Hip Displaysia

[Guest Anonymous]

My 7-year-old boxer, Molly, has had hip displaysia her whole life. Since we got her as a rescue case (someone found her on the side of the road in a blizzard) before she was 1 year old, we do not know if she was born with the problem or if she might have gotten hit by a car and was permanently injured. Anyway, now that she is getting older, her hips are much more fragile, and she is now having trouble jumping up into the van. She is having no problems with stairs, but I do not want her to ever be in any pain. Does anyone know if there is any way to help her so that her hips don't hurt her as much or is there a surgery or procedure to correct this problem? Thanks so much, I love my boxer so much, and I can't stand her to be in pain.

-Keith

[Guest Anonymous]

I don't know if this is a treatment or if it will help, but look into glucosemine supplements.

[Guest Anonymous]

I too have a dog with hip dsyplasia, a 6 year old Labrador Retriever mix named Natala.
I adopted her from the MSPCA almost 2 years ago. When I first brought her home I noticed that she walked up the stairs strangely but figured she felt insecure on them. I also noticed how skinny her back end looked to her full muscular front end but naively I thought she needed to gain some weight.
I'm not sure when I actually put two and two together to figure that there might be something medical going on with her. Once the doctor exsamined her and felt her hips were loose that's when I started to search for remedies.
I've had her on glucosamine and condrotin supplements for a while now and found that different ones helped her better than others. I also get Rimadyl from her doctor and give it too her before strenuous exercise. You have to be careful with Rimadyl though because giving it too often can effect the kidneys.
Keeping her weight down also helps alot and I keep her lightly active, about one 20 minute walk a day keeps her satisfied without making her sore. Swimming is also a great activity for dsyplastic dogs. When she does feel sore and limps I use a few massage techniques to sooth the pain a bit and they seem to help. I also invested in an orthopedic bed which helps her alot when she wakes up in the morning.
I keep her jumping very minimum. Sometimes she gets excited and jumps around a bit but that's about it. She knows now that she has to wait for me to help her in the car so she doesn't have to jump. I also keep doggy buffered asprin on hand for her bad days.
There's also dog food that contains glucosamine and a wide varity of treats as well.
As far as surgery goes that's something you'd have to talk with your vet about and you'll probably need to have her x-rayed before they can tell you anything.
With the rise in cases of hip dsyplasia there's an increase of options for your dog to keep her comfortable.

[Shannon_C]

Im sorry to hear about both of your dogs with bad hips. I have a breed that is prone to this condition as well. Many breeds have Hip Dyslasia, this can depend on how they have been bought up from puppyhood to adult mainy, or whether it could be genetic. I would say a lot of the dogs in rescues are not born with this problem and that people who buy these dogs do not know much about there health, so therefore the pup is allowed to exercise until its exhausted, at the same time damaging there weak bones, which at 8 weeks old up to 12 months old, they are still soft and when a dog becomes lame, there hips feel tender and the dog may yelp, which in this case the owner should seek advice...but sometimes when this happens after the vet tells them its HD and what the cost will be, instead of getting there pet done the poor dog is sent straight to the rescue.

There are many ramps for dogs who have bad hips..you can find them on the web. They are easy for pets to walk up instead of steps!
You could try Google Searching for (vehicle ramps for dogs). Your vet would be your best bet for pain relief for pet.

GOOD LUCK!

Shannon
Bullmastiff Owner, Researcher/Adviser of the Breed. Lover of all Animals!