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Dog question

TheGirlNextDoor

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Does anyone here have a dog (had a dog) that suffered from hip dysplasia?

I have two Labrador retrievers. One is 100 pounds, the other is 87 pounds. The smaller of the two is having some severe hip issues. I've been told by the vet to give him anti-inflammatory medication, make sure he gets regular exercise (he does) and feed him a special diet.

He is younger than my bigger Lab, but the vet said age really didn't have anything to do with it, and that it is a hereditary thing and sometimes lack of exercise and/or obesity can play a part in exacerbating the problem.

Riley gets exercise daily (as does Ben) and they aren't fed table scraps... they could probably stand to lose a little weight, but the bigger of the two I bought from breeders and his 'parents' were huge, muscular Labs.

I'm just not sure if there is something else I can do? Vet says there is no 'cure' for this, although he could do surgery.. it's very costly and won't necessarily 'fix' all that is going on.

Any experiences with this?
 
My dads dog has arthritis and gives him ibuprofin and a condroitin/glucosamine pill. Poor dogie :(
 
I live in a front/back split and so with two sets of stairs inside, and two sets of stairs outside off the deck.. the poor guy has to hobble around. Thing that sucks, is I have no idea how old he is, really. I adopted him from the pound. He seems to be suffering all of a sudden and the vet said it could be to the sudden onset of the cooler weather. Thanks for the post, though. I will check into the other supplement you listed.
 
I live in a front/back split and so with two sets of stairs inside, and two sets of stairs outside off the deck.. the poor guy has to hobble around. Thing that sucks, is I have no idea how old he is, really. I adopted him from the pound. He seems to be suffering all of a sudden and the vet said it could be to the sudden onset of the cooler weather. Thanks for the post, though. I will check into the other supplement you listed.

My dads dog has 2 flights of stairs too. :( Buy food with NO FILLERS. YOu will be amazed at their improved health! I recommend Natural Balance. I use that for my cats and its just fantastic and doesnt cost a million dollars. You can find it at Petco.... not Petsmart.
 
They now make Temperpedic style dog beds. Before they did, we had our dog sleep on doubled over egg crate cushioning. Even sleeping off the bad hip aggravates the bad hip so the doggies need as much padding when they sleep as possible.

You might consider MSM. It's what they give horses, and arthritic humans take it too. Since Vitamin C makes MSM work better and canine bodies make Vitamin C naturally, MSM works especially well for dogs for lessened pain and more flexibility.

Regards from Rosie
 
Does anyone here have a dog (had a dog) that suffered from hip dysplasia?

I have two Labrador retrievers. One is 100 pounds, the other is 87 pounds. The smaller of the two is having some severe hip issues. I've been told by the vet to give him anti-inflammatory medication, make sure he gets regular exercise (he does) and feed him a special diet.

He is younger than my bigger Lab, but the vet said age really didn't have anything to do with it, and that it is a hereditary thing and sometimes lack of exercise and/or obesity can play a part in exacerbating the problem.

Riley gets exercise daily (as does Ben) and they aren't fed table scraps... they could probably stand to lose a little weight, but the bigger of the two I bought from breeders and his 'parents' were huge, muscular Labs.

I'm just not sure if there is something else I can do? Vet says there is no 'cure' for this, although he could do surgery.. it's very costly and won't necessarily 'fix' all that is going on.

Any experiences with this?

You've gotten some excellent advice here. I've had four shepherds. Three had hip dysplasia -- the bane of big dogs and poor breeding methods. I'd second and third the motion to get some weight off your guy. Even 5# can make a big difference in his ability to get around more comfortably.

Only other advice I can throw out there is some behavioral stuff. Although I think exercise is a good thing, I also think it's important to stay tuned in to your dog. Dogs will tend to be self-limiting, if allowed. And sometimes a quiet day or week or month ;-) with no exercise is just what they need. And they know it. BUT if we put them on a leash, they're such sweethearts, they'll just go right along....even though they'd rather not. So watch his signals carefully. I'd also add that you might want to take the stairs slowly yourself, so you don't encourage the dog to scramble up and down in his eagerness to stay at your side. I'm thinking stairs are rough.

I wish you many more happy years with your pup!!
 
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