Exercise and Hip Dysplasia
We would obviously like to keep Barney as healthy as long as possible and are trying to figure out which method of exercise in general would be best for him. Right now he doesn't look like he is bothered too much by his hips, although he often has to take more than one try at standing up, but there doesn't seem to be any outward pain...We give him glucosamine at meal times and do not have the money for surgery for him at the moment, so preventative measures are our only option. When we took him for a walk on Sunday he was limping by the end (pretty short walk), but we weren't sure if it was his hips (I checked his pads and couldn't find anything there that might be causing the pain). He had gone to doggy day care on Friday, so he might have just been a little sore from running around so much. |
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| And the answer is: Swimming. Low impact, good movement, builds muscle and encourages stretching.
That's your best bet but sometimes it's hard to find a pool in your area, especially for the winter months. So, if you're going to be doing walking make it on softer surfaces, like a track or grass. The hard pavement doesn't give very much and can be hard on joints. Walking is also better than running or jogging, just look at the power walkers in the mall. |
| Steph, I'm so sorry that Barney is experiencing difficulties so young!
After Drez's surgery last year, the vet told us to make sure we walked her every day. Let her be the judge as to how long the walk is. When she looked like she was getting tired, turn around and go home. Keep Barney on the glucosamine. Mandy (Maxmm) told me about a liquid form of glucosamine/chondroitin that is working wonders for her senior Norman. I ordered it but haven't received it yet. Am anxious to see if it makes a noticeable difference in Drez. As for other exercise, don't know if Barney likes the water, but Drez LOVES to swim. She's so much better in the summer when she can swim nearly every day. Gets the exercise she needs without putting the strain on her hips. Winter makes it almost impossible for her to keep up the swimming, but there is a "pool" dedicated to dogs about an hour's drive away from me, so we may try that this winter. (Again, thanks to Mandy for the tip!) Hopefully, with supplements and moderate, strength-building exercise, Barney will be okay for many years yet! Chris |
| I'm not sure where we could take him to go swimming...We don't have a pool and I haven't heard of any dog pools around, but I'll look into it. If his hatred of wet grass is any indication as to how he feels about water...I don't know if that would work!
We aren't sure if/how much the glucosamine is working, but we're gonna keep using it. We get it from Costco, so it lasts a while and isn't really that expensive. Plus, Barney likes the Wild Berry flavor it comes in! The walking part is hard. See, since he is still so young, he LOVES his walks and he pulls horribly on the leash and tries to go as fast and hard as he can 
I know we need to train him better on the leash (we're working on that...and he IS better, just slow and sure)... but he'll just pull and try and run and go and then all of a sudden, he's like, okay, I'm done! (And none of our walks are too terribly long). Thanks for the encouraging words Chris--it's hard and it's also hard to know if he's in any pain at all--he's such a big goofy guy that I wonder sometimes if, since he's so young still, he doesn't know the difference between discomfort and regular... |
| You may want to ask your vet for a referral to a swim therapy pool. One of our rescues had a torn crusiate ligament and since surgery in June has been going twice a week. They start them out on leash, and with a life-jacket, and slowly get them used to the water. Then they are weaned off of both. It is really not that expensive, either, as several dogs go at one time, so the cost is shared. I think it is $10 a visit.
The Glucosimine at Cosco's, is it for humans or canines? The one for humans is cheaper, but from what I understand is not digested the same way by canines, so is not transferable. I could be wrong, though. A vet would know. If they sell it for canines, I'm there! As for the pulling on leash, I finally broke down and got a Gentle Leader for Bosley. It works great, and now even a child can walk him. |
| The glucosamine is for humans...I guess we'll have to see if we can find other stuff then...We're new to all this so we're just trying to help Barn as much as possible...
I'll ask our vet to see if they know of a pool... We have one of those gentle leaders too, but we only use it some of the time. I know we need to do it more often, but he just gets so preoccupied with swatting at the leash with his paw that he doesn't get much walking in! |
| The glucamine that we use is formulated for dogs. It is a liquid so if your dog has trouble taking pills this might help. It is also formulated to be more easily digestable. Right at this moment, I can't remember the name
of it but I'll check when I get home.
