Hip Displasia - How do you live with it?

Hi all, I'm sorry if this turns into a long question but its something I've been thinking of asking for a while.....

So Glazby my 5 year old boxer was found to have mild HD around 18 months ago. We had noticed that he was very sore on his rear left leg and would often hold it off the ground. We took him to the vets to x-rayed him and diagnosed him. From that point on we were told to give him synoquin twice a day and 30ml of Metacam.

We were also told to manage the condition by exercising carefully and by diet. Glazby is walked twice a day for 20 minutes at a time. Most of this is off lead exercise however he doesn't bomb about all of the time - its usually just trotting from one interesting smell to another. (Though of course he does have his moments of wanting to run about like a maniac - he is a boxer afterall)!!

We've really not seen much of an improvement and he seems to still be stiff on a regular basis and pretty much always holds his back leg just off the ground whenever he's not laying down or walking around.

We took him back to the vets a couple of months ago thinking initially that it had got worse as he seemed really down in himself. My vet had a look over him and said that we should start a course of steroid injections (can't remember what they were called). Hoping it would help we took the vet's advice however 24 hours later it became apparent that the under the weather feeling he had was down to kennel cough and not his hips at all.

We went back to the vets who confirmed the KC and we said that we wanted to stop the injections (he'd only had 2 by this point). The vet somewhat reluctantly stopped the injections (but did make us feel as if we were making the wrong decision).

My point is - we'd do anything to make Glazby comfortable but I worry that he's only 5 and already rattling with pills everyday. What happens when he gets older and it gets worse if we've already tried the injections - what comes next when they have no effect on him?

I know I should be asking my vet this and, as much as I like him and more importantly Glazby likes him, I sometimes think that he sees me as a walking cash machine.

Should I be tougher and accept that Glazby is always going to hold his paw a little bit and its nothing to worry about and that I'm just being an over sensitive Mum?

Should I maybe restrict him to lead walks or maybe even keep him in for a few days to rest?

Should I maybe up his metacam dosage? (though this would be the start on a rocky road I guess).

I would take him to hydrotherapy but we can't really afford it to be honest with you.

His weight is perfect for him we've been told by our vet. We've already stopped him from having mad sessions with Abby (our bullmastiff) incase their play-fighting has in someway hurt him.

I really don't know what to do - our vet just wants to give him more treatment but I worry that if he has it too early then it will make things worse as he gets older.

Can anyone with a dog who has HD tell me how they cope and whether they still see their dog holding its leg even when on medication?

Thanks
Hayley

Have you tried giving him joint supplements (glucosamine & chondroitin etc?)

Building muscle tone can help greatly. I know you say you can't afford hydrotherapy but if you have insurance, it may be covered by that. If not, do you live near a river or a lake where he could swim safely?

My dog has severe arthritis in his knee (he's only 3 ) He had surgery last Novemeber. We have found that regular swimming has helped him a lot. We did try hydrotherapy but he hated it so much that after a couple of sessions he refused to get out of the car. So he swims in the river 3-4 times a week. His vet advocates this as long as he has easy access and doesn't have to scramble up and down banks. Combined with his supplements (Vetri-flex, fish oils etc) we have seen a huge improvement in him recently and he barely even limps these days and rarely shows signs of stiffness.

There are also alternative therapies like acupuncture which may help but I'd start with the supplements and swimming if you can

I think the synoquin is a joint supplement and metacam is an anti-inflammatory, both taken daily. Are the joint supplements you mentioned perhaps more effective than synoquin?

As for the swimming - Glazby will happily have a paddle in any water he finds however thats as far as he goes. Abby will dive straight in and we have to make sure she doesn't swim too far but Glaz is the total opposite.

He did swim once and that was when he momentairly lost his footing in the lake near our house but he literally did one stroke of doggy paddle until he could feel the ground under him again.

I'll have to look into our insurance and whether the would cover the hydrotherapy as I guess we'd have more of a chance to get him swimming there.

