Hip Dysplasia Treatment

[violetmay]

Hi There

A few weeks ago, my dog (a maltese) was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. We went to a holistic type vet/chiropractor and were given medications to be given 5 times a day (these are the type of medicines you'd buy in a healthfood store, not real medicine).

I'm just over the 5 times a day, I have a whole lot of other things going on in my life and just can't ever seem to get the 5 times a day in.

Can I just ask what a conventional vets treatment for hip dysplasia is?

My dog isn't bad enough for an operation, and if I don't take him for a walk he is fine even without any medication, he is only in pain after going for a walk (which he enjoys), and then afterwards I give him metacam (this came from local vet) which works in about 10 mins.

I just can't handle the dosing 5 times a day, and even when all this stuff, he is still in pain after walking and still needs the metacam, so it doesn't seem to make any difference. If the 5 times a day medicine (4 different things, given in various ways/times) was working and I could walk him without pain afterwards, I'd find a way to cope with the 5 doses a day, but it doesn't work, so I want to know what the alternative is.

Thanks

Edited May 26, 2011 by violetmay

[persephone]

Poor little dog

I don't believe any medication can/will cure HD.It can't - as the hip joints are malformed/not working properly pain relief can help... but surgery is the only way to permanently alter the function of the affected joint/s.

There are varying surgical procedures which give relief from pain, and better movement ..depending on the diagnosis/amount of joint damage/pain experienced/age of dog , etc....

Can you give us a bit more info?

How old is your dog?

What did the breeder say ?

Did you get more than one opinion?

Did the vet who did the Xrays have good experience in diagnosing/treating HD?

Can you tell us whereabouts you are - as I am sure someone here can suggest a vet who is good with these sort of issues -

Edited May 26, 2011 by persephone

[violetmay]

Thank you so much for your help persephone. I'll answer some questions.

How old is your dog? Approx 6 years,

What did the breeder say ? He didn't come from a breeder, he was from the pound and we got him three years ago. He was approx 3 years old when we got him.

Did you get more than one opinion? Two local vets both though it was his knees, one thought arthritis, one thought cruciat ligament. Arthritis made no sense for me given him symptoms ie. he isn't stiff/sore in the morning, he is sore after exercising, then his back legs don't work.

Did the vet who did the Xrays have good experience in diagnosing/treating HD? The vet I went to was Rowan Kilmartin, at Animal Options. He is a vet chiropractor aswell as a vet. He diagnosed without xray (he can do that).

Can you tell us whereabouts you are - as I am sure someone here can suggest a vet who is good with these sort of issues? Brisbane, and I did my research and went to the best person. I've got no doubt this man is an expert, I just want conventional medicine, had enough of the naturopath type medicne, that's all. When I go back to see him I will ask for conventional medicine I think.

Thanks for any help. Got to run off now, got to take a guinea pig to the vet to have tumour removed. Oh the joys of animals LOL!!

[persephone]

Hmmm. when the proper Xrays are taken of hips.. then the joints can be seen.

The shape of the bones, the amount of displacement and the femur head can all be examined- and then decisions can be made as to what may help, and once a vet can actually see how the joint is affected, then they can work out surgical options .

If you don't want surgery/xrays then I am wondering why your dog has not been offered acupuncture for the pain? Better than 5x a day dosing ;)

I hope your guinea pig's surgery goes well

Edited May 26, 2011 by persephone

[Kavik]

I would get an X-ray done and evaluated by someone who is experienced with hip displaysia.

[W Sibs]

Poor fella

Kavik is right about xrays and talk to someone who has experience in HD.

But till then, instead of walking.. will you consider letting him go swimming? It's great exercise for the dog but no hard impact on the joints. (If you have a bath tub, fill it in water and let him swim for about 2 min.. make sure that he is using all 4 legs while swimming)

Or take him to go to water thread mill place?

Also I will put him on a strict diet. It's ok to have him a little underweight. Less weight he has, will be easy for the joints.

Also massage the area. I think the relaxed the muscles around the joints are, the less tense the joint will be (this is what a physio told me).

[violetmay]

Thanks everyone for your help. Yes, will get an xray next time we go. This guy is supposed to be the best and most experienced, that is why I went to him.

I'll try massage, that's a great idea. Not sure about swimming. We don't live far from the water, and near where I live, dogs can walk (even off lead) to a local island and back at low tide (not on weekends and public holidays. All the other dogs have fun playing in the water, my dog thinks the water is absolute torture and wont even wet his feet. I'd give a heated pool/treadmill a go, but can't imagine him OK with it.

yes he definitely has to lose a bit of weight, we've been working on that.

Thanks for your help. I think I was hoping that there would be some kind of monthly pain killer injection or something.

Edited May 27, 2011 by violetmay

[SezzNJunebug]

For you and for your little boy.

My little girl was diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia last November. She was only 5 months old at the time though so she underwent 2 rounds of surgery. The surgery she had done unfortunately is only performed on dogs that haven't reached maturity so I don't think there is much I can add to the advice that has already been given but I wanted to send my best. I hope you find something to help your little man. Nothing worse than seeing your little one in pain

[persephone]

Yes, will get an xray next time we go.

HD Xrays need the dog to be sedated/anaesthetised .. because they need to be positioned in a certain way ..and totally relaxed..so you will needto make a day to have him done ..and leave him there for some time .