Norman used to be on pill glucosamine and it worked alright, we were also using human form. This new liquid formula seems to have done him a world of good though. He's much more active and spunky than he was before. My husband uses the human formula and he says he actually feels better too. Must be the brand. Standby for the name. |
| Flexicose!
Can't wait till I get my order. Had Drez on Cosequin (formulated for animals), didn't order Flexicose until we ran out. The Cosequin didn't seem to do much for her. Am anxious for good results! Chris |
| Sorry to hear Barney is having problems.
Both of our kids have HD. They had horrible Xrays at 6 months old. Bailey's right hip clicked at times as well. They are 15 months now. We went to see an orthopedic surgeon after we got the Xrays. He advised doing nothing now as far as surgery. They both already had arthritis in their joints. He told us to give them Cosequin DS. We did and still do. Just as a side note, the directions say to cut back after a while. We asked the surgeon about it and he said to always continue the starting dose which is two pills for each dog each morning and one each at night. That adds up to about $60.00 a month. Ugh!!! We asked about exercise also. He said long walks were not the best for them although once in a while, it won't hurt. So we do shorter walks more often. We also let them play normally together. The beat the stuffing out of each other at times. He said that would be okay. I do notice that Bailey gets up sometimes and walks funny on his right leg, like it is asleep or something. It seems to straighten out after ten or twenty seconds. It still breaks my heart that we may have to deal with this one day, with surgery that is. They are such good dogs. They just shouldn't and hopefully won't ever have to go through that. The surgeon said all we could do was take good care of them, keep their weight down and exercise them enough, but not too much. Confusing I know, but we are trying. Everything seems to be going well so far. If you have any other questions, let me know. Hopefully this helps out some. Have a nice day, Eric |
| Hi
I'm sorry to hear about Barney's hip problems. We adopted a sheepie-girl last month from NEOESR that has severe hip dysplasia (we knew this when we adopted her). Although it is severe, she is getting along well. When she first arrived, she was a bit unstable on her feet we think because of lack of exercise. After a month, she isn't as wobbly, seems a bit wider in the hips with muscle and can stand up easier too. She still bunny hops when she runs but does not show any signs of pain or limping. So I think that easy exercise is good, at least for her. Our vet also recommended swimming because it's a low impact exercise... still have to find a pool though. Avoid any fast stop and start activities like fetch, Frisbee, etc. I guess just basically listen to what Barney is telling you. We do brief play periods of about 15-20 minutes throughout the day... sometimes longer. We gave Panda 3 Cosequin DS (mfr. is Nutramax) daily for the first month... she is down to a maintenance dose of 2 per day now. Eric- Thanks for the heads up on maintaining the dosage... will watch to see if she does as well with only 2! The best price we were able to find for this product was at Countryside Pet Supply http://www.countrysidepet.com/objects/84.itml/icOid/84 ... since Pandi is going to be on it probably forever, we purchased the bottle with the best savings (I think it was $182 for 650 tablets... or $43 for 120... it's was a lot less than from our vet) and this bottle has a shelf life of July 2009. We were told that this is the best quality brand for dogs because they absorb it better than some others... has anyone else heard this or is there a different brand you recommend??? Or any lower prices out there for the same item?? We also have Panda on one adult buffered aspirin per day. We give it to her in the morning to help her throughout the day. Again, she doesn't seem to show signs of pain though. She has dropped a few pounds since she arrived which I think will also help her in the long run. It takes some pressure off the hips. A healthy, lean sheepie is what to strive for... they supposedly live longer too. Each case is different and according to Dr. Flo at Michigan State University, the x-rays are not what they go by... it's based upon how the dog is reacting to his/her condition. So just because Panda's x-rays look horrible, she doesn't require surgery at this time. Have you checked into a no-longer used procedure called a pectineal tendonectomy (or something like that)? Don't quote me on this but I BELIEVE it was used to take the pressure of the tendon off the femur head. Might be something to ask your vet about as a short-term option to help alleviate Barney's pain and it wasn't as expensive as say an FHO. I did some research online and found that they say it's "obsolete" however our vet does still recommend it as another option for Panda before they do any FHO's (the way she's progressing we don't think any surgery will be required right away). One other option is to check the fees of a "teaching" hospital like at a veterinary university... sometimes their fees are lower. I don't know if any of this info will help. These sweet sheepies didn't ask for this affliction and I know it's heart wrenching. But we do our best with what we have to work with. They are definitely worth the effort. Hugs to Barney! |
| Thanks Jaclin.
