I've just recieved the worst news ever from my vet, my dog has dyplasia in his right hip.

in his words 'mild but will get progessively worse'..

he pointed out the damage to the femoral head on the x-ray,very minimal but still a huge concern to me.

i initially thought he had pano,because he was limping from leg to leg.

he advised a joint supplement(glucosamine and chondroitin)..a product called mobiflex and a high quality kibble(his words)..royal canine(breed specific)

i've been feeding raw now for the past 3 mntns and he was heavily opposed to the idea.

i know i should be keeping his weight down,and exercise him carefully and give him the supplement,but what about the food?

it is my understanding that raw is the real thing and not the 'who knows what in a bag'

what concerns me is that vets are people we take our animals to when they get sick,we trust them then...so its all a bit confusing to me

Yusuf, I'm really sorry to hear that!

Regular low-impact exercise is great, as it keeps the synovial fluid moving and the muscles and supporting structure strong and sound. Do you have access to a place to swim with him?

Keeping the weight down is very important.

Additional supplements I would consider include ester-C and MSM (you should be able to get a glucosamine and chondroitin supplement with MSM) - not sure what's in the mobiflex though.

With respect to diet, my dog Teagan has hip dysplasia, a bone chip in her left hip, and arthritis in both her back knees (including an untreated cruciate tear from before I got her). She's quite mobile and fine, I supplement and I do give her pain killers as well. She is fed raw and I've had no problems, and my vet is fine with it. Hope that helps some, but I wouldn't be worried about feeding a raw diet.

we have a pool and kovu loves swimming...btw does it get worse/or rather can it get better.

are there days when its bad

does the supplement repair damage or just suport the joints

Yusuf, sorry about the news.

Keep in mind that vets are not nutritionists and when they go through school the kibble companies use the students as marketing fodder. So, when the vet comes out of school they think that what ever bands they were exposed to are the correct foods with the correct formulations to feed.

Given all the information one can find on the raw diet it's hard to argue a legitimate case against it - provided one is doing it properly.

Teagan is better now than she was when she was diagnosed (a year and a half ago, give or take). She was diagnosed shortly after I adopted her, and she's since lost 17lbs, is on supplements, and pain meds.

I'd actually built her up (very slowly) to running over 10k, and she loved it, but with the arthritis dx we've backed off of that. We still do lots of walks, and hikes, and I do short runs (under 3.5k) with her but instead of letting her chose our pace I deliberately slow her down. We also do fun 'agility' with found stuff (very low jumps, easy climbs, etc) - it's done to her 'pace' but she still gets to do it.

There are days when it's bad, but overall, she's good, and way better than before. I'm sure it'll be similar for Kovu, but you'll learn to watch (sounds like you already have) and you can be responsive to those days - take it easier, etc.

I guess I'm just trying to say that there is still lots Kovu can do.

One thought for the swimming - watch Kovu. If you see rolling, particularly in the back end, that's a sign of weakness. What I was taught to do with Teagan was (you have to be in with them) grab her by either side of the hips, and either pull backwards or hold her stationary. Teagan was in the habit of swimming using her front legs only, and by pulling back or holding her stationary it forced her to work her back legs as well. (Obviously you want to watch for them becoming tired in water).

 Quote: YUSUF SOLOMONS

btw does it get worse/or rather can it get better.

are there days when its bad

Yes, you can significantly slow down or even stop the progression...especially since your dog has a mild case in one hip. The only way to completely get rid of it is a total hip replacement.

Get your dog on Adequan or Cartrophen Vet injections:

http://www.adequancanine.us/index2.shtml
http://www.ingleburnvet.com.au/cartrophen.htm

Adequan is amazing stuff and I credit it with much of the improvement I've seen in my dog. Cartrophen Vet is not yet available in the U.S. but I've heard equally good things about it. Mike Schoonbrood used it so you might want to send him a PM and ask his thoughts about it.

Swimming is excellent exercise. Rehabs use a flotation vest in part, I think, so the dog will use both front and back legs during swimming. You might want to invest in one of those.

Exercising your dog up-hill is also extremely beneficial since it works the hip muscles, strengthening them, so that they support the joints. Your goal is muscular hips. With any exercise, start slow and gradually increase the duration of the workout. I threw a ball up a gentle incline for only a few minutes in the beginning and, over the course of months, worked up to 45 minute sessions. If you do too much, too fast, you'll see it in your dog.

My dog has mild/moderate HD in both hips and while he has stiff days, he hasn't limped in over 2 years. My former boss had a 14 year old dog with mild HD in one hip and that dog never limped or seemed to have a problem. This dog swam regularly for his entire life.

It's heartbreaking to hear this kind of news but, IME, there is a lot you can do to help your dog and see significant improvement.

Thanks for the advice Jennifer,just came back from a walk, he still is happy to hear his leash come out and that makes me happy and sad all at once.

i've did some reading on mobiflex and it has all the right stuff in it...so i'll see how it goes...

btw, his dad standing in my sig. pic has perfect hips and he is 6yrs old.

Yusuf,

Sorry to hear about your dog-it's very heartbreaking to hear I know. Major my 8 year old GSD was diagnosed when he was almost 2 with HD in both hips with his left being worse. We did a total hip replacment on his left and have just been treating the right hip which is pretty bad and has a bone chip. He was on Rimadyl for a several years but after doing alot more research when I found Leerburg I quit giving them to him because they can be very harmful in the long run. I have just been feeding raw, giving salmon oil/vit e, ester c, synflex, yucca root supplements and hes doing pretty good. He does have days recently that I can tell its getting alittle sore so I was going to look into the adequin shots that someone else mentioned because I dont want to go back to rimadyl. and like everyone else said, swimming, walking are all good exercises for him, keep those leg muscles working Good Luck it'll be fine, alot of dogs have HD and live happy lives

Also, you cant reverse HD but you can treat it and definitely slow down the progression, just gotta find out what works best for him

Yusuf, I am sorry to hear this news. But I just wanted to bring to your attention the lecture series that Cindy just set up.
It is about Holistic Canine Healthcare, and it will start in May.
Cindy just posted it here on the Health issues thread.
It may be something you want to consider registering for and watching from your home computer.
It will have three days(a week a part) of all kinds of helpful
information that could be very useful to you during this time that you are trying to find answers for how to help your dog with this condition.
I believe that there are many things that you can do that will be tremendously helpful and very worth learning.
It is just my honest opinion, but please at least read the thread and see of it is something you want to do.
Here you go, check this out:
http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/238301#Post238301

Kind regards,
Joyce

Thanks Joyce, it sounds very interesting.

Does anyone know the pain med. PREVICOX, just wanted to know if their are any bad side effects.

I have to give him 1 a day for 3 days then as pain occurs.