Anyone have tips on treating hip dysplasia in dogs? Any tips on other health problems that can be related?

Question

I have a 7 month of St Bernard. He has bad hips AKA hip dysplasia(HD). His right is severe, his left is moderate/mild. Any tips, tricks, or any advice would be greatly appreciated. He doesnt show signs of pain at this point. He just favors one leg slightly when he walks and his hips "clack" together when we were training him to sit. When we would push on his hind end, you could feel and hear the bones "clack" when you pressed down. I am against surgery unless absolutely necessary.(they want to break the pelvis in several places) I am looking for anyone who has been through this recently. Anyone who may know anything about alternative medicine for animals. Acupuncture, herbs, suppliments, or therapy and where to get these things for animals. Any other suggestions will be a great help, no matter if its main stream or alternative. I'm just looking for all the options out there. Thank you.

Answer 1

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Answer 2

Go to your local Holland and Barrett and get a suppliment called 'Green Lipped Muscle' - 250mg once a day. This suppliment helps treat and prevent the arthritis which is generally the reason for the surgery. It is also about half the price of extracted glucosamine. This is taken from the green lipped muscle - all the good fish oils are lost in this process. My last dog had hip dysplasia and we were told she would need hip replacements by the time she was 2 or 3. She was 9 when she died (unrelated) and was on no medication other than the green lipped muscle and had no sign of any arthritis. The other thing that is important is exercise - no long periods of running or impact such as jumping, but lots of walking, especially on the lead, also if you can find one near you hydrotherapy is really good. You want to get the muscles around the hips built up as they can stabalise the joints thus preventing lots of damage as all the injury to the joint comes from it being unstable and so the surfaces rub and cause arthritis. The third really important thing is to control your dog's weight. As a youngster he will still be growing for a while yet, but you want his weight kept low - you should be able to clearly feel his ribs, and just feel the tips of his hip bones - this is a bit skinnier than a normal dog but keeping him thin will reduce the amount of strain and stress on the joints. The forth thing to remember is that despite having this problem your dog can still have a brilliant life and be an amazing and wonderful friend as long as you are sensible about how much, and the type of exercise you let your dog have. Despite a previous answer -do NOT give your dog any human medecine such as asprin or paracetamol - they can be toxic to dogs. If your dog needs pain control ask your vet for metacalm or similar as a pain medicine. It's not very expensive and is designed for long term use for this sort of problem. Good luck with your dog and I hope you have many years of enjoyment with him.

Answer 3

A seven month old and he already has hip dysplasia .. that's pretty bad. You must have a standard sized one, because they almost completely bred that out in the smaller ones. I don't know what to tell you I have only dealt with it in standard sized older dogs. They only got liver flavored doggie tylenol to take the pain away. But mostly when they started moving they were fine it was just the getting up and sitting down. Your puppy might need surgery especially for that really bad side. My family has had four and I don't really remember what was actually done. Two standard sized and two smaller ones. This was over eleven years ago for the standard sized ones I would have been like ten. The smaller ones were fine but the standard sized ones got really bad late in life. I'm stumped with the puppy. He will probably need surgery. God Bless.

Answer 4

I hope that you have not been giving this dog a high protein puppy chow. Large breed puppies should not be fed a protein level aove 23%. Higher protein levels encourage faster growth which affects the bones. We feed our large breed puppies adult food, not puppy chow.
As for the HD, an alternative treatment is Gold Bead Implants. It is a permanent form of acupuncture. There are a lot of articles on the net about this. I do know that it will control the pain. I had this done on one of mine. She had been on Deramax, and needed no pain meds after the implants were done.

Answer 5

Hi Im Dee and Im a proffesional dog groomer Im also a supplement distributor for A.P.R.L Animal Performance Research labs,LLC . The products they have are not purchasable in stores you either have to locate a distributor or contact them directly. There is a product in particular that I would highly recommend , it is called "Peak Stride" it is one of the most advanced and effective joint support products available today. As the elasticity and health of connective tissue declines, Peak Stride help your dog regain increased movement, mobility and quality of life.Ingredients are all pharmaceutical grade and profiled (according to the latest medical research) in maximally effective ratios. The building blocks of glucosamine and chondroitin help repair injured connective tissues. Natural herbal ingredients target specific sources of inflammation and help reduce pain and swelling. There are more than 18 essentials in this product to noticeably see results in your st.bernard. I started one of my clients 12 year old dog ,whom could hardly walk, after 2 month on Peak Stride she not only runs around like a puppy but she jumps into my mobile grooming unit (3 steps ) and hops onto the grooming table, her owner is still in disbelief and is real quick to call when her supply is running low. This is a supplement that you sprinkle on your dogs food daily, doses are by weight and instructions on container , this also enhances your dogs food adding chicken like flavor so they will eat it.
A.P.R.L phone # is 800-440-7955 or
e-mail them [e-mail]
I know you wont be dissappointed!
ps: All their products are money back guaranteed!!!
Peak Strides ingredients are all very effective , if you decide not to try their products be sure to start your dog right away on glucosamine chondroitin vitamins confirm with your regular vet.

Answer 6

Try to find a university pet school/hospital near you. Ours has a physical therapy center that includes an underwater treadmill. The dog is able to rebuild strength with out stressing bones and joints. You could look into that. Good luck!

Answer 7

some people swear by glucosamine, rimadyl from the vet may work but this is going to be a struggle with a dog of this size...stairs are going to be a problem, getting in a car etc. you may thank the lovely in-breeders for these problems. people who claim to be "breeders" are most often greedy liars!

Answer 8

The vet can give you medication for him . He does not need to be active at all either , if you do not want to do the surgery , it will prolong his life as well . My best friends dog has HD as well . I wish I could e mail your question to her but unfortunately her PC is in the shop .