10 Month Old Gsd With Severe Hip Dysplasia

[sheree_e4]

Can I suggest putting him onto Hills Science diet J/D HERE

Being a vet nurse I have seen many fantastic outcomes just with changing diets. I know of a Rottie who at 12mths found it hard to get up and could not walk without pain she had the worst HD I have ever seen in a young dog .... since being on the J/D she has improved remarkably. Yes it is expensive but it does work and Hills do give you a cheque back for every $500 spent on food.

Another thing to try would be cartrophen injections, weekly for the first month then once a month usually but it depends on the dog.

[Flaves]

Bianca, Cooper could be loose from inactivity. You wont know until you let him have more exercise time.

I dont think anyone is saying pts NOW, just that giving him the best quality you can, and when and IF he is in pain and you cant help, then do so :)

Very hard decision to have to make.

My guys talk too, so it could be pain or it could be the GSD coming out.

Also, it didnt look like there was much arthritic change, just that his joints were not properly aligned...and i could be wrong too.

Daire does have arthritic change and did so when the xrays were taken at 12mo, but he is on a good diet and supplements, is kept fit and lean and he is happy.

Good luck

[Bullmastiffmum]

I am so sorry to hear about cooper

Just passing on my one and only experience with hd

Not an expert and we didnt do a lot of research,we just trusted our vet and the specialist he recommended, but my boy had a limp at around 11 monthes after xrays we found out he had really bad hips.

Told he would be better off waiting till he showed further issues of discomfort before full hip replacement or we could do a triple pelvic op. (i believe thats what it was called?) They cut in 3 places and bolt back together, but could only be done safely up until 12 monthes old.

His hips were really, really bad and with no guarentee, it was a huge decision to make, so quickly, plus we didnt have pet insurance as my partner had thought it a waste!! Mmmmm..

They also found arthritis in his elbows.....

We went ahead with it right elbow scraped and left hip cut and bolted then i think it was 4 weeks later left elbow and right hip...

He handled it amazingly , seemed to take it all in his stride. (i was freaking out the whole time!! Did we do the right thing???)

He is now 5, his hips are now perfect, with no signs at all of any issues or complications.

Would i do it again??

Yes, yes and yes

And all thanks to david lidbetter in sydney

Amazing man and specialist, the entire staff there are fantastic. :)

Whatever decision you make for cooper will be the right decision,

No easy choice either way

good luck and i wish you both well

Big hugs for cooper

[aussielover]

Were his hips actually related to the problem that you presented him for: lame in the right frontlimb?

Femoral head and neck excision is not a reliable treatment for large breed dogs. It can produce a fantastic outcome or it can lead to more problems and make other surgeries like total hips replacements more difficult. If the OP isn't cost concerned I would be recommending a hip replacement over a FHO in a GSD.

[BC Crazy]

Sorry to hear about your poor Cooper I can't be of any help as I know very little about H/D. Must be very difficult for you to know what is best for him as he is still just a baby.

Good Luck with him & I hope there is something medically that can improve his condition. Also love your banner picture bianca.a of that beautiful GSD, gorgeous eye's.

[bianca.a]

Bugger, I just lost my reply.

Thank you all so much for replying, I do appreciate it very much.

No, his hips do not seem to be related to his front right elbow. The vet thinks that it more than likely a soft tisue injury. He has anti-biotics in case it is the start of a bone infection (from the drains) and anti-inflams (Previcox).

Thank you BC Crazy, that is my Miss Molly!

Here is Cooper from yesterday.

[dianed]

Lovely to see a picture young Cooper, what a good set of ears! I am quite partial to black GSD,s.

I found they are a very hardy and longer living dog.

[*Lolapalooza*]

Im so sorry for you and Cooper

Poor boy, I haven't seen X-rays like that before! Best of luck with whatever you choose to do.

BIG KISS for Cooper

[aussielover]

Cooper is adorable. I black GSDs!

If his only signs of HD are bunny-hopping occaisonally, so far so good! If you can take prevenative measures such as diet, supplements, keeping him fit and lean (swimming is excellent) etc then it may be a while, if ever, before you have to even consider surgery.

Were the Xrays taken under GA or sedation? They are not perfectly straight (but pretty good) which can sometimes make HD look worse than it is. I've even seen cases where the owners have been told the hip was luxated (when it was not) due to bad positioning!

[dancinbcs]

HD info

Some very interesting reading about hips and x-rays on the above link.

[bianca.a]

Thank you all, he is such a sweet boy

Aussie - yes he was sedated for the xrays. The vet had said that he could not straighten his left leg out for fear it may 'pop' out

Thank you Dancinbcs - I will read that now.

I heard back from my vet today, he had spoken to the specialist - Peter Laverty - and his words "his hips are diabolical". So he is saying he will need a total hip replacement on both sides but not until he is at least 15 months old or until he has finished growing. He would only do one side at a time. The FHO and TPO are not an option for Cooper. He will get stainless steel implants and they should last his whole life. Apparently stem cell therapy is more for age related degenerative conditions not for this type of situation where it is structural.

My vet said when Coop was sedated and he was manipulating his hips, he does not have full range of movement. He is to stay on the Previcox until then and we will do blood work to check it is not affecting his renal or liver function. I think I will give it a couple of weeks and then try reducing the dose and see if there is any difference.

