his.

But over the last few weeks we noticed that his legs were looking stiff on risisng and then one evening he was actually hobbling. The next day I took him too the vet who after an xray told us he has hip dysplasia. The arthritis is so bad that the only surgery option is a full hip replacement, but that is only if it can't be controlled with drugs.

Yesterday I really was so upset about all of this. He is such a young dog and the most energetic dog I have ever known, so this really sucks for him, at the moment he is whining by my feet wanting to go out more

I am going to try and start him with vitamin C and going to sort out some hydrotherapy and just do gentle walks with him

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