Lio has hip dysplasia... how do we prevent the worst?

[Yzma]

Due to some highly unethical breeding practices that are still 'rife' in Malaysia, Lio has hip dysplasia. Well he has suspected hip dysplasia... The vet diagnosed him and told us that it's quite common for them to still breed a dog that has hip dysplasia in Malaysia!!

ANyway, is there anything we can do for him now that will reduce the chances of him getting it?

Isn't there a brace he can wear to keep his hips in place?

[davet]

no braces that i know but we used to ,in the old days when they got bad, did femeroal head resecrtion, ie remove the head of the femur...it redusces the pain and gives them several more years of activity....but i don;t know of any braces or splintings etc that helps, people will suggest diets which can do no harm but probably don;t change the outcome.....ask your vet about femeral head excision discussion in the future.he/she may dissagree but it is a thought

[k9Karen]

My Angel has very severe HD and does just fine. The vet who xrayed her hips was amazed that she could walk, much less jump on the bed and couch. If you watch her, she runs and jumps by putting most of her weight on her front legs. She has enormous chest muscles under all that fur. It is possible that as she ages this may become a burden for her and create significant pain, but if she is in pain now, she does a tremendous job of hiding it.

I give Angel GlycoFlex and OsteoBiflex. I don't know if either of these products is available to you "over there", but there must be something similar. Glycoflex is a mixture (made for canines) that contains perna mussel, brewers' yeast and alfalfa (Perna mussel is a natural glucosamine). OsteoBiflex is a human nutraceutical that contains glucosamine and chondroitin. This mixture has worked to keep her from deteriorating for over 4 years since I got her (she is probably 9 or 10 years old, but we aren't sure).

Surgery is an option, but it isn't always needed. You'll need to ask your vet to suggest options. Also some additional info. While HD is still considered to be hereditary, there is a growing thought that there is a nutritional component. Some studies have suggested the a lack of sufficient vitamin C during the puppy stage may be a factor (dogs are supposed to make their own Vit C, but it appears that due to changing genetics, not all may make enough). There is also evidence that too rapid growth (puppy food with too much Calcium, etc) may be a factor, especially in large breeds. This doesn't help you now, but may be something to consider with a future pet.

Hope everything works out for you. Don't give up - many dogs have lived very long, happy lives in spite of having HD.

[E's]

I'm so sorry to hear this. It happens here too, quite often, with many breeds. Here are a couple of links about the condition, and one about massage... A couple years ago a doctor at my veterinary hospital (not my dog's regular vet) did a cursory exam of `Eowyn after she limped one morning, and declared she most probably was developing hip dysplasia... turned out she was not, or at least has never shown any further signs; nor has it ever been mentioned by her lifelong doctor... However, the partner who examined Win that day did give me two pieces of advice which IMO have helped tremendously and could help any owner feel at least a bit better about such a situation. The first advice was to start immediately giving my dog the same glucosamine chondroitin supplement my own doctor has me take... I do that still.

The other tip was to learn something about massage, in particular the "Tellington Touch" and he gave me the website. There are books on this, which I never bought [although dutifully looked them up on Amazon.com]
but I DID learn enough about the process to do some "touch massaging" and if nothing else, the dog loves it and so we both relax and feel better! But really, it seems to me this might be quite good thing for pups like Lio and his sister, and for their owner as well.

http://www.amaize.com/hip1.htm

http://www.offa.org/

http://tteam-ttouch.com/

[Yzma]

ok so we're feeding him a science diet puppy food... and what sort of vitamin c supplement? is it necessary, vet has mentioned surgery, but, not yet as he is so young and they are not sure wether his will be a bad case or not.

i'll go through those links and keep you posted.
Thanks Guys

[k9Karen]

I'm not sure on the Vit C, but with dogs, it's usually recommended that you give Ester C (it's easier on the stomach). They don't need much - most human supplements are WAY too much for a dog. How old is he now? What breed?

[Yzma]

He's about 3 months old and he's a golden retriever. Apparently hip dysplasia is quite common among retrievers. His father, was supposed to be am australian champion... so i guess it was the local mother that was the one with the problem.

And if i'm not mistaken the doctor has already put him on glucosamine. I'll get Rajesh (fiance/sone to lady who has lio and luna) to check up on the other two supps you mentioned K9karen.

[guest]

I don't see any hip braces on these sites, but here are the brace sites I know of so you can look for yourself.

http://www.animalrehab.on.ca/index.asp?tag=braces
http://orthovet.com/
http://www.woundwear.com/product3.html

[Yzma]

thanks for those sites, i've just emailed them to ask if they have anything that might help... or is related to hip-dysplasia.

[k9Karen]

I didn't realize that this pup was still so young. If you aren't already feeding a 'large breed' puppy food, talk to your vet about either switching to a 'large breed' formula, or getting the pup off of puppy food entirely. I've heard that many breeders of large dogs never give puppy food to their pups because it stimulates too rapid bone growth, which can predispose the dog to various types of skeletal and other problems (including HD).