Mild HD can usually be managed by keeping the dog thin, keeping muscles in shape, feeding helpers like fish oil/e and chrondroitin sulfate/glucosamine, avoiding things which aggravate the joint -- jumping thru snow is a tough one for many, for example.
Swimming is good.

Occasional pain killers, NSAIDS, can help to get thru rough periods. I think they are often at their worst right at the age they are beginning to reach maturity --- then again at old age.

Ok, bare with me, because I am not familiar with medical terms.

He said the ex-rays don't look that bad. He explained that the ball of the joint is more square instead of round. But, he said that it is 50% in the socket. (I hope I'm explaining this properly.)He referred to it as mild hip dysplasia.

He said surgery was not needed. He wants a 10 lb. weight loss, rimadyl everyday for the first week and then as needed. He wants him on Omega-3 and joint supplements, and also to let him exercise at his own pace. As Betty said, he feels that getting his weight down and giving him supplements is all that's needed at this time. We go to weigh in in a month.

I'm going to be looking at different food to get the least calories and most volume...doc says between 400-500 calories a day. He's already getting the fish oil, but I need to get glucosamine supplements tomorrow.

He's out cold beside me as I type.

Do you have any suggestions? Thanks.

You can also continue with the same food, but just reduce the amount of it. Than, replace the missing volume with something like green beans, which many dogs like but have very few calories. The hardest part of putting a dog on a diet will be keeping him from feeling deprived (or hungry)

My sense of many of the so-called "diet foods" (kibbles) end up doing the same trick--except they are filling up the food with much lower quality fiber/filler than green beans.

The so-called diet foods for dogs, as Tracy said, are not high quality food. I include the ones on display in the vet's waiting room. I strongly recommend high-quality food, such as what you are feeding, reduced by 15-20%. I also think you might want to consider that the hot dog rewards can be replaced by tiny bits of skinless cooked poultry.... M&M or pencil-eraser size.

What is the measure of the squirt of fish oil you are giving? (And of course you give E with it, to protect the PUFAs in the oil supplement.)

Did you get a full discussion of what to watch for (side effects) with a dog starting an NSAID?

Did the vet recommend a certain GAG supplement? Which one(s)?


I know it sounds like a mountain of questions, but you'll get good advice here.

What about Vit C? I have read some great things about it reducing pain with joint issues. Either way, it couldn't hurt, could it? (Ester-C is supposed to be the best, right?)

Wishing you and Ollie all the best.

I apologize for not responding to all your posts with questions. I thought I did but was on my phone and I guess it didn't go through. Weekends are so busy for me, I rarely touch a computer.

I wasn't planning on buying a diet food, but rather look at the calories of the premium foods and get the one that offered the most volume for the least amount of calories. I did add green beans to his food over the weekend, which he loved. The fish oil that I'm using, one squirt ended up being about a teaspoon, which I think is not enough. I ordered Grizzly salmon oil and the synflex from Leerburg Friday night, because it was a much greater value and also because it had such a great description. I hope I get it today or tomorrow.

"Did you get a full discussion of what to watch for (side effects) with a dog starting an NSAID?

Did the vet recommend a certain GAG supplement? Which one(s)?"

He did not mention side effects to watch for using the NSAID. Is this something that would show up if searched for or googled? I'll have to look at that.

The supplement that he recommended was what was sold in their office, which was VERY pricey. I opted to research more first, although if it would be best the price wouldn't matter.

Over the weekend, I fed him 1/2 cup, twice a day with green beans and fish oil. That with what I've ordered from Leerburg will be my plan. Vit C? Do I need to add that or anything else to the fish oil and synflex?

He was feeling a little spoiled after going to work with me most of the week last week. Everytime I get my keys, he goes to the door and sits. I felt bad leaving him this morning, but have meetings.

