Dog has hip dysplasia

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prairiepork

New member
I found out a few weeks ago that my setter has mild hip dysplasia. Total shock and a total bummer. I have her on some adequan, hope it helps. She is 7 1/2 and just an all around fantastic dog, especially on quail. Looking for any advice from people who have experienced this before.
 
Been there! I had a Springer get it when he was 5. It ended his hunting but he still got around good. I put him on Rimadyl (get from your vet) and he did great. He couldn't even climb stairs and after a few days on Rimadyl he was going up & down like normal. We then just gave him a tablet as needed.

I still carry some Rimadyl with me. My 11 year old Brittany gets stiff after hunting a couple hours so I give her one before the hunt and another that evening. Works great for her. I'll even give one to my younger Britt if she is sore after a couple days of hard hunting.

Works so good I'm thinking of taking some myself! :D
 
Rimadyl:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

That is the good stuff! Not cheap but worth it. My other piece of advise. Make sure your dog is spayed or neutered so they don't pass it along, and inform your breeder. that is not acceptable and they need to know it is in their line so they can stop it.
 
Work the dog in shorter sessions. You might not like it but the dog will appreciate the recovery time.
 
I know this post is a month old however want to point out if using Rimadyl there are a few things to watch out for.

First I use it on both my older dogs and it works great. It can change a dogs hydration however, both drinking more and drinking less. The less is always a concern you want to watch for dehydration.

The other issues is if used regularly it can cause liver issues. If using it daily you should be doing blood work during your vet visits. This is why adequan was more than likely prescribed. It has fewer side effects.

I am with AtTheMurph, run the dog shorter sessions. You said it yourself she is an all around fantastic dog. Sounds like she does everything you ask of her, as she gets older you might need to slow her down to keep her comfortable. I will also assume like many sporting dogs she might not show her discomfort until she leaves the field. This being the case you might have to make the call for her and over time you will get to know where her comfort level is.

Keep her comfortable and keep hunting her, know of dogs that that spent a good number of years in the field after such issues.
 
Sorry to hear about you dogs problem.

1st- it is manageable. I found out early one of my springers has it. Adequan is a GREAT medicine. We recently started him on it but I've used it in the past with great results. Its the same building blocks as glucosamine/chondroitin.
Just me but I would never use Rimadyl for the reasons UBD pointed out. Meloxicam is much safer.

We were fortunate to have a canine physical therapist an hour away. They have an underwater treadmill. After 2 months Bodie has put on 2cm of muscle in his bad leg and 4cm on his 'good' one. There are Youtube videos of people making their own water treadmills.

Synflex is a great liquid glucosamine/chondroitin supplement. We use it daily. Hills J/D (joint diet) is the perfect food for this. None of this stuff is cheap but every little bit helps.

Daily low impact exercise is a must and avoid impact activities- jumping in and out of the truck and hunting steep hills.

Good Luck-
 
HD should not be the root cause of your dog being unable to hunt or live a normal life. Especially mild. I know dogs winning trials and even last years national winner had "no" hip, All muscle. A lot of times it is other issues damage to that joint, tendon, or elsewhere etc, that makes you believe it is the problem. Not a dog to be bred, but not the end of the world most times. I would expect your dog to hunt its life breeds average:thumbsup:. They may seem stiffer in old age, but at some point all hunts end for all dogs. I bet you still get those few good years yet. Some joint supplements may help a bit. Synflex, stuf like that.
 
by all means, tell the breeder, he wont want this defect in his lines! treat the dog, overall joint issues, i like Tramadol.
 
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