I have a one year old mastiff. He has a high prey drive, and was chasing some of our livestock a few months ago, and took a header over the back of a miniature donkey. As a result, he developed a slight limp in the right hind leg, and a reluctance to put all his weight on it. I began to limit his activity and the limp got better, but then came back.

I took him to the vet last week. The vet felt the legs, did an Ortolani test, a cranial drawer test, and said everything felt fine. I asked her to go ahead and do hip x-rays. She was able to do the x-rays without sedation.

After reading Mr. Frawley’s article on hip x-rays, it’s obvious that I should have had him sedated in order to get a good x-ray. He’s out of position, and the right leg, which is the sore leg, is jutted out to the side. The vet said the x-ray showed laxity in his right hip, but she could not get it straight because he was resistant. She also said his sockets are shallow, which looking at the x-ray, I definitely agree with. I would say that in the left hip half the femur is in the socket instead of two thirds, the right hip is impossible to say due to the poor positioning, but I assume if it was not for the injury it would show the same. The knees and elbows were also x-rayed, and looked great. The vet put him on 2 weeks of Deremex.

He has always been raw fed, primarily whole chickens, some fish and beef, with some vegetables, though he really hates vegetables. I’ve started him on a Glucosomine/ Chondroitin supplement, Omega 3 fish oil, as well as mega doses of Ester C, but it's only been two weeks, so I doubt that they have kicked in yet.

I’m confident that the limp is due to an injury, which will get better. But I can see how heavy activity could eventually cause dysplasia due to the shallow sockets. My questions:

The giant breed dogs grow slowly, and take up to 2 – 3 years to be fully grown in height and width. My dog is lean and weighs 95 lbs. He’ll probably put on another 30 to 40 lbs. Will the pelvis continue to grow giving the acetebelum more coverage of the femoral head? Or, is what’s there now likely to be it?

Is there any downside to weekly Adequan injections for a couple of months to see if the hip injury can be improved? I don’t intend on breeding him or working him too hard, but he's my buddy, and I want him to feel as good as possible.

Thanks,
Brian

Brian,

Are you basically asking whether Adequan is useful for a joint injury? I think so, but that's only a layman's impression based on its mechanism for helping canine OA patients. http://www.caberfeidh.com/Adequan.htm

Here's an article including "injury" in the list of indications for its use:
http://www.ehow.com/about_5209592_adequan-use-dogs.html


The question about the the pelvis continuing to grow giving the acetabulum more coverage is interesting. I don't know/read much about CHD beyond general basics. Others here know much more, and might see the thread. But I do know enough to recommend that you consider a referral to an ortho vet with a lot of CHD radiograph experience.

I also know enough to ask: How much fish oil? (Really it's "how much EPA and DHA," but we can start with "how much fish oil.") And how much Vitamin E with it (in the form of at least d-alpha, and preferably d-alpha with mixed tocopherols) given with the fish oil?

Hey, there's a retired vet here, too. Maybe I can lure her over here with "after a year of age, does the pelvis continuing to grow giving the acetabulum more coverage."

I don't know the answer to that question.
Bones do remodel from early maturity to late maturity. Also soft tissue structures will calcify, become visible on xray and could change the radiographic appearance of the joint. E.G. eating a young fried chicken you notice that the ends of the bones are soft, you can bite into them easily--- a young dog's bones are soft too, and soft can be invisible on Xray--can make the ends of 2 bones look far apart,when actually they are close together, but both ends are partially invisible.

Connie - He's on the following daily:

4,000 mg fish oil from anchovy, mackerel and sardine (It's from CVS and contains both EPA and DHA, but It doesn't say in what ratios)
Approx 500 IU of Vitamin E (Contained in the Glucosamine supplement)
4,500 mg Ester-C
5,000 mg Glucosamine
2,000 mg Chondroitin

The Glucosamine and Chondroitin amounts that I'm giving are about three times the recommended maintenance dosages for his weight.

Should get some human grade Vitamin E that specifically states D-alpha???

I've got an appointment in the morning to start him on Adequan injections. The vet will do the first one, and then I'll do subsequent injections myself. Are they one per week for eight weeks, or two per week for four weeks? My vet said one per week for eight weeks, then going to monthly.

Betty - I have done allot of research lately, and I can't find any studies that specifically examine pelvic growth and its relationship to the femur. It seems logical though that ossification of the bone would continue as the dog reaches maturity, and would then appear to have more acetebulum coverage.

Still researching....

 Quote: Brian Pelfrey

Connie - He's on the following daily:

4,000 mg fish oil from anchovy, mackerel and sardine (It's from CVS and contains both EPA and DHA, but It doesn't say in what ratios)
Approx 500 IU of Vitamin E (Contained in the Glucosamine supplement)

How much does he weigh? (4 grams is about a 40-pound-dog fish oil dosage. )

Can you link us to the glucosamine supplement? Then we can look at the Vitamin E.

Can you link us to the fish oil, too?

He weighs 95 - 100 lbs. He just turned one five days ago.

Glucosamine Supplement:
http://www.petco.com/product/111154/NaturVet-Joint-Health-Time-Release-Level-3-Supreme-Hip-and-Joint-Supplement-for-Dogs.aspx

Fish Oil:
http://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/Supplements/Odorless-Fish-Oil-1000-mg-Dietary-Supplement-Softgels/ID=prod1341752-product?V=G&ec=frgl_&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku1341742

Brian, if you think of it, would you bump this in the morning? (Or anyone?)

I wrote myself a Postit, but my desk (and computer edges) already looks like a bad yellow tile job ..... LOL

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Brian, if you think of it, would you bump this in the morning? (Or anyone?)

I wrote myself a Postit, but my desk (and computer edges) already looks like a bad yellow tile job ..... LOL

Bump for Connie.

Back later (bumping again)