Hip Dysplasia Experiences
Hi All,
We just found out that our 5 year-old corgi has hip dysplasia. She has it in both hips (worse in one than the other). She also has arthritis in her spine. We feel terrible since a lot of this (according to our vet) was brought on because she is overweight. We were told, though, that she was most likely born with the hip dysplasia. She is now on a strict diet and she will soon begin water therapy. She's also on Rimadyl for the pain. I'm just wondering if anyone else here has had experience with this? Is it manageable? It's all very depressing and I feel so guilty because we didn't monitor her weight as well as we should have. We've always known that she needed to lose a few pounds, but, I never thought this would happen. She goes to the vet on a regular basis and they've always mentioned that she could lose weight, but, they've never made it seem so dire. When viewing the X-Rays, they were shocked at how overweight she is. She's just about 34 pounds.
We purchased her from a very reputable breeder, so, this is sort of surprising. I don't, however, blame the breeder at all since we should not have been taken in by our corgi's adorable brown eyes and "please give me a treat" looks. Instead we should have been monitoring her weight and had her on a diet. I am curious, though, if anyone knows whether hip dysplasia is really genetic? I'm confused as on one hand the vet said she was born with this and on the other hand she said her weight caused it. I guess she was born with it (or predisposed to it) and the weight exacberated the condition?
Any advice would be great. Thanks for listening.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dan Stone on
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Thank you everyone for the replies! They are very helpful. Regarding PennHip..can we have our current x-rays sent and examined by them, or, would we need to do a new set of tests? What prompted us to take her to the vet was the fact that she was having problems squatting to have a bowel movement. She would back up, shift a bit, sit down, stare at us, and then give up completely. At first we thought she was constipated. When she did actually have a bowel movement she would whimper the whole time. It was quite unnerving. The vet thought it was her anal glands (since they were enlarged), and, since she whined horribly as the vet went in and "expressed" them, I was hoping that was the problem. Something gnawed at me, though, and I just kind of knew it would be more serious. The way she was not able to position herself to squat concerned me. At our prompting, the vet agreed to take x-rays and here we are. I did not know that corgi hips look dysplastic. Perhaps something else is going on. Does the above sound like hip dysplasia to those of you who are familiar with it? Thank you again for taking time to reply to this thread.
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Dan, no you cannot send it straight to PennHIP, only certified / trainee can do that, use the previous link to locate a vet in your are and call him for details.
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Permalink Reply by Mike, Susan, Wally,Oliver & Eva! on
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I'm so sorry to hear about your baby! Our Oliver has had hip dysplasia every since he was a puppy, according to our vet. We adopted him 2 1/2yrs ago and noticed he was having some stiffness in his hind legs so he was taken to the vet and xrays showed he had a pretty advanced case of HD. He has an inch wide gap between his joint and socket that has developed calcinosis. We were told he had it since he was a puppy and it most likely went undiagnosed. Oliver looks like a very husky boy due to his large chest (he's 30lbs). Our vet said he's most likely been compensating for so long (he's about 9 1/2 now?) by putting most of his weight onto his front quarters, causing susceptibility to elbow dysplasia. He was immediately started on Tramadol, Rimadyl, Glucosamine, and Chondroitin, which has helped tremendously. Initially the prognosis was a possible total hip replacement, but after our last visit our vet said his gait looked a lot better so surgery may not be necessary anymore. We've noticed his mobility has improved drastically! You MUST be diligent about your care regimen and avoid unnecessary jumping or stairs. Oliver now has a ramp to access our bed and he's carried down the stairs in our apartment. Also recommended is to reduce the duration of walks and instead take her on multiple short walks. Another suggestion that may help if you notice pain (especially during the cold months) is apply a heat pad (we use thermacare) onto the hips or give her a soak in the tub with epsom salt. Goodluck with everything and I hope your baby is feeling better or does soon!!
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Permalink Reply by Roger/Laurie on
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Regarding the weight loss....Our Tenby lost 7 pounds last year. He complained every day and tried calling the Human Society. But he is so much happier and we can tell he feels better. You can do it just don't fall for the sad eyes and whines.
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Permalink Reply by Snickmom on
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Vegetables! They think they are getting a treat. Carrots, green beans, YUM.
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Throneberry on
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Go to the animal dermatology laboratory sight... They have these editable fatty acid nuggets that have zinc and other amazing things for the joints and bones which helps a lot with arthritis and its not expensive. And there amazing. :)
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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bauer on
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Elizabeth, do you have a website for this? I couldn't find anything on google but am interested always in anything natural. My Jack has an ACL injury I am working with and I know arthritis will be down the road in that knee....right now we are doing Rimadyl, turmeric, gluco, massge and keeping him from jumping or using stairs...I would def be interested in these "nuggets" :)
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It's is www.adlvet.com. I have never ordered from there site it says to call and place an order. I get them from my vet but he charges twice what the website charges. There absolutely amazing. Sammie tore her acl and we can't get surgery till she is done growing an after two weeks of giving these to her she stopped limping. But if you I to there products on the web page its under adl fatty acid nuggets. Let me know if you figure out some way to buy them on there! Very interested. There cheap and the biggest container is 5 pounds and its only $28
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Okay so it says call to place an order if you are not a vet. So you just have to call the number on the page.
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Permalink Reply by Cathie on
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I thought it was interesting to see what these nuggets have in them (from adlvet.com):
Fatty Acid Nuggets - source of concentrated fatty acids. Each 3 nuggets contain: Alpha-linolenic Acid (ALA, Omega 3) 10mg from flax seed oil. Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA, Omega 3) 85mg, source marine lipids concentrated from fish oil. Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA, Omega 3) 55mg, source marine lipids concentrated from fish oil. Gamma-linolenic Acid (GLA, Omega 6) 23mg, evening primrose oil, borage oil. Linoleic Acid (Omega 6) 350mg, source sunflower oil, soy oil, safflower oil. Biotin 700 / Vitamin E (dl-alpha Tocopheryl Acetate) 3 IU. Vitamin A 400 IU. Vitamin D3 40 IU. Zinc 5mg. Dosage: Give three to five nuggets per 10 pounds body weight once or twice daily. Give as a snack treat or add to food.
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There amazing my vet has used them his hole employment of being a vet and he says he has never needed to find something better. There good for dog whether they have an injury or not. :) x
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I just emailed my vet with a the list of ingreds, I am sure she will think they sound wonderful unless she knows of something else like it. I did google it and found www.vetamerica.com has them too (only place I could find) and they ship right away, $34.99 for the big bucket with $5.95 shipping. I didn't call the mfg yet cause I like to check around first...I did check Amazon, they had nothing....I also asked my vet about the cold laser therapy, if that would help an acl injury (and maybe hip dys too!)...It has worked wonders on many things and I think this might also be an option for all our Corgis joint/muscle/tendon problems!!! YAY! Corgi-on!
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