Ahhh thanks Layla, missed these posts when I was replying earlier, will go check tthem out. They've got him on 227mg of previcox & 900mg of flexivet per day.

Aw I will do Malka, thankyou x

Thanks H,after seeing the state of his xrays tonight, I'm now thinking the specialist is the way to go x

The vet has mentioned physio & hydrotherapy, but told me to check insurance first. Hes also said there were alot of supplements. Thanks for the list x

Thankkyou Lynn, I have a feeling you are very right there xxx


Ive got that much running through my head I didnt even phone the insurance company tonight for fear of talking aload of rot! Thanks Cava xx

Thanks AM, we don't know 'for sure' what Khals parents were, I have piccies of his mum who was a german shephard x saarloos apparantly, but as Layla said if the pic of the husky they sent was his dad then her tupac is a chihuahua...so we're still totally in the dark bout his dad xx

Heres hoping I manage tofigure out the right route to take, thanks Deb xx

Thanksyou Lisa xx

I have decided to go ahead with the specialist, Thanks Mrs B, I'll explain all below. It is hard that he is so young & so full of energy having been told no hardground off lead exercise I am totally heartbroken, he just loves running & running & running! xxxxx

Thankyou, I'm hoping that the insurance will cough up for everything I want to do for him..


Well, I picked him up from vet at 5:30, the vet told me that the X-rays were the worst he'd seen in a long time in such a young dog. He showed me the xrays of a healthy dog & then Khals...& all I can say is wow poor boy. There is no ball joint in either hip & everytime he does anything strenous it looks like the left one has been dislocating, as its worn down a part of the cartlidge that should never be touched & has started making an indent.

The vet is more worried about the arthritis as he says it has a good hold on his legs & once that takes hold with a vengance then there is very little they can do.

The vet told me to check my insurance policy tHen mentioned referring Khal for hydrotherapy & physiotherapy aswell as the supplements etc and also mentioned the specialist. He recommended I go see him for a chat, even if I get nothing done there, the specialist can maybe 'think outside the box' for extra treatments. They had faxed over the xrays but the specialist hadnt had time to take a look at them. He doesnt recommend Khal has a hip replacement done as it wouldn't benefit him in the long run with the arthritis.

The specialist is in Christchurch, not sure where that is as havent googled yet. They've got Khal on 227mg of previcox & 900mg flexivet which I think is glucosamine?(sp). I have to see how he goes on these tablets & we have another appointment on the 20th Sept. Plenty of short onlead walks, a very soft comfy bed of some form & try to keep him off the cold floors, that shouldnt be hard as he spends more time on the settee than I do!

Thankyou so much for being here for us guys, its gonna be a long haul & we needs ya all...

Big kisses & lapdog hugs from the big fella xxx

Well at least he's home Christchurch appears to be in Dorset

Ahh thankyou, thats about 250 miles from me. Ok so at least I know where we'd be headed to yes he is certainly home & as you can see, very comfy x

Oh bless his sweet heart Bev, it's just not bladdy fair is it It happens though. My brother lost is beautiful german shepherd at only 4 years old due to this, and he had done everything right, the dog came from fantastic lines in Germany where he was living, it's just sod's law sometimes.

A friend of mine had hip problems when she was approaching 40, and she had x-rays and was booked to see a specialist. There she sat in his consulting room waiting for him to appear, and a bloke poked his head around the door, and then apologised and said he was in the wrong room. Ten minutes later, he came back, and said he WAS in fact in the right room, but he expected to have seen a 90 year old woman sat in the chair instead of somebody her age from the state of her x-rays and her hips!!! So there ya go, she came from good stock too, you just can't odds it.

Give him a big cuddle and tell him you are going to do your very best for him, which if I know you, you most certainly will.xxxxx

Oh my god, I've only just caught this thread as I've been on holiday. How bloody unfair. Poor Khal, its just not right. You've been amazing, you've turned his life around. And to then find out such awful news must be heart breaking. Im so sorry. I have no advice as luckily never been through it. But there has been some great advice from others and I hope it helps you decide which path to follow. I know you will do the best for the big man. Big hugs for Khal and for you too. Sounds like you need them right now. Tilly and Gracie send healing licks too. xx

So sorry to hear this, but it's not always as bad as it first seems.
I had Teagans hips x-rayed, and my vet said she had HD and arthritis, her hips were full of spurrs, put her on medication for life, and only on lead walks 15 pers day for life (she was just over 1 1/2), and said she needed double hip replacement.

I asked for a referal to an ortho specialist, and also sent her x-rays off for scoring. Scores came back at 86 (very high), and we went off to the specialist - it wasn't cheap - about £1k for consultation.
They looked at x-rays, did their own, manipulated, felt etc etc, and said yes she has very bad HD & arthritis, no she doesn't have any spurrs, no she doesn't need medication forever, nor does she always need onlead exercise, and especially not a hip replacement.

They said keep her nuscle tone up (was already good), and give her supplements.

Well she's now 7 1/2, still not had any medication, runs offlead, goes up and down stairs.
I put her on Arden Grange food as it had the supplements in, I also gave her extra supplements, took her swimming whenever possible, and let her decide when enough exercise was enough (orthos advice).
She's dying of cancer now, but her hips don't cause her problems!

Thats so true H, I certainly wouldnt have bet on Khal having dodgy hips, after everything hes been through already you would have thought the lad would have deserved a bit of slack to enjoy life to the max wouldnt ya.
I guess its sohard to come to terms with as I was expecting to let him live life to the max, be it chasing seagulls, running through the water at the speed of light , had this vision of a superfit, extra happy boyo...& now I've had to come to the stage of deciding on treatment for him as opposed to 'where can I take him for his next off lead jaunt!' does that make sense by any chance? lol I love him totally , wether hes on lead , off lead, well, poorly, grumpy, doped up to the eyeballs, chewing stuff...whatever!! xxx

Thankyou, there has been great advice...& lots of hugsssssss!!! Keep em coming, we sure need them. I hope you enjoyed ur holibobs xxx

Thankyou for that Hevvur, at least that gives us some glimmer of hope. Khal doesnt have any muscle tone at all, the vet asked would I know why & I said we had started off lead walking/training/running etc when I firts got him here,but he was suffering with limping so kept him onlead, but other than that he hasnt had any offlead walks or proper runs prior to him coming to me.
I iwll have a look at Arden Grnge aswell as all the supplements that are available.
If I left it to Khal to decide when it was enough he'd never stop...hes like that, typical stubborn fella!
Sorry to hear about Teagans cancer xx

Teagan doesn't either lol
On holiday once we walked for 9 miles, got back to the B&B and she wanted to play in the field they had!

I hope things go well, and we're all here for you

Oh no! So sorry Poor boy, and poor you! (((hugs)))