HERE is the info from the clinic I presume you attend ...

and an excerpt :

How is HD diagnosed?

The dog needs to have an anaesthetic or a heavy sedation with pain control medication and an X-ray is taken with the dog lying on its back. There are some tests which can be carried out which give a guide to the severity of the condition.

Fingers crossed for you

[Melbomb]

My boy has HD. He was diagnosed when he was 7 months old. We had x-rays done to determine the severity because yes, although vets can tell without x-rays whether a dog has HD it doesn't determine the severity and it is important to know how bad it is to work out a treatment plan.

We had him x-rayed and subsequently found out that his HD is not too too bad (about a 2 - 2.5 on the scale) but is more severe in the left side which makes him drag that foot just a wee bit. In that case our vet suggested he didn't need surgery. He is on joint guard daily at this point and we need to keep him lean all the time but right at the start he had a series of 4 cortisone injections to help with the pain. Maybe this is an option for your guy?

Anyway i know i probably haven't helped much but i thought i would offer up our experience. Good luck with getting the treatment right for your guy. Hope it all goes well.

[Fordogs]

Has your vet spoken to you regarding Cartrophen injections, they are given once a week for 4 weeks. Most times the results are quite dramatic. I would highly recommend them.

[westielover]

My westie was diagnosed with HD 2 years ago when he was 9. It was mild but has progressed in the past 2 years in the left hip. With HD comes osteoarthritis.

I refused to put him on metacam or rimadyl (both NSAID's) at the time of diagnosis and ended up looking for alternative treatment.

He has had acupuncture treatments over the past 2 years as well as some bowen therapy. I do believe the treatments assisted with pain relief over that time. He has also been on glyde from the time he was daignosed as well as Petarks PetGesic (whiich contains cumerone/tumeric - a natural anti inflammatory), as well as treats such as shark cartlidge & mussels (which are good treats for joint health).

He's had the cartophen injections in the past also.

Recently, I felt that he was starting to experience more discomfort so my vet suggested a a course of tramadol (it's a centrally acting opioid analgesic, used in treating moderate to severe pain) which seemed to help. Even though it's an opioid I was concerned about the long term effects (which are not as bad as NSAID's).

So - a month ago we headed down the stem cell therapy route. He had another set of x-rays done and the his left hip had gotten worse over the past 2 years - which explained my concern about his discomfort level. Whilst the stem cell therapy doesn't fix his displastic hips - it has definately helped. He seems much more comfortable, his walking pace has improved, he rumbles around with my 2 year old kelpie and even chases him now. He seems 'happier' and more sprightly.

My westie is 11 years old, he has gone for a walk every single day of his life (unless it's been pouring with rain) - he was slowing down quite a bit prior to the stem cell treatment and now he really does seem much more comfortable. The vet has advised that I should continue to see improvement over the coming months. He's not on any pain medication but I do still give him glyde.

So far so good

Edited May 27, 2011 by westielover

[Rottifan]

Dont lose hope! My dog has severe elbow and hip displaysia, xrays prove this. My dog was put on Metacam, Tramil and Gabapentin/Neurontin after I came home when he was 7 yrs old and couldnt move. The medication helped but there was no other option for me. Being a 50kg rotti with terrible bones/joints there was no option for joint fusion, replacement or any type of surgery. I was told by my vet to flood his body with pain relief was the only thing I could do. I then found an animal chiropractor to see if he could help, purely thinking along the lines of pain relief. What happened after that has simply been amazing. My boy is nearly 11 and has been walking like a puppy again and has been off all medication and supplements. There is absolutely NO doubt at all that he has displaysia HOWEVER this was NOT what was causing him to be lame. The symptoms I was seeing was from him being out of alignment for probably 7 years and suffering from the pain associated with pinched nerves and muscle spasm. After learning so much that I didnt know before about composition and movement it is disappointing that vets do not recognise that a dog is out of alignment, easily told by seeing muscle wastage as well as watching a dog move and lookint at their compositon, and suggest this for all of their clients to ensure they are in alignment and free of any associated pain. Their immune system can also function fully when they are in alignment so no harm in trying. Best of luck, but there are miracles out there so please stay positive! x

[aussielover]

It is really importnant to get an X-ray to confirm HD.

I would not be happy with a vet that diagnosed it on clinical signs and signalment only.

Additionally as Persephone said, they need to be positioned in a specifc way, incorrect positioning can lead to a false diagnosis or when scoring hips, can lead to a bad score.

And positioning is harder than it sounds ;)

As for what would be the conventional treatment-

Usually non-steroidal anti inflammatories such as metacam or rimadyl can help with the pain and inflammation. Some dogs might only require a low dose a few times a week to significantly improve the pain.

Regular exercise like walking and particularly swimming can help.

Joint supplements such as cosequin, glucosamine and cartrophen may also help. Some people say that batural treatments such as fish oils, green lipped mussels etc help their dogs also.

If the HD is severe, there are a number of surgeries available.

If I were you, i would seek a second veterniary opinion, perhaps with a specialist or at least a vet that will radiograph your dog before making a diagnosis.

My dog had osteoarthritis at age 8, and was on daily metacam (an anti inflammatory) for 5 years. It significantly helped her mobility and pain and we did regular blood tests to monitor the effect on her kidneys and liver- her kidney and liver enzymes were completely normal for the whole time she was on it.