Hip Dysplasia

belongtojazz

Well I'm just back from the vet with Minnie after her xrays. It turns out the poor little mite has hip dysplasia

The vet says he has never seen a case of this in a dog as small and yound as Minnie is. She's only about 5 and she's a Jack Russell.
Our long term treatment is with metacalm, joint diet and arthriaid. He doesn't think a hip replacement is viable as she is so small he's not sure it's possible, but if we decide to look into that he'll arrange a referral.

I think I'm in shock. How on earth does a 5 year old terrier live with never being allowed to run again, never jump up onto the couch or go upstairs.

This little dog is mad, she takes off like a grey hound through the fields and absolutely hates being on a lead

I'm sad, and just wondered if anyone out there has any advice on how to make her life as comfortable as possible.

Cherry Blossom

Start lead training straight her straight away, a harness and extension lead might be a good idea to begin with if she's very against the idea. I think I'd get a little step for her of some sort so she can get up and down from the sofa easily if you prefer that she is still allowed up. What are you feeding her? I'd put her on the lowest protein food you can find which should reduce her energy levels as much as is possible, don't go for too big a drop though in one go or it will just make her very hungry, you'll also have to reduce the amount of food she's getting. You would be surprised how inventive you will become in finding new ways to keep her occupied, you could hide her food all over the house for example (on the floor) to make staying on the floor as much as possible more appealing and will provide gentle exercise, not too sure how you would manage this with the other dogs though but I'm sure you will find ways, maybe when the others are out running around would be a good time.

tk123

She's young so i'd def get a referral - there's nothing to lose! I actually got 2 lol for my guy - UCD didn't think there was any point in operating on him he saw them when he was 13 months and I was heartbroken- so I got a second opinion from Gilabbey Vets in Cork. He has a hock deformity and started getting lame when he was about 9 months old. He had the first leg straightened in novemeber and he has honestly never been better! The recovery took 3 months - 5 in the crate and only allowed out to go to the loo on the lead 3 times a day and then after that we started with 15 mins walking twice a day and then built it up. It's brilliant seeing him run and play and him not getting tired or holding the leg up. The evening last month when I could let him off the lead in the park was just brilliant - all the hard work had paid off and I feel confident for when he has the other one done in oct/nov.
Before the op he was in pain and on metacam too. I started giving him Flexicose and Luposan pellets and after about 2 weeks he didn't need the metacam anymore - he still gets them and thankfully he's had no probs with the leg since december.

EDIT - just to echo what adrenalinjunkie said about diet/weight. The first thing I did was switch my guy to Burns as it has a much lower protein content that the RC he was on at the time. I also got his weight right down as well and this made a big difference - I keep him skinny to take the pressure off. He also has a ramp for the car but you don't have to worry about that lol - you can pick up a JRT - my guy is a retriever.. the last time I lifted him out of the car was when he had his stitches out and I put my back out!! :pac: Once he was healed up he was able to use his ramp again - thank god!

ppink

we have a dog who was misdiagnosed with HD at 3 yrs old. For this reason i would always say get a second opinion. When faced with a massive change to the dogs life I would always now get a second opinion.
It will either confirm or not, nothing to lose really.
saying that we were told we would be lucky to get 2 years more with our girl after she got what has since been confirmed as a spinal issue. She turns 8 this year- 5 years on! It has not been easy though as she is a very high energy dog who loves to run. we got a flexi lead and she is on that for walks for no more than 10mins at a time. Occasionally we do let her off but not even once a day outside as she runs like a complete lunatic!! she is indoors and we have kongs and all sorts to keep her occupied.
during the summer we had a swimming pool for her (got it in lidl) and it kept her occupied for hours.



btw our dog hated the lead at first too but now i think she assumes she is on it cause she is No 1 :P

hpsheba

+1 on Flexicose. My 3 years old baby was diagnosed with HD in Jan and my vet has consulted with Shane Guerin in Gilabbey Vets in Cork who apperntley in the specialist in this. I have to get her weight down but with Metacalm, Flexicose and Cosiquin DX which another friends recommended to me she is already moving more freely and with out much sign of pain anymore.

She has more weight to lose, and diet and weight management seems to be a big factor in keeping her comfortable.

Hydrotherpy is also recomended, and there are a few places doing that now.

Best of luck