Hip displaysia

Has anyone got a dog that suffers from HD or spondylosis,my mollie has both, it would be nice to talk to someone,just to see how they manage it.

Have you had your dog scored or has the vet told you it is HD, what are the symptoms of the HD. Spondylosis is I think inflamation or the spinal cord and I would guess it would be treated with anti-inflamatry but I have never had a dog with it, how does it present it's self. Don't think there can be any conection between the two, what breed is the dog affected

I had her x rayed as she started to limp on her back leg and lift. The results were mild hip displaysia and spondylosis which is degenerative changes in the joints,which may lead to outgrows of small spurs of bone which can irritate nerves.She is very stiff when first getting up after resting. She is on a supplement and cod liver oil,and as long as I flat walk her she seems to be coping.She is now 6,and is a boxer.She is reviewed at the vets every 3 months.Seemingly the two conditions often occur together.

She can still run around and has a good quality of life. I just thought it would be good to talk to someone who's dog has the same condition.

I did not know anything about HD till mollie was diagnosed, according to the vet it is mild, so haven,t a clue what the score would be.

Moli I think your vet has un-nerved you by not explaining things to you properly.

Think it would be fair to say that almost all dogs and if it comes to it people have some degree of HD, so if the vet says it is mild I would totally ignore what you have been told as it is likely to be only the same as most dogs and probably better than most. HD is any deviation from perfect and as you know in nature few things are perfect. 0/0 is perfect and depending on the breed there is a figure that would be considered the breed norm, for the boxer the breed norm is, or was at the 1st Jan 04, 14 so you will see that on average Boxers are not perfect but have a score of 14 that would be a 7/7 or may be a 2/12 or some other combination. So mild I would ignore, particularly as most vets are notoriously bad at being able to read the true state of hips from an x-ray, hence the fact that x-rays for scoring go to a special panel to be done and most vets will not take a guess at the score or if they do are usually way out.
Can't comment of the other problem but would expect some stiffening of joints as your dog gets older and I would not worry about it, we all as we get older develope some sort of pain and stiffness in our joints and dog are just the same, some start to suffer earler, other later, but in the end it gets us all it is part of normal wear and tear.

I saw mollies x rays, I could see myself her hips weren't normal,one really crackes when she gets up, somedays she has pain,I only give her a painkiller when she needs it, I do not believe in giving them unless needed.They say as her hind legs are muscley,the muscles are supporting the bad hip. I will ask more when she is next reviewed. Thanks for explaining it.I really should have asked the vet to explain it more.

It is true that good muscle condition can help support a hip that is poor, but if your vet said it was low grade I don't think that muscle would be needed.

You say pain killer, what is it the vet has given you, some medication should be given on a regular basis to be effective and just giving it when you think it is needed may lead to more damage, what did the vet suggest?

she has noracarp,which she only has when she is in obvious pain,but,looking at the x rays one of her hips looked quite bad. I have also been told ithe two conditions are progressive, but when i asked how it would progree,was told all dogs are different.She is on cosequin daily it is a supplement.

she has noracarp,which she only has when she is in obvious pain,but,looking at the x rays one of her hips looked quite bad. I have also been told ithe two conditions are progressive, but when i asked how it would progree,was told all dogs are different.She is on cosequin daily it is a supplement.