Sorry to hear Panda has this problem too. How old is she? Poor Barney was just clicking away last night, every time he slowly got up. If it stays like this for a while I think I'll call his vet and see what they have to say. He was doing really well for a long time (who knows, maybe he still is, just seemingly worse). Grrr. Poor puppies. |
| We think Panda is just about 1 year old. She had a family up until she was about 5 1/2 months old, then went to a shelter, then another family adopted her, now us. The papers we received included one from the shelter... it says her birthday is the October 29th, 2004 so we're going by that. How old is Barney?
I know how that hurts to hear that clicking... I've heard it before with other dogs. You just wish you could make it better. Is Barney slim or carrying a few extra pounds? I've heard it can make a world of difference in standing and just moving around if they are at a lean, but healthy, weight. Just let me know if you ever need to talk. Maybe the hip dysplasia parents can help each other with ways to make life better for their sheepie-kids. Jaci |
| Norman does that sleeping leg thing too. We always try to give it a little rub to help out.
He also seemed to be going downhill very quickly at one point. Difficulty getting up, being grumpy and just not wanting to do anything. Once we got him on good meds (Glucosamine has to build up in the system and then be maintained at that level so make sure you aren't missing or skipping doses!) and got him up and around with swimming and light walking, he is like a puppy again. You can definitely tell he feels better. Make sure you are paying very careful attention to their attitudes as well as their bodies. Their disposition can tell you so much. If they seem cranky or lethargic definitely monitor closely. They can mask pain or build up a tolerance to a point that they just don't realize what is making them hurt anymore. |
| I have a question....If the dog hops like a bunny when running does that mean her hips are bad? Panda sometimes hops while running...does this mean she has bad hips? |
| Good question. From what I've read, the bunny-hop gait is one associated with HD along with a slowness or difficulty arising from a lying position and a reluctance to jump. http://www.pomeroys.com/EmmaDarby/BunnyHop.jpg Our vet tested Panda to see if there was reluctance, refusal or pain when jumping from a raised examination table. He also extended her hind legs to see if there was any painful reaction and it occurred on her left side when her leg was super extended. But it might be too generalized to throw all dogs that occasionally bunny-hop into one category. I think it's a good question for your vet.
After getting Panda, I know we've observed our other girls more closely because it can be such a debilitating disease. But with Panda, you can just tell she has hip problems by the way her legs move... probably because it's severe. When she arrived, she was very narrow in the hips but has developed better muscle tone. I notice that she stands with her hind feet a little farther apart now and has better balance. She looks to me like she over-developed in the front half of her body... maybe to compensate for the lack in the back half. From the back, it almost looked like she was knock-kneed. And when she walks on hard surfaces or carpet, you can hear her hind feet shuffle... like they drag more. But then our Darby shuffles her feet a bit when walks too. We don't hear any of the clicking other HD-parents have mentioned... probably because the femoral heads aren't actually in the sockets anymore. She does negotiate 3 steps well but because she doesn't lift her hind legs normally, she seems to require more effort in the front half of her body to go up the steps. But again, she has severe HD and the disease can have relatively no to severe symptoms depending upon the dog and the severity of the disease. We don't let Panda negotiate the basement steps so every night when I feed my rabbit she sits on the top step or two and waits for me. She is so funny. http://www.pomeroys.com/EmmaDarby/AboutU170.jpg Here are a couple of interesting articles on HD... http://www.artreality.com/portfolio/wdw ... plasia.htm http://www.gocco.co.za/hd_gradings.htm Anyone out there that has dealt with HD that can add their own experiences on gait, early symptoms, etc.?? |
| Jaclin,
Barney turned 1 on Sept 5. We haven't taken him to the vet for a while so we don't know how much he weighs, but to me he seems to be a good weight, not too bulky. We are trying to make sure that he stays on the slim side of things. It's so hard with puppies, though, because you want to make sure you're feeding them enough so they grow properly, yet you don't want to overfeed. Now that he is older and not growing as much anymore it should be easier to monitor. He also seems to be narrow in the hips. I guess for now we are going to just keep watching him and see how he's doing. Like i said, it doesn't seem to be bothering him all that much right now, but like you said, sometimes they can build up a tolerance to pain and not show signs for a long time... Thanks for all your help... |
| That's what we're doing now too... just watching and hoping the pain can be postponed for as long as possible. I know what you mean about feeding too... our littlest sheepie is such a picky eater and we always worry whether she's eating enough.
