Hip Dysplasia Now Affecting Front Legs

[curlygirl]

Hi all. I have a curly coated retriever, 2yrs and 2 mths old, 34 kg, sterilised female. I had her hips and elbows scored just after she turned 12 mths old, hips total score 41, elbows 0/0. I finished her aust champ title and sterilised her. She has had cartrophen course and boosters in the past, shes on omega magic and sashas blend. Recently I noticed that her front legs were bowing out ( picture and old barrel chested bull terrier walking, elbows out). My vets re xrayed her hips and they are much worse and the vets feel that this is causing her front leg problems. They put her on tramal 300mg twice daily and this has eased the problem a bit. I asked about removing her femoral head (one side at a time) and they have said that this probably wont help much . Do any of you have any advice, or care to tell me what you think. I love my dog very much but dont want to see her uncomfortable for the rest of her days, to be truthful I'm seriously thinking of putting her down. It just concerns me that shes only just gone 2 yrs of age and her hips are already affecting her front legs, dogs carry 60% of their weight on their front legs. My girl has never jumped up on people (even as a pup), is always slow to move about and really sways her bum when she walks.

I'm sorry for the long post, I hope it makes sense. Please let me know what you think. Thanks in advance.

[MissMonaro]

I know of a lab that has a 41 hip score and a 0/0 elbow score.......she is now 6 years old and does not take anything.....but this has not caused her elbows to bow out.

Have seen a bull terrier with one bowed front leg and was told it was due to a calcium deficiency as a pup.

Anyway I hope you can get some answers....and sorry I can't offer any advice.

[Cavandra]

If you google "Ester C & Hip dysplasia" you will see all the reports on studies done about this being a "miracle cure" It can not fix the problem but it can markedly reduce symptoms & further degeneration etc...........It has to be ESTER C not plain Vit C. You can buy it at health food shops but it is cheaper online through places like Vitamin King or Natural Citty.

[~Archie~]

My Mum's got a Lab with hip dysplasia and his elbows are bowed and now he has arthritis in his elbows.

He gets quite sore in his elbow.

He is on Joint Guard - he has been terrific on that!

[curlygirl]

Thanks for the replies. I had Tali on vit C as reccommended by the breeders until she was 18mths old, have read some inreresting articles on vit C and hip dysplasia.

[Cavandra]

Thanks for the replies. I had Tali on vit C as reccommended by the breeders until she was 18mths old, have read some inreresting articles on vit C and hip dysplasia.

It has to be ESTER C though.....very different thing to Vit C.........

[ashka1]

If you google "Ester C & Hip dysplasia" you will see all the reports on studies done about this being a "miracle cure" It can not fix the problem but it can markedly reduce symptoms & further degeneration etc...........It has to be ESTER C not plain Vit C. You can buy it at health food shops but it is cheaper online through places like Vitamin King or Natural Citty.

Cavandra, I agree Ester C does wonders, I use it for a dog with an OCD, actually all my dogs get it now. I have a friend who's rotti has severe hip dysplasia, he had a titanium hip put in on one side, his front legs were badly bowed due to his wieght being distributed onto his front legs,the other hip replacement was to be done as soon as he healed from the first op. I told my friend to do some research on Ester C and give it a try. After 12 months the dog does not need the other hip done and his front legs, though not straight are much better than they were, my friend has photos to show the changes, I will see if I can get them.. The dog is no longer on pain meds at all and runs and plays with the other dogs all the time.

I was talking with my friend last night and we were discussing how interesting it would be to get the original hip xrays and then have him rexrayd to see if there is a change in the actual hip formation on his remaining hip.....she is planning on doing this in the new year.

This dog was from xrayed dogs with excelent hip scores and no history of hip dysplasia in their lines that the breeder knew of, but he was a very tall fast growing dog.

[espinay2]

I have a dog here who has a hip score of 63. Now age 9 (and a giant breed) and she is still doing well though definitely not overly mobile now. She can still walk once around the football field though even if it is slow. A few things that may help from my experience with her, though every dog will definitely vary:

because of the problem with the hips they will put more weight on the front than normal. My girl has more muscle development at the front to compensate and does tend to take a wider stance to support the weight.

We have taken a route of only giving her what she needs when she truly needs it so that it has the most effect for longer. We started with glucosamine and fish oil along with cartrophen injections about every 8 months to begin with after diagnosis at age 2 when she was hip scored. Later when her mobility decreased a bit more we changed to six monthly cartrophen and added asprin daily (dose and frequency on vet advice). When that was not working as well, she was switched from asprin to cu-algesic once a day. Just recently in addition to the cu-algesic we have increased the cartropen to every 3 months.

Maintaining her exercise has been important. I have noticed that during the times when I have not kept the exercise up she has not done as well. You need to maintain the muscle to support the joints. Even a slow stroll of a walk to the end of the street and back - the that is all she can do - will help. If you can, swimming is good as it will help maintain allround muscle development in both the front and rear.

We have kept her lean - maybe even a little leaner than we would normally. This has helped keep extra weight off the joints.

We now have a ramp that we use to help her in and out of the car, into the hydrobath and onto the grooming table etc. It saves out back a lot and means she has to place less weight on her rear to get up on/into things.

Her quality of life has been good. And while we have compensated for her slowness and increasingly limited mobility she certainly has led a full one.

HTH and good luck with your girl in the end it will be up to you and your vet to decide what is the best approach based on how she is doing. As I said, every dog is different, but I hope this may help in some small way.

[curlygirl]

Thanks everyone. She is booked in on Monday to have her elbows re xrayed to see if there are any change going on.

In regards to Ester C all the literature I have read just says vit c and she was on this as per the breeders instructions from when I got her. All the breeders dogs are on it, including my girls parents.

