Hip displasia

Heather Sims · Hip displasia

Hi - I live in Spain with Sam, my German shepherd from the UK, who is now nearly 9 years old. Sadly, he now has hip displasia and is suffering. My vet and I have tried various medications - the poor soul is now on 12 tablets a day - but nothing is helping. He is on glucosamine, Previcox, Vitamin B complex and some other stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions please? I am tempted to self-medicate and give him MSM and Vitamins C & E as well as glucosamine. Any advice would be much appreciated for the best dog (my opinion!) in the world!!

From a swelteringly hot Murcia in Spain

Heather

Sharonr - Admin

Hi Heather, nice to here from you and see you on the forum - hope you are well.

Am sure our knowledgeable members will give you the benefit of their knowledge/experience, but sorry to hear that Sam is not doing so well.

karen

Heather, so sorry to hear about Sam Crying or Very sad

My shepherd X has recently been through a series of tests for the same thing. I was holding back on making any comment because there are 2 very big differences - Scooby is only 2 (well 2yrs on Monday Very Happy

) and the x-rays he had revealed his hip joints were fine.

However, he was still moving oddly so I got a doggie chiropractor to see him last week. She thought his pevis was tilted and did some treatment on him which really seemed to have an effect. He is moving more easily and this, I think is the imprtant part, he really seemed to enjoy the manipulations (well, after the inital suspicion Wink

) When she had fiinished, he laid down and slept peacefully for a while. It might be worth a go as if it helps relieve the pain, it could be worth it and it is certainly significantly better (and cheaper) than drugs Exclamation

Keep us updated on his progess.

Heather Sims

Thanks to Sharon and Karen for your replies. I am afraid there are no doggie chiropractors in my little town. My vet called in a specialist last week and, after lots more X rays, we discussed the possibility of an operation. The chances of success are not good so we are stuck with the medication. 9 tablets a day, costing a fortune and no visible improvement! His back paw drags when we walk and he often returns home with a bloody paw. He loves his walks though and is so uncomplaining even though in pain.

My other 2 rescue dogs are doing fine although Ben contracted Erhlichia, a tick disease, and almost died a month ago. I also foster a dog from the Noah´s Arc rescue here in Murcia who has settled in fine - now all we need is to find her a permanent home. And we all know what a struggle that can be, especially here in Spain with so many abandoned and mistreated dogs. ¡Viva Noah´s Arc and all other rescues!

Best wishes

Heather

Tina D

Hi Heather,

My cousin's dog has the hip displacia and he benefitted a lot from some cartilage-forming injections. I don't know what they were called but i can find out when she gets back from holiday if you want? Green-lipped muscle powder is supposed to be good too (you can get capsules from the health shop)

Swimming is supposed to be very good for them too, either hydrotherapy or just normal lake/sea swimming

reclaimingrebus

hi heather
mikki do a laceup boot which will protect the top of his foot. robbie seemed to cope better when given glucosamine. he might find a raised bed easier so he doesnt get up and down so far. i hope you can find soething which makes life easier for him
elaine

Heather Sims · Hip displasia

Thanks to those who have replied. Sam is much worse - started some Reiki sessions in the hope they might help. He is already on anti-inflammatories, Vitamin B complex, a combination of Vitamins C, E and anti-oxidants and glucosamine/MSM. Really can't force any more pills down the boy!

Sadly, in my little town here in Spain, we don´t have things like health food shops... oh for a Holland & Barrett but they charge 16.75 pounds to deliver to Spain!! Some friends are bringing me glucosamine tablets as we can only get it in powdered form. I have tried sprinkling it over Sam's dinner and then one of the other 3 eat it...

I know you are all doing a fantastic job for dogs in the UK. Noah's Arc is doing brilliantly here, with well over 100 dogs rehomed this year - most going to countries in Europe. Unfortunately, the UK rabies laws stop a lot of people from the UK taking one of our dogs because of the 6 months delay. However, so long as those people who contact us then adopt a dog in the UK, it is all to our cause.

Thank you again for your support

Heather

Sharonr - Admin

Hi Heather

Ruthi

Much better value than Holland and Barrett is Healthspan. They are based in Guernsey so post to the UK anyway, they might be able to post to you. Their stuff is good quality and better value than the retail shops.

MSM is another form of organic sulphur, as are glucosamine and chondroitin. Research in humans showed that each helps about two thirds of subjects. So if the glucosamine is not working then its worth adding MSM (cheaper than chondroitin!). But they act quite slowly, so you need to leave two or three weeks at least without changing anything else in order to evaluate.

Is your vet sure its hip displasia and not CDRM, a degenerative disease of the spinal chord which affects GSDs. Foot dragging is more of a CDRM symptom from my understanding.

Its so hard to see them suffer!