About Sandy

[gjones2]

By the way, does anyone else have a dog with severe hip dysplasia? That is what Sandy has (see pic I posted earlier) and unfortunately we have tried every kind of medicine out there (not surgery b/c the vet thinks he wouldn't survive the recovery-he is about 8 or 9 years old) but he is still in pain a lot of the time. He is in so much pain he barks a lot from it. The vet says the meds he is on now are a "last resort" and I'm guessing he will be put down soon. However, he still likes to roll around and play with people and seems to still be getting some joy out of life......What does everyone think? Should my mom just put him down now and avoid more suffering? It is so hard for her to deal with this.

[Guest Anonymous]

I don't know of any other help you can give him but I'm sure someone here can.

As for when to put him to sleep. He will tell you. As for what to look for my general rule is if there is still a QUALITY of life then let him keep going. If he can't get up because of the pain or you have to carry him outside then there I would have to say it is time.

Good luck to him.

[xavierandrea]

Free has it. She will be 3 in December. She was diagonised when she was 1. She has moderate HD.

[StarFox]

Zebra has HD, he has server in one hip, moderate in the other. He has had one surgery and it has worked wonders. I think if the vet said that the surgerys are out of the question and he is not responding to the medication it's probably time to let the little guy go. If he is barking from pain and not happy then that realy isn't a great life for him.

Oh almost forgot, what kind of dog is he? And have you only seen your regular vet for his HD? Have you seen a specalist or surgon?

[gjones2]

Thanks for the reply, Starfox. He is a sheltie, and actually I'm not sure if my parents have taken him to a specialist....I think just their regular vet. Right now he is on very high doses of Tramadol and sleeps most of the time but still likes to roll over on his back and play or have his belly rubbed. Thankfully he's not in pain anymore b/c of this new medicine. It's inevitable though....he has to be put down very soon. :cry: Still, he has led a fairly long and happy life. Thanks for your suggestions.

[Horsefeathers!]

My Tucker Lab had some pretty severe HD, but he had FHO surgery a couple of years which seemed to help a good bit. He's still kind of gimpy sometimes and does take the occasional pain pill, but so far, so good. He's about 7 years old. We give him 1500 mg of glucosamine, 1200 mg of chondroitin and 1000 mg of msm daily as well as 1000 mg of vit c (500 mg morning and 500 mg night).

One of my Lhasas (Devin) also has very severe HD in both hips (has virtually no hip sockets). He's only 1 1/2 year old and has had no surgeries. Frequent Adequan injections seem to help him as well as the supplements mentioned above. I can tell when it's time for an Adequan injection because his movement becomes really sloppy and his legs just go out from under him as if someone else is controlling them. We don't know if he will eventually have surgery, or if it would help, but for now, we have been able to manage it.

I don't know if you've tried any of these supplements, but they're things that, if they don't help, they really can't hurt. Definitely worth trying if you haven't already.

Something else to consider and this is just my humble opinion...

8-9 years old isn't necessarily ancient for a Sheltie. Is he otherwise healthy? I think before making such an important and final decision, I'd get a second opinion on the surgery. I don't know if there are other reasons why that vet thinks Sandy wouldn't make it through surgery, or if it's that maybe Sandy isn't a good candidate for sugery because of the type of HD, but it's kind of hard for me to believe that that age alone would be the sole reason to think he wouldn't survive the recovery. Again, all I know is what I read here, so I'm just offering my opinion based on that.

[Cairn6]

Yes I also wonder why the vet thinks he won't make it through the surgery. Did he do a blood count and chemisty profile? If so maybe there is something in the blood work to make him think your dog can't make it through the anesthesia? Other then that I can't see why he wouldn't make it through.

[gjones2]

Hi again,
I am encouraging my mom to get on the site and read your responses because she is the one who knows everything about what meds Sandy's been on, what the vet has told her, etc. However, I do know that the vet said Sandy would most likely have a hard time with the recovery after the surgery-the physical therapy. He isn't completely healthy-he has had a thyroid condition for many years, and I think he also has arthritis. He is very overweight. Oh, also I was wrong he is really more like 10 or 11 b/c we got him when I was around 10 and now I am 21! (oops). Anyway, I am definitely going to see what she thinks about some of the things you've said. We REALLY don't want to put him down but he is always either in pain and barking or sleeping from the meds. Thanks for all of your advice!

[StarFox]

Hmm the more I think about it the more I think your mom should get a second opinion. There are great surgons all over the country that will give you a consltations and tell you exactly how your dog is doing. I don't know the vet that your dogs goes to but not every vet is knoledgable in HD. My vet diagnosed HD but said it was only in one hip. But our surgon said that the angel of the x-rays were off a bit and my dog actually had HD in both hips and elbows.

Also if the dog is very overweight I would put him on a diet imedeatly if he isn't on one already, I wouldn't recoment exersize since he is in pain but being over weight can make HD so much worse then it realy is and can/will put allot of unnecessary pressure on the hips.

One last think I'm not sure what kind of Physical therepy your vet was talking about but my dog didn't need any after the surgery. He actually had to be crated for an entire month and the only time he could come out was to go the bathroom. He spent 24/7 in a crate. It's not an easy thing to watch but it was necessary.

Watever choice your mom makes I wish her and you the best of luck. HD is not an easy thing to deal with so my thoughts are with you all.

[dogsgalore]

Our dog, Beta, has mild HD. She was diagnosed when she was three. She used to do bad in the winter to the point where she couldn't scratch herself and we were considering putting her down. We changed her dog food to high quality dog food with glucosamine and chondroitin and she totally changed, up and running, scratching, a whole new dog! Her's is only mild though. What are your parents feeding him, Beta was getting very low quality food before that so we noticed a huge difference. Dogs with HD that are overweight put alot of strain on their hips, losing some weight would help as well. :wink:

[gjones2]

Thanks so much for your replies and suggestions everyone. In response to the last post, the disease has progressed way too far for diet to work. (He also can't lose much weight b/c of his thyroid) He has now started barking constantly throughout the night. Just when my mom decides to put him down though, he will have a relatively good day. The nights are always horrible for him though. My mom says she is trying morphine (the vet suggested this as a last resort, no REALLY a last resort this time!) and if nothing improves she is having him put down. My guess is that the morphine will just make him sleep all of the time, and it won't be worth it for him.