Gosh... those pictures you posted of Barney in his costume were simply adorable  Oops! Probably shouldn't laugh... don't want to hurt his feelings  From the picture, he looks to be at a good weight now that I got to see all of him in his form-fitting suit... it kinda smooshes down all that fluffy sheepie fur. He is such a handsome dude! |
Quote: He is such a handsome dude!
Yes, he thinks he is too! Mr. Ego Puppy! I think he is at a good weight. We actually took him over to a friend's house a few weeks ago and she said she thought he looked smaller, (and I was thinking he looked bigger!) so I'm not too worried that he is too large (or small)... I know, that costume cracks me up. He just wiggled and wiggled around--so funny! Darcy--I wouldn't worry about Panda. Just watch her if you really feel worried, but she is so young still, that I don't think there's much to be done yet anyways, even if she did end up having HD. |
| This my first time ever on a forum so I hope I'm doing this right. I have a 5 year old Malamute-Wolf hybrid who is as sweet as can be. I was researching amichien bonding, found the OES site, started poking around, and here I am. Chewy first showed signs of hip dysplasia at 7 months. So far I've been managing him with weight control, glucosamine and exercise. The cost to replace both hips (which is what the specialist recommended) is $8,000 which is way out my reach.
There is another pain specialist in town who claims to get good results with stem cell injections which is a lot more affordable at $1900 for both hips. They take some of my dog's fat and send it to a lab in San Diego where they spin down the stem cells. Then they send them back to my vet who injects them into my dog and this is supposed to heal the soft tissue damage and arthritis though not the actual deformity he has in the acetabulum. The vet claims we can predict excellent pain control with this procedure and it includes a second injection if the results are less than we hope for. Before I knew there was a more affordable solution I had accepted that one day I might have to put Chewy down for pain management and humane treatment. Now I don't know what to do. Does anyone have any experience with stem cell treatment for hip dysplasia? |
I don't have any experience with this but is it through Vet-Stem? I had talked with the company and my vet about this treatment for Panda back in January. This is my dog with HD- http://oesusa.com/Page117.html . From what I was told, the company's doctors?? help the vet determine if a dog is a good candidate. My vet was willing to take the 3 hour credentialing course IF I wanted to pursue treatment but I had questions before I would commit to treatment and would have liked to talk with someone with experience.  We were unable to find anyone who had actually preformed the procedure that could share first hand results... we had also checked downstate. Since Panda is getting around well for now, we haven't pursued it.
One of my questions was how long the benefits have lasted on average... Quote: ...Duration of the benefit from a single injection varies from several months to more than one year...
http://www.vet-stem.com/smallanimal/ If you visit the website address above, you'll find a study that was published last winter and also a Rehabilitation Handout that I believe is new since the last time I had been to the site. Best wishes to Chewy.  If you decide to go ahead with this treatment, could you post again to share the experience? You've probably searched and found all the other possible options for managing HD but just in case, here's a link- http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... icleid=444 |
| Thanks for the replies and well wishes for Chewy. I'm fortunate that a local vet has done hundreds of vet stem applications and was part of a study using it as well. I looked at the sites you both suggested, thanks. It would be nice to talk to someone who has had a dog go through it.
Thanks, Ann |
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