I wasn't planning on buying a diet food, but rather look at the calories of the premium foods and get the one that offered the most volume for the least amount of calories. I did add green beans to his food over the weekend, which he loved. The fish oil that I'm using, one squirt ended up being about a teaspoon, which I think is not enough. I ordered Grizzly salmon oil and the synflex from Leerburg Friday night, because it was a much greater value and also because it had such a great description. I hope I get it today or tomorrow.

The Synflex liquid you ordered actually ended up in the top two or three of the choices I listed from that price range (for value, strength, etc.) of that type of glucosamine supplement after researching them very heavily in (I think) 2009. I'll see if I can find that thread after I get some work done.

(Of course there are injectables to consider down the road if necessary, such as Adequan Canine in the U.S. and Cartrophen Vet {unrelated to carprofen} in Canada.)


"Did you get a full discussion of what to watch for (side effects) with a dog starting an NSAID?

He did not mention side effects to watch for using the NSAID. Is this something that would show up if searched for or googled? I'll have to look at that.

The FDA says: "A Client Information Sheet should always be given to the client with each NSAID prescription. Pet owners should read this information carefully."

First, a disclaimer: I'm not a health professional. So the following is all JMO:

I am once again taken aback at this lack of up-front info. Sadly, it's a commonly skipped but important step. (BTW, I have one on an NSAID now and I have had several on NSAIDs in the past.)

All NSAIDs for dogs have serious (including deadly) potential side effects. In addition, if you were starting a lengthy protocol, the safest first step is blood work (which may well have been done and not discussed here) for baseline numbers against which regular repeated blood work is compared during the protocol.

ALL NSAIDs (including aspirin) present serious potential danger to dogs.

Rimadyl (carprofen) is not one of the two with the best safety records, but it's probably far more important to be aware of the signs of side effects and to regularly redo blood work (my senior on a long-term NSAID has the blood work repeated twice a year; we did it every three months the first year) than to rely on the slightly better numbers of the two with somewhat better stats and not to do the important checks. (Those two are deracoxib, or Deremax, and meloxicam, or Metacam.) In addition, some dogs are benefited more by one or another, and for many dogs, it's Rimadyl. Also, it's less expensive.

I choose not to use it with my senior with HD and OA, but he benefits greatly from Deremax and I have no need to use Rimadyl. I would use it (carefully, but that goes for all NSAIDs) if he needed it.

There are very detailed discussions of all the NSAIDs here, so I won't reinvent the wheel in this thread. Suffice to say that NSAIDs can be magic bullets, that millions of dogs remain alive with quality of life because of them, and that (IMO) we need to be as educated as we can be about how to use them most responsibly and safely.

Besides the pre-protocol blood work, you should stop giving an NSAID and call the vet if you see vomiting, diarrhea, inappetence, bloody stool, or lethargy.



Over the weekend, I fed him 1/2 cup, twice a day with green beans and fish oil. That with what I've ordered from Leerburg will be my plan.

Sounds good (if that represents a 15 or 20% reduction in the food and the beans are unsalted).

The Grizzly has good dosage info, as I recall. A teaspoon (you mentioned) is the dose I would use for a healthy 45- to 50-pound dog. I use a gram per ten pounds of dog, and a teaspoon is about 4.75 grams. (I use more for my two with OA.) Don't forget the Vitamin E to protect the oil PUFAs. I use 200 IU/day of d-alpha with mixed tocopherols (not dl-alpha) for the under-50-pound dogs and 400 IU for the 63-pound dog.

All JMO!

Here's the FDA NSAID product safety sheet:

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm055434.htm

Ok, I'll use the search engine for more info on the side effects of NSAIDS. I can call the vet and request blood work. It's unsettling that it can be that serious and he didn't mention it.

I'm kind of hoping that with some weight loss and the added supplements that, at least for now, I wont need to use them regularly.

Vit E, got it.

THat's a lot of great info. Thank you so much!

I am glad you got a diagnose on Ollie. I was just wondering if you did the thyroid test and if you got any results on the thyroid panel.