# Koda 10 month old GSD with severe HD



## Kylebreakiron (Feb 19, 2013)

So I recently posted a thread that my pup has HD. Its very bad and he never wants to get up when inside the house. When outside, he will play to a certain extent with his one year old sister GSD. I got a referral to a surgeon in College Station Texas for surgery. Apparently he is a very good surgeon and is booked until June. I cant stand to see Koda in pain. He pants while laying down and never wants to get up. I give both GSD's Glucosamine and fish oil. And he is prescribed "Metacam" (Meloxicam) by the pound. Originally he was on half of a 7.5 mg meloxicam tablet once every morning. Didnt seem to help at all. Now he is on the liquid Metacam which I was told was stronger because its administered by the weight of the dog. But this stuff doesnt seem to help either. I thought forsure it would work due to its high cost. (80$/2 weeks). He's suppose to be on anti inflammatory til he gets surgery to help with pain. But I cant stand to see my pup in this much pain. I have a few questions for anyone who is willing to help me and explain.

1. Will short term use of the steroid Prednisone be harmful for a GSD at such a young age.

2. Does anyone have any idea of good surgeons near the Houston, Texas area? 

3. What else can I do to help Koda. It hurts to see this and any advice will be greatly appreciated. 

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## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

Sorry to hear about Koda, it must be heart wrenching to watch your 10 month old puppy go through so much pain.

Lola has HD but not to the severity you are experiencing. 

Sounds like surgery is your option, hopefully they will get him in soon, you should ask the vet what you can do in the mean time to help him with pain. The only thing I can suggest is to provide him with very soft bedding, warmth and no high impact exercise him. 

I hope he finds pain relief soon


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

There are different NSAIDS you can try if the Metacam is not working. College Station is the Vet school. So bound to have fantastic Dr. 

I would stay away from steroids in a young dog, plus they can not be given in conjunction with the Metacam. Talk to your vet about adding in some other pain meds, like Tramadol or Gabapentin. Which can be given with an NSAID. 

I would also look for rehab therapy, underwater treadmill, laser, acupuncture can go a long way to building muscle and decreasing inflammation. 

Good luck. 


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## gagsd (Apr 24, 2003)

I had good luck with the tramadol/gaba. It did take a few days to really kick in.
and as noted above, please be cautious when using nsaids and pred. If I remember correctly the dog should be off of one for several days before starting the other.


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

There is the surgery center in Dallas. It requires a vet referral so your vet would need to call to get him in. It's setup just like a hospital with each wing of each floor being a different speciality.


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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

So sorry to hear about your Koda 

Is the surgeon you are referring to at Texas A&M or in private practice? There are specialists in Houston and we have a good surgeon here in San Antonio. 

San Antonio: %%term_title%% Archives | South Texas Veterinary Specialists 

Austin: Central Texas Veterinary Specialty Hospital

Houston: Home


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## LoveDogs (Feb 3, 2014)

NSAIDs and prednisone can not be mixed and a period of time between the two needs to be done. Gabapentin and Tramadol are decent drugs but on my dear Hunter gabapentin made him walk "drunk like" so I discontinued it and went to tramadol and prednisone. Prednisone can do some long term undesirable effects and though he may do well on it, it will need to be tapered. There are many drugs out there to experiment with and things that are not medications (acupuncture, surgery). Good luck and it really is horrible when things like this happen.


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## Msmaria (Mar 2, 2013)

I am so sorry to hear about your guy and what your going through. My Dex has HD also but not as bad. I hate to see him in pain which is maybe once or twice a month, never mind everyday. We use tramadol and Adequan.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

gsdsar said:


> I would also look for rehab therapy, *underwater treadmill, laser, acupuncture *can go a long way to building muscle and decreasing inflammation.
> 
> Good luck.
> 
> ...


GREAT suggestions!
Also the Adequan injections suggested by msmaria.

So sorry for your Fur Baby's pain. It must be AWFUL to see him like that!
Moms


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## Kylebreakiron (Feb 19, 2013)

Heidigsd said:


> So sorry to hear about your Koda
> 
> Is the surgeon you are referring to at Texas A&M or in private practice? There are specialists in Houston and we have a good surgeon here in San Antonio.
> 
> ...


Im actually going to see Dr. Whitney at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialist tomorrow. He owns the practice. Thank you very much. Hopefully surgery can be in the near future. 

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## Kylebreakiron (Feb 19, 2013)

gsdsar said:


> There are different NSAIDS you can try if the Metacam is not working. College Station is the Vet school. So bound to have fantastic Dr.
> 
> I would stay away from steroids in a young dog, plus they can not be given in conjunction with the Metacam. Talk to your vet about adding in some other pain meds, like Tramadol or Gabapentin. Which can be given with an NSAID.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice! And for the list that you just listed on things to do. Would that be before surgery or after surgery? How much would I be looking at for acupuncture? 

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## Kylebreakiron (Feb 19, 2013)

Also is it possible to do two hip replacements in one sitting? Or would the operations have to be split up? 

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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

FAQ: Total Hip Replacement | College of Veterinary Medicine


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## Kylebreakiron (Feb 19, 2013)

Great news/update! Koda gets a THR next Friday, April 4th.  

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## Kylebreakiron (Feb 19, 2013)

Heres another shot of Koda  
He will be 1 year on April 24th.

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## Kylebreakiron (Feb 19, 2013)

Here is his Xray of his hips. He gets the right hip replaced next week. Then his left at the end of summer. :/ 

At least he will be able to be a puppy. 

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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

Good luck with his surgery!!!! 


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## Kylebreakiron (Feb 19, 2013)

gsdsar said:


> Good luck with his surgery!!!!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Thanks! 

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## cmaccoll (Apr 1, 2014)

*11 month old pup getting THR next week*

Hi!

My 11 month old pup Otto is getting his left hip replaced next week. Good luck with Koda's replacement and let me know how it goes as well as ANY advice!


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## Kylebreakiron (Feb 19, 2013)

cmaccoll said:


> Hi!
> 
> My 11 month old pup Otto is getting his left hip replaced next week. Good luck with Koda's replacement and let me know how it goes as well as ANY advice!


Thanks! 

He actually just had his surgery today bc of a delay in getting the implants. 

I have a buddy who works there and was able to send me pics post surgery.

Let me know hoe Otto does  Koda and him are the same age. Unfortanate they have to go through this :/ 

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## Kylebreakiron (Feb 19, 2013)

Post surgery Xray

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