Can I ask a question about insurance: when we first had Glazby we paid £14 per month insurance. Once we started claiming for his HD treatment it went up to £32 a month. Do you know whether it then stays around that amount or if we are likely to see it doubling again at renewal time as we're still claiming? With Abby's insurance as well (without any claims) we're paying £60 a month on insurance and it worries me that I can't shop around for Glazby as many companies don't take you on with a prediagnosed condition.

Mollie has hip displaysia and spondylosis in her spine, she was diagnosed 4 years ago, her symptoms were the same as your boys, and this is what the xrays found..
She is on cosequin daily, only has metacam if and when she needs it. I flat walk her for about an hour, if I do not walk her she stiffens up, she always wears a coat if its wet or cold.....she sleeps stretched out on a couch..Don't ley her jump, if she needs up I lift her and then lift her down..
Her weight has been steady for the past 4 years, she has the odd bad day, which are few and far between, is reviewed at the vets every 3 months and up till now her condition has not progressed..
She knows herself what she can do, and I tend to let her do it, as long as it does not include running on uneven ground......I also massage her hips and spine daily....Mollie is 8 now and still is a very happy girl....

Have you asked your vet to reccomend a hydrotherapy pool and looked at thier charges as I think it may be cheaper than you think.
I always presumed it was expensive until a friend of mine started taking her dog and I think it was only around £10 per session or thereabouts.
Worth looking into.

Hmmmm thanks everyone. It seems that the hydrotherapy is the only thing that we haven't yet tried which might help. How many sessions do you think are needed before you see a difference or is it different for each dog?

I know of a lady (where we picked Abby up from) who runs a hydrotherapy pool and so I can look to get in touch with her to find out how much it costs. It was only 10 minutes away from where we live so might be worth a go! Do you actually get in the pool with them or stand by the side? I was surprised at how small the pools look compared to human swimming pools!

Some years ago I had a samoyed with HD, I gave him approx 5 very short walks a day rather than 1 or two longer walks, this seemed to keep him less stiff and didnt strain him, I also had him slightly under the weight he was supposed to be and gave him Glocosamine and clondrite(sp) each day, he was given metacalm by the vets but I only gave him that when he really needed it, he also slept on a flat soft mattress in a carpeted room so that he could grip the carpet when he wanted to get up as when he lay down on tiles etc he had difficulity getting up again. Hydrotherapy at that time was not available locally, but if it had been I certainly would have taken him to one, as it exercises without putting weight on the joints.

Mo

Sorry, missed the bit where you said he was having Synoquin (must read posts thouroughly instead of skim reading!!)

If your vet can refer Glazby for hydrotherapy then your insurance should cover the cost but give your insurance co. a ring to double check.

What insurance co are you with? I know M&S increases premiums for a lot of dogs as their criteria changed to include age, breed, postcode etc (Boxers seemed to have fared particularly badly with this change for some reason??). It shouldn't increase because you have claimed but it depends on the terms of your policy I suppose. I have made significant claims for both my dogs over the past year. The policy for my Newfie only increased by £20 this year (I now pay approx £11 per month for her). I haven't had my X breed's renewal yet but I'm not expecting much of an increase on his policy either (although I've claimed £1600+ since November 2006 ). I pay apprx £8 per month for him currently.

I would recommend the hydrotherapy route if you can. The pools are smaller than you'd expect but they have variable jets which make the dog work without having to cover any distance (a bit like swimming against a current). You won't have to get him with him but you are likely to get wet standing alongside the pool!!

I have an 11 year old Lab with severe HD - diagnosed at 11 months, I have always kept her fit with several short walks generally rather than a longer one although she can do odd longer walks, I swim her as often as possible - used to use a pool but now more often in the lake. I give green lipped mussel as a supplement. I only give metacam before a long walk and again after as I dont think long term use is a good idea if it can be avoided.

Thanks everyone. It seems that those of you who use metacam only do so occasionally. Our vet has told us to use it everyday (30ml). I now wonder whether we should be doing this and yet if we stopped would it make him worse as he's now probably used to it, and of course as I'm already doubting how well its working as he's still holding his leg??