[Poodle wrangler]

I guess her quality of life is important and it's probably fair to consider PTS if she is clearly in pain, despite medication .

Tramal 300mg twice daily is a HUGE dose of painkillers, btw.

I work with humans who are having joint replacements and cannot think of anyone on that high a dose! Is it 150mg slow release for 300mg total (still high for a dog!)?

Usually a painkiller (like Tramal) works best with another drug with a different action e.g. an anti inflammatory.

People go bonkers over the side effects with anti inflammatories and they do have some nasty ones (e.g. ulcers) but I think the dog's quality of life is important, too. They must be given with food.

Is it possible for her to swim for exercise? It helps if the muscles around the joint are strong as possible.

Also, having her lean (if not already) will help.

Perhaps it's time to do a full review with the vet and make a decision based on that as well as your own opinion of how she's coping.

About XRays- they're best used as only a guide. Some dogs with awful Xrays can still have good quality of life, just as some dogs with mild disease on XRAy can be in a lot of pain. XRays don't tell you everything.

Best wishes for you and your dog

[The Spotted Devil]

Oooh I was on Tramal - never again....I was off my face and the lows were worse than the highs

Poor girl. Not sure if it helps but the very good chiro who treated my pup (very gentle massage/manipulation) has a dog with the most terrible hips and she helps manage it by using massage/manipulation to take the strain off the rest of her body - she said it's done wonders for the dog's ability to get around and improved her quality of life. Good luck!

[Cavandra]

Thanks everyone. She is booked in on Monday to have her elbows re xrayed to see if there are any change going on.

In regards to Ester C all the literature I have read just says vit c and she was on this as per the breeders instructions from when I got her. All the breeders dogs are on it, including my girls parents.

Vit C is not good enough, you cant feed a dog enough of it without giving them bowel problems! Ester C is far superior in a different form that doesnt cause issues!

Vitamin C / Ester-C is a highly absorbable, polyascorbate form of Vitamin C. It is a fantastic, natural joint lubricant and immune system stimulant. This benefits dogs with arthritis, hip dysplasia, allergies and immune dysfunction. Shown to be absorbed twice as fast and stay at the white blood cell level twice as long as ordinary Vitamin C products, Ester C delivers 4 times the bioavailability to dogs. It is water soluble and safe. Overdosing isn't possible because any unused Ester-C is harmlessly excreted in the urine. Made up of the four metabolites that the body manufactures out of Vitamin C, and chelated (bonded) to Calcium, no other Vitamin C supplement is more powerful or more stable. Because it is non-acidic, Ester-C will not upset the stomach or intestinal tract. We are proud to recommend Ester-C.

>>>

Ester-C® is a buffered form of Vitamin C that is "body ready" and 4 times more available to the tissues than ordinary Vitamin C, which is highly acidic. In Ester C®, the acid is buffered with calcium and processed to contain threonate, a metabolite which dramatically enhances absorption. Ester-C dog usage is increasingly proving beneficial. Although animals can manufacture Vitamin C in their bodies under ordinary conditions, stresses such as heavy exercise, injuries or respiratory problems increase the demand for Ester-C in dogs. An important component of collagen or connective tissue, Ester C® functions as a chondroprotective, anti-inflammatory and immunoresponsive substance.

Vitamin C has non nutritional properties in higher dosages. For example, the anti inflammatory and antioxidant properties of large doses of Vitamin C are widely recognized. A growing body of anecdotal evidence is accumulating from veterinary practitioners who have begun recommending Ester C vitamin ascorbates in place of ordinary ascorbates to achieve these effects.

Many veterinarians and pet owners have turned to Ester C® calcium ascorbate because it is a gentle way of administering Vitamin C to dogs and horses without gastrointestinal upset. Because they have found that Ester C® ascorbate is gentler in the stomachs of animals, it could be given at the higher doses necessary to achieve desired non nutritional actions.

Dr. Geir Erik Berge, a veterinarian in Oslo, Norway, gave 100 disabled dogs 30 mg/kg of Ester C® three times daily for six months. To qualify for the study, a dog had to have one of the following chronic conditions involving the joints and connective tissue: severe joint injury, arthritis, spondylosis, hip dysplasia, older disc prolapse, muscle atrophy as a result of functional loss, or senile wear and tear in support and motion systems. After one week of treatment with Ester C®, some 75% of the ailing dogs showed dramatic improvement in their conditions. This percentage improvement remained relatively stable for the rest of the study. At the six month mark, 78% of the previously suffering dogs had experienced a significant reduction in symptoms.

Berge concluded that dogs manufacture sub-optimal concentrations of Vitamin C in some tissues under the stress of certain ailments. He recommended high dosage supplementation with Ester C® ascorbate to help correct those deficits.

Free and Easy for Dogs contains suggested levels of Ester C® which works synergistically with the other vitamins and supplements to provide the necessary and expected relief of many dogs.

Credits

(Berge, 1990). The Norwegian Veterinary Journal 102: 579,580,581

Above from site

Ester C Miracle cure

Vitamin King have 5 x 250 tablet (1250 tablets) on special for only $99 at the moment Vitamin King site

[Leema]

Maintaining her exercise has been important. I have noticed that during the times when I have not kept the exercise up she has not done as well. You need to maintain the muscle to support the joints. Even a slow stroll of a walk to the end of the street and back - the that is all she can do - will help. If you can, swimming is good as it will help maintain allround muscle development in both the front and rear.

We have kept her lean - maybe even a little leaner than we would normally. This has helped keep extra weight off the joints.

These two points were what I was going to make!

I really hope things work out for the best for you and your girl.