Jazz has been at the vets all day today having his hips checked and he has hip dysplasia :( .  The vets were very good though and went through everything with us.  Jazz has had very bad couple of weeks bless him skin infection, kennel cough and throat infection.  He seems to be doing ok after today i am just worried about his exercise patterns.  Can anyone help? what do other owners with dogs who have h/d do? .  The vet said little and often which he does have but he also like his mad run around the woods.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Michelle :)

Personally i wouldn't let him run free untill the vets gives permission. Any undue stress on the joints will only cause pain in the long run. I have recently heard that controlled swimming (not in lake lol) can have benifits as it is not load bearing.
type swimming for dogs in google and go from there.

Hi Michelle

How did they come to the diagnosis and how old is Jazz ?

Has he been given any supplements or medication and what are his symptoms if he shows any at all ?

Lucy

Hi Lucy

We took it upon ourselves to get Jazz checked as when he runs sometimes he bunnyhops (sorry best way to describe it)lol our other reasons for this were that he is sometimes quite stiff after a long run and he often stands in front of you with his face away from you wanting his back legs to be rubbed (whether thats due to pain or just because he likes it) we don't know.  The vet has prescribed Metacam oral suspension which he has to have every day for two weeks and then we are to use it when required, the vet wants to check him again in a month.  Sorry to go on.

Michelle :)

Michelle

I will try and Pm you later and give you some pointers as MB my 18 month Lab has HD and have so far seen a great improvement with her through things we have done :)

If you don't hear from me PM me and that will remind me :)

Lucy
xx

Hi! my 15month collie has bad hips, he goes swimming at a pool once a week. exercise wise initially he rested for two weeks to decrease inflammation, then started steady lead work,5mins, 10 mins building up. that was at 8months. the swimming has really helped to hold his hips securley in his sockets & is totally sound now & on normal exercise,including beach & wood walks. what you are looking to do is to build up muscle slowly without streessing the joint anymore! its really not as bad as it seems at the moment! there is hope!!!

Hi Jazzywoo

My 20 month old GSD Jake has also just been diagnosed with H/D  my vet recommended putting him on Glucosamine 750mg 1 a day, you can use human sort and this website is very good www.goldshield.co.uk you can get 365 750mg caps for 29.99 which is much cheaper than shops.  He is also on extra vitamin C and omega fish oils.  My vet also told me to let him pull when out on the lead to make him use his back end to build up muscle mass, and he has also referred him for hydrotherapy again to increase his muscle mass in his hind quarters.

I do let Jake have his runs off the lead, as my vet said as he had always done this, to carry on unless of course he has a problem, but although Jake's right hip is poor, and his left hip is very bad he has no lameness yet, (touch wood).

Besides the hydrotherapy and the pill supplements, you can also try TTouch - it's just something u can easily learn to do yourself. Read about it on  www.tellingtontouch.com  and http://www.ttouchsa.co.za. Personally, I've had huge success with it!!