Dexter's Hip Dysplasia Update

[Cosmolo]

We went to Dogs in Motion yesterday and have decided to try the underwater treadmill/ swimming/ physio for the next month or two to see how we go. We have strengthening exercises to do at home as well. I was very impressed with how thorough they were and am hoping for good results. Dexter liked it and is going again on Monday

Edited August 1, 2008 by Cosmolo

[taters]

Glad you and Dexter were impressed,

They are very thorough there, which is great

good luck, I hope it helps Dexter

I might see you down there one day

Edited August 1, 2008 by taters

[Cosmolo]

Yes, we were all very happy with what we experienced there. Taters- how sore was your dog before Dogs in Motion? Both hips?

[nillasdad]

We went to Dogs in Motion yesterday and have decided to try the underwater treadmill/ swimming/ physio for the next month or two to see how we go. We have strengthening exercises to do at home as well. I was very impressed with how thorough they were and am hoping for good results. Dexter liked it and is going again on Monday

Good on ya for trying!

Having lost our GD to complications after her hip replacement, I'd do everything humanly possible to get out of doing another operation like that. That said however, to give Dexter the best chance of recovery I'd continue to go Dogs in Motion and build up his muscle mass as much as possible to aid in the recovery. A visit to a muscle therapist might help with that. I've also heard of acupuncture and massage therapy helping in some HD cases.

The complications we encountered where a result of not having enough muscle mass on Lucy, something we where not told about by our so called specialist surgeon.

All the best.

seagate

[taters]

Yes, we were all very happy with what we experienced there. Taters- how sore was your dog before Dogs in Motion? Both hips?

Cosmolo, she has problems with both hips and was very very sore with one, intermittent weight bearing

NSAIDs daily ,montly cartrophen, lots of confinement, then it would start all over again

Now she's lucky to need half a NSAID a month and last Vet check, Vet said if she hadn't seen her X rays she wouldn't know she had HD

[Cosmolo]

Thanks taters- just what i wanted to hear What breed is your dog?

[Monah]

I have a fantastic specialist, Richard Mitchell on the sunny coast. We had one of our dogs there last week for a check up (18 months). Her right back leg is not even near the socket, so an op. was a strong maybe last oct., I was pretty scared as I do not want her to have an op. Anyway, we have a pool so every day she has a swim for around an hour, also has joint food, very short walks and no exercise when she appears to be having a bad day. Anyway, he was realy pleased with her, her muscle mass has improved out of sight and she can jump up etc. and had no pain when being manipulated. We will have another check in a year or so unless something comes up before hand. Before swimming she could not do much at all. I really highly recommend swimming or water exercise of some sort. It has certainly worked for us. Fingers crossed for all the HD doggies out there

[taters]

Hi Cosmolo

Just wondering how Dexter is going?

[Fozzie]

Hi Cosmolo, it sounds like you have been doing your research. I'm not sure I can add any further information, but your path is certainly one I have travelled with my 4 1/2 year old labrador. Fozzie was diagnosed with OCD around 6 months old in both front legs and he was operated on when he was 7 months old. Peter Laverty (if I recall correctly) did the operation and he had only recently come back from working in the US for a couple of years where some of the surgery practices are more advanced than in Australia. He was great to deal with and Fozzie seemed to recover well.

When he was about 2 years old, he did his left back cruciate, then followed by his right about 6 months later. He needed to be sedated mildly for a couple of weeks after each operation, not because of the pain but just to make him rest up. The right op wasn't as successful and needed to be redone a few months afterwards. His recovery was very slow and he got a lot of muscle wastage around his back right leg. We started water therapy (with Dogs in Motion but at the Southern clinic in Cheltenham/Highett) in September last year. That really aided in his recovery and he did about half a dozen sessions there. He loved it and is well known at that clinic for other reasons! It got his exercise back on track and up until last week, I was walking him 5 - 7 kms a day, broken into a morning and night walk, with no problems.

He has currently tweaked his right back leg again from too much jumping about! A bit of bed rest and maybe some anti-inflammatories to get him started again, but my vet is comfortable with his exercise and says it's important to keep the muscles in good condition. Poor Fozzie - he already has arthritis. Fozzie is on Sasha's blend and has cartrophen shots every six months, and if I manage his exercise well, there is no reason he can't live until 10 - 11 years old.

Fozzie's pain threshold is quite high, due to all the operations he has had. Although it has certainly been an expensive exercise, I wouldn't change it for the world as he is a happy fellow who loves life and appears to be pain free most of the time.