So I will call or email Peter in the next few days and find out more and then contact some other recommended people. I have the name courtesy of the breeder of a GSD specialist.

I have also ordered these supplements from the US:

http://glycoflex3.com/

http://www.vetriscience.com/jointagen.php

I just need it to warm up a bit (spring in nearly here) and I will take him to the lake. I have read that instead of swimming, it is better to walk them through at chest height as it works the hind more than swimming. So we can do that everyday.

Thank you all again, for your lovely thoughts and wisdom and advice

[Xyz]

All sounds like good positive things!

Best of luck with lovely Coops!!

:)

[bianca.a]

Thank you :)

[cowanbree]

About 10 years ago now before I was hip scoring I brought in a bitch and bred her. It was not until the resulting puppies were 12mths old that I found out the entire litter had terrible hips. The litter and sire and dam were x-rayed. The dam had a hip score of 44, sire was fine but the entire litter had scores in the 30's. There were 5 puppies, 1 was very overweight and has been on meds most of her life. 1 was fine until about 7yrs when her hip was dislocated in an accident and the rest including the mother have lived normal lives. They are a smaller breed at about 8-10kgs but I find it amazing that their hips can be so bad and yet have so little affect. If he is not showing any symptoms I wouldn't rush in.

I would also seriously considering adding Ester C to his diet. Research indicates that it can help if given when growing.

[coogie]

Hi bianca.a,

really pleased to hear you have a plan for Cooper. Just one thing I would say about the lake, is there any way you can check the suface on the bottom of the lake? Only mentioning it because we were taking Issy to the beach on days she couldn't go to hydrotherapy and found that whilst the swimming was great for her core muscles and all over fitness unless the "bottom" was firm it was very hard on her walking in the chest height water,very different to the submerged treadmill at the hydrotherapist.

On checking with the physio she recommended we did not walk her on a shifting surface with or without water ,so soft sand/mud small pebbles were out. I'm sure the locals at the dog beach thought we were crazy carrying a 21 kilo dog across the sand and into the water and I would definitely swim him but just be cautious with the surface underfoot.

[bianca.a]

Thank you both so very much :)

He is currently on Vit C (I had read that pups under 12 months shouldn't be on Ester C?) Thank you :)

That is really great advice about the bottom of the lake thank you, I hadn't really thought of it other than making sure there is nothing sharp and nasty for him and I! I can just imagine what people must have thought! No doubt I would look equally special carrying a 32kg big black dog into the water :laugh: I will check thank you!

[Pockets]

Those hip x rays look awful sorry you are going through this

Hydrotherapy, controlled exercise, diet and supplements will be beneficial to him.

Hydrotherapy is less strenuous exercise but will help build muscle which is what he needs to strengthen his hindquarter :)

In breeding it's not just looking at parents scores, but looking at what's behind them, what has been produced etc unfortunately a lot of people just look at the parents

[Tarmons]

My GSD bitch was x-rayed at 7 months old on Vet 's advice because the hip joints appeared to be loose.... xray came back with a similar scenario as yours.... appalling hips. I took her to a very well-known reputable animal physio... his advice was keep her trim and firm up the pelvic muscles. When she was 16 months old she was xrayed and scored under the GSDCA Hips and Elbows scheme - the scores were Elbows: 0-0, Hips: 26 -16. With that cricket score for Hips, you would think that she'd be crippled for life...not so. Very firm in the hind-quarter..strong firm hocks... no tendency whatsoever to cow hocks and had a very powerful drive- so much so that I would be asked if it was correct that she was diagnosed as having HD! She could also stand up on her hind legs and look over the fence without showing any signs of discomfort whatsoever. She is now 12 yrs old and has had only her second set of cartrophen injections in 12 yrs..... the first set was 6 yrs ago.

I would think very carefully before embarking on such serious surgery for your GSD.... Hip replacements are bad enough for humans but the rehabilitation for dogs is very much longer at least 6- 8 months, can be complicated and does require much care and physio-therapy..... and the early weeks are extremely painful for the dog.

It is genetic roulette with Hips when it comes to GSDs.... on her Dam side my bitch had 4 generations of GSDs with 0-0 hips and those Hips that did attract a score did not go above a total of 6. The Sire line was more difficult to guage because of the German Imports and their scoring system. There were 8 in her liitter- 6 were xrayed and she was the only one that failed. The highest score with her litter mates was a total of 4.

She was on EsterC and Fish Oil capsules from the time she was initially x-rayed at 7 months of age.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Tarmons

[persephone]

with some of these stories I am reminded just how strong and secure a 'false joint' can be .. formed by muscles closing in and supporting things.

keep us posted on the handsome Cooper :)

[bianca.a]

Thank you all :)

Cooper is kept lean but honestly I could probably trim him down by maybe a kilo so am rationing him!

Pockets, thank you he is on supplements and I have just ordered some more to just target the joints. I need to find somewhere within driving distance for hydrotherapy.

Tarmons, wow thank you so much for sharing your girls story! She must be a real trooper and is very inspiring! Did you use any specific exercises to firm up her rear? Cooper has always been on fish oil and Vit C, thank you :)

Persephone, it is amazing isn't it?! Thank you :)