Hip dysplasia questions

[njkonn]

Hi
I've been reading all day to try to figure out what to do for our sweet Newf who is 14 months. We had xrays done today and the vet says her right hip is dysplastic. He consulted with a surgeon who said surgery isn't an option due to age and there's an 80% chance she'll be OK without. We have her on gabatentin already because we thought she had a slipped disk which caused her to drag her leg. We will leave her on that. She's been getting better but now I need to start her on supplements. He recommended krill oil over salmon and thinks we should introduce things over two week periods. But you all say wild sockeye salmon? Also we will need to change her food to offset cost. We do science diet now. With so many proplan options, I don't even know where to begin! She's 111 lbs and doesn't need to gain more. Can you give me oil and food brand suggestions? This is our first Newf and we love her so much! Thanks for any input!

 

[victoria1140]

Where are you located as makes a difference on reccomendations.

Personally not a fan of science plan though is proplan much cheaper?

I am assuming you have minimal insurance though please correct me if l am wrong.

A lot of newfs do great with no surgery though did he say why she wasnt a candidate if she has bad hips that are causing problems?

Once l know your area we can advise more

 

[R Taft]

And I suggest water physio and water training..... swimming. We have a leao in our group who was terrible and since wate training he has improved 100%

 

[Angela]

I give Evan Krill oil, 2000 mgm daily. He is 11 yr and has elbow dysplasia. I also feed my Newfs Proplan Turkey and Barley which seems to suit them.

As Victoria said, where are you?

 

[njkonn]

Thanks for input. I'll price foods and oil today if I can find it. I suspect you're correct that proplan might be the same price. I guess everyone uses human oil supplements. We are uninsured in NC. Vet said no surgery until she's fully grown at minimum and will try to avoid it altogether. She seems OK, sore but no longer limping and is so sweet!!!

 

[victoria1140]

Nc?

Look at gold paste ,it may help.

Lots of swimming is good,keep her lean:-no extra weight .

You can do acupuncture and massage or chiropractic methods as well.

Krill oil is good,this side of the pond there is gwf joint supplement and also try microlactin as this may help.

 

[njkonn]

North Carolina. US. Do you think the fish oil will have any impact on joint health or is really just for skin and coat? Maybe I've put this on the wrong thread but I do want to keep her comfortable.

 

[Ginny]

Sounds like she's been symptomatic with leg dragging. The best thing you can do is to build her rear. As Ronnie said, swimming is great. If that's not an option until warmer weather, she can climb hills in a serpentine pattern. Walking in sand is good too. Horse training facilities generally have sand floors. Any chance you can post the X-rays? Tons of vets haven't a clue how to position for assessing hips properly and a dog who isn't dysplastic, can look to be. There are lots of dogs out there with HD and you'd never know it because they've good rear muscling.

 

[R Taft]

Sounds like she's been symptomatic with leg dragging. The best thing you can do is to build her rear. As Ronnie said, swimming is great. If that's not an option until warmer weather, she can climb hills in a serpentine pattern. Walking in sand is good too. Horse training facilities generally have sand floors. Any chance you can post the X-rays? Tons of vets haven't a clue how to position for assessing hips properly and a dog who isn't dysplastic, can look to be. There are lots of dogs out there with HD and you'd never know it because they've good rear muscling.

"like"

 

[njkonn]

I will have to get them emailed to me. Looked pretty obvious but always good to have other opinions.

 

[Jeannie]

My Chase has very bad hips. I kept her muscles built up in her rear end as well as give her salmon oil. I also give her glucosamine and chondroitin with msm. The other thing I did is I never told her she had bad hips - I never treated her any different. She is now 11 years old and still going strong with no hip problems. She is small about 98 lbs.

Over the years we did a lot of swimming and hill climbing as Ginny noted.

 

[njkonn]

I like that! We will swim when it's warmer and hike soft trails. She really wanted to walk today. She's tired of resting! It has been a month of rest since she was dragging her leg. Where do you get the glucosamine and chron?

 

[njkonn]

Let's see if this picture shows. What do you think? I have lateral views and another front but the file size might be too big.

 

[Ginny]

Right hip definitely looks subluxated, but the positioning is not good which could make it look worse than it is. From what I can see, there doesn't appear to be any remodeling at the top of the femur which is a good thing - pretty amazing if it's truly that loose.

Can you post the other x-ray taken in this same position?

It's going to be very important to keep the dog very lean. Any extra weight is going to cause problems that could have been avoided. I'd also avoid long hikes until the rear is really strong. I'd steer clear of any surgeons...they want to do surgery!

 

[njkonn]

I can feel it popping in and out. He said during the first one posted here, he basically reset it without realizing it and was focused on spine. Then noticed the hip on lateral view. Again, no one wants to do surgery at this point, especially me!! The previous one I posted was the final visiting that he didn't charge me for, just wanted to see more detail. Even a surgeon doesn't want to touch her!! So sad
​

 

[njkonn]

What's a good protein ratio for food to avoid weight gain? Amounts? Don't want to hurt her and she's not getting much exercise right now till I can get pain handled.

 

[Ginny]

Positioning is better in this front view x-ray which confirms subluxation in the right and also in the left hip, but not nearly as bad.

To assess weight, you want to be able to EASILY feel the ribs. If you have press to feel them, the dog needs to lose weight. If that's the case, you can cut back on the amount fed. If she acts really hungry, adding green beans is helpful. Just don't give canned beans because of the high salt content.

 

[njkonn]

Thank you!

 

[victoria1140]

Build up her back end and this isnt to scare you about surgery but just a flip side of the coin.

My munchkin Max had tpo triple pelvic osteochtomy as he popped his hip, everything was fine but then he developed a soft tissue sarcoma which was next to the operation site.

As much as we did everything to help him in old age the cancer meant at 26 months old he was pts.
now it may have been a fluke but we will always blame ourselves as we think the cancer and his tpo were linked.

So l would do the swimming now and work on what you can do first.
There is a program in the uk called supervet and the surgeon does complete hip replacement surgery much as in a hunan surgery.this may be a consideration in the future.