Hi my GSD has bad hip dysplacia, hes 13years old in a few days (August the 31st) and apart from his hips hes 100% healthy.

Have been giving him Loxicom which was prescribed from the vet, at first I thought it was doing the job but after a week began to doubt it. Finsihed the course now and hes been without any madication for a few days and hes started to struggle to stand and dragging his feet.  Will be going back to the vet first thing tomorrow to possibly get more Loxicom and enquire about other medication.

Am lookig for advice on Glucosomine HLC as Ive read it helps and in particular Syn-Flex Original ( http://synflexforpets.co.uk/ ), if anyone has used it can you please tell me what you think and if you have any other remedys?

Massage, is it good that I give him a light massage to help alleviate any stiffness and hydro therapy, has anyone had any of these?

Thanks in advance

Duncan

I tried Synflex on a few of my dogs after reading some great reviews, but I'm afraid it didn't live up to the hype for any of mine.
The ones I found that worked for me were Glycoflex 111, this worked brilliantly, but unfortunately it comes as a very large ,very fishy smelling tablet, and it became a struggle to get any of the dogs to take them.
The only other one I've found to work has been Cortaflex, This comes in either, powder, tablet or liquid form, which is very handy.

I found Cortaflex helpful too.  My girl I just lost who had HD was on Metacam plus Yumove plus one Tramadol, which worked well for her.  Previously, she was on PLT (prednoleucotropin) instead of Metacam which worked well too. PLT has 1mg of prednisolone in each tab, and so some vets don't like prescribing it long term, but my girl was on it over 3 years with no problems. I only changed her to give her a break, though my vet assured me she didn't need it, as the amount of steroid was so small.  At a certain age and condition it is a trade off.

Please get him back on meds soon, I am not surprised he is struggling to stand and move, now he has nothing to help he may be in a great deal of pain. I believe Loxicom is the same as Metacam by another name, and you will need to have him on this continuously for HD, and it can take a little while for the benefits to show. Any of the other supplements would be in addition to this basic anti inflammatory and pain relief medication. The vet can also prescribe Tramadol in addition for pain relief, it helps some dogs. With very bad HD, at his age I think you will need a combination of things to give him the best quality of life. JMO, having been there a couple of times.

Also bear in mind that you can get a private prescription from your vet. I used to get 180ml of Metacam from Hyperdrug for about £19....a huge saving when the vets charge about £60 for 100ml.