my dog is a german shepherd its nine months old and has recently been diognosed with hip dysplasia. the rspca gave it a x ray and it looked really bad,both hips are suffering but the right one is the worst,it doesent have a socket and the left hip is very shallow. well they said there was 3 options for it, 1 put it down, 2 we can give it a fho op for £70 that means they cut off the femur head and muscles tendons and ligaments will form a sort of false hip, and the 3rd was get it done by a specialist roughly at the price of £700. so we decided to get a second opinion and take it to the pdsa eventually when we got an appointment and they said because its left hip was weak it wouldent be able to cope with the strain after the op and because of that we wont do it,but i would be better of seeing a specialist,well we love the dog to bits and would be gutted to see it put down,this is our first family dog and feel that weve got to put up a battle to try and get it on the mend,we are saving up right now so we can look at some options,we live in manchester and would like to hear from anyone who could point us in the right direction,thanks everyone.

ps ive got a pic of a recent x ray if anyone would like to see it..

Hi Nemisis
My BC who is now nearly 10 months old has problems with her hips. The vet has x-rayed already and we have been advised to give Cod Liver Oil tablets to help with growth of the joints as they don't stop until about 18 months.

I can't really help you on this, but hopefully someone with loads of experience will help soon.

Jo

The growth plates close by 18 months, and IMHO it would be safer to give Fish Body Oils rather than Cod Liver Oil as you then do not risk ODing on Vit A & D.  1000mg a day is fine and it is virtually impossible to OD on FBO

HTH

thanks for the input but not totally sure what you mean on some points but thanks anyway,can anyone else give me some info,thanks

If you don't understand the advice then ask more specific questions rather than just ask for more .

~~~

Tohme - would Flaxseed/Linseed oil be as good as FBO for something like this as it is readily available, cold pressed, from stores that sell horse feeds etc?

I prefer to feed oils from an animal source as I believe they are more valuable; flaxseed is successfully used however SOME dogs can get the itchies from it.  Fish Body Oils can be found in any chemist, supermarket or Holland and Barrett though. 

regards

well this is my first post so im not to clued up on things yet,it seems that im not to sure if this advice is more to do with the bc,ive only ever had a couple of dogs so all this fish oil and other things is new to me,doesent anyone know a good vet or specialist in the manchester area,is my dog old enough to start having these sort of ops,has anyone heard of flexivet?,since i started giving it that its hips seemed to stick out more,has anyone heard of the op where they cut the muscle away from the bone,does it have a good success rate,what diet would be best for hin now? do ineed to give him some exersize to start building his leg muscle up, i dont know theres so many things that i cant get my head round,just want some good ideas advice and the right things i should doo,thanks...

Hi

The fish oil may help and is worth taking for joint problems, if you go to Holland and Barret and ask for fish oil high in Omega 3 fatty acids they will have it. The capsules come in differant stregnths and the one I use is 1000mg per capsule and I give 2 a day. Sorry dont know any specialists in the Manchester area but I'm sure if you went on the Royal Vet Collage website they could have a list of specialists available. I haven't  a clue about the operation but I'm sure someone will.

Hi,
The advice about the fish oil is good and certainly won't do any harm. The nearest Veterinary specialist to you will be at Liverpool University. You must go back to your vet and ask them to refer you to the specialist at Liverpool.

You must be referred to an orthopaedic specialist for options and advice. Your vet will be able to refer you.
Kat

so has anyone had any good or bad things to say about the rspca or pdsa because this is my first time ive ever really dealt with them and they seem to think i should get him put to sleep,hes only 9 months old..

Sorry about your GSD.  Unfortunately I don't have any advice to give- I believe the decision is for you to make.  Regarding the hip operation you are talking about though- a few years back (2/3 years ago) my cat was ran over and the hips took the brunt of it all- to cut a long story short- my cat has had the operation your talking about- you're taking the 'ball' out of the ball/socket joint-  scar tissue forms to bond the femur and the socket together.  My cat limped for about five months but now I can honestly say it's perfect- there is no difference what so ever and it never seems to bother him:-)  Unfortunately this is the only case I personally have heard of and so I don't know how a GSD would take to it due to the weight etc- I have a GSD myself so I know they're not light dogs:-)  Surely though if you went down this route you couldn't do both at the same time anyway since there needs to be at leat one for support and if they're as bad as they sound doing one at time- the other hip would have to take the strain off the one which had just had the op and wouldn't be strong enough?  Like I say- this is the only advice I have to offer and we are talking about a GSD here with two dodgy hips not a cat with just the one?  Best of luck regardless though:-)

Stacey x x x

Our buster was diagnosed with the same condition when he was 9mths old. hes now 2 and you would not know he has it. The vet gave him injections called Cartrophen Vet.( the disease modifying anti-osteoarthtic drug) Although this drug is aimed for the older dog it can be given at any age. It was the best thing we did as it helped build the bones etc.. as he was still growing and hes been limp and pain free ever since

well like i said b4 ile do what ever i can to get him sorted, the thing is his left hip his bad on its own its only in the socket about a quarter of the way in and even then it doesent look round its got a squareness to it,then theres the right side,the poor thing aint even got a socket to go into,the rspca said they would do the fho op but when we took it to the pdsa they said they wouldent do the op because of its left hip,the rspca told me its bones had stopped growing at 8 months,then theres other things like how bad is it for the dog when it has its xrays,its had one allready and i am going to take it to a private vet in a couple of days and they might want to give him a x ray,as for the fish oils i was allready giving him the same ones,i got them from h and b a bit ago but i was giving him 4 every few days,oh well at least i was doing sommet nearly right.

Hi Nemesis
Re your comment about RSPCA PDSA. I think you have to remember that they are providing care free, and as such, don't, or possibly can't recommend very high cost treatments. There are other options, such as total hip replacement, but the cost is high (if your dog is a good candidate). Most vets are 'GPs' to an extent, and do some orthopaedic surgery, but other surgery is very highly specialised, which they cannot do. I take it you don't have pet insurance, which is a great shame. It sounds to me like the FHO is the only option open to you in this case. Do a search on hip dysplasia and you will get a great deal of info on what the various treatments involve and recovery prognosis.

I am sorry to hear about your pup, it's so distressing. My last GSD had total hip replacements on both hips.

Kat

Hi Nemesis

It sounds as if by going to different vet's looking for answers you know what you want and are looking for a vet to advise you.  If you are going to a private vet and can get the previous x-rays sent to them it will may your pup having another anaesthic

ive made an appointment to have a consultation with a private vet and they said it would be beneficial for the dog to have an xray done by them?,ive told them ive got a previouse xray from a week ago,ile take my xray when i go tommorrow just in case,well thanks for the advice everyone,ile keep posting to let people know how hes doing,this is a great site with some good people on,thanks again

ps some more input wouldent br to much...:)

Hi Nemesis,

Years ago I owned a GSD.  At six months old the vet I used told me to have her PTS her hips were so bad - that was without an X-ray.  When she was 4 she had the operation you described to cut off the femur head - there was nothing else available at the time.  The surgeon who did the op was a bone specialist.  He told me it was the worst case of hip dysplasia he had ever seen.   Both her hips were bad, but he did only one.  

She never would be an active dog and in her last few years I think she was in some degree of discomfort or pain most of the time, but she was with me until she was nearly 13 years old. 

See the specialist.  If you can afford it or have insurance I would suggest that you go for whatever surgery will give her the best quality of life.

All the best,

Stacey

hi i have private messaged you my e-mail is laurenmariepearson@hotmail.com

well ile see what this vet says tommorrow,ive figured out it will cost £400 for a vet to do it and £700 for a specialist to do it,the op that is ,thanks again

well i took him to the private vet on friday and basically he said the only option is a total hip replacement in about 6 months time,thats if i can get the money together as well,but he also said hes showing signs of muscle deteriation so i was thinking can anyone give me any advise on how to keep or get his muscle stronger because it will help him recover better after his op,would stretching his leg for him help or will that make things worse,any info would be very helpfull for him,thanks

Hi Nemesis

Swimming is best, as it's non-weight bearing, great for building muscle. Should be done in a hydrotherapy pool preferably, as the warm water stimulates the blood flow through the muscles. You can do a search for canine hydrotherapy association that will list facilties in your area. If you're insured, your insurance company should pay for it. What part of the country are you in? The top THO specialist is in Kent (he did my GSD's and it was fantastic)
Kat