# Can Dysplasia Become Rapidly Incapacitating?



## KOUNT (Sep 3, 2004)

My ten-year-old KLAUS has had dysplasia for a few years now. He's been on rimadyl 100mg for the past two years. During the last two years, I've substantially limited his running and jumping, so as to not aggravate his hip condition. And for the past year, I've taken him swimming to an indoor heated pool (with a salt filtering system) every week, an hour each time.

KLAUS has been doing fine, up until a week ago. All of a sudden he began exhibiting signs of lameness - difficulty getting up and a very noticeable favoring of the affected leg. He's also started showing discomfort in his face - he's lost that vigor look.

Can the dysplasia become so severe in such a short period of time?

Your feedback will be appreciated!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Where in the US are you? The weather affected my Swazey. Towards the end, when the weather changed he was in extreme pain and could not even get up. It could be the arthritis acting up.

Do you give him any supplements? Does your vet have the laser therapy available to you? It's simply a paddle they run over their body that decreases pain.


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## KOUNT (Sep 3, 2004)

We live in Portland, Oregon. The weather could be contributing to the situation. 

I've just been reading about the laser treatment this morning - had never heard of it till today. I understand it's very new.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

My vet talked to me about the laser therapy. I asked her if it worked and she said "Oh yes! I was in a car accident and hurt my neck. I used it on myself and the pain is gone!" She thinks it increases the blood supply and that's why it works. I don't think they have a full grasp on why it works only that it does. 

Also, have you considered taking him to a chiropractor? They can't help the HD itself but can keep everything in line to take the pressure off his hips. I know chiropractor really helped my 3 year old.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

What kind of supplements is your dog on? That can make a HUGE difference in mobility.


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## Stogey (Jun 29, 2010)

Charlie was 14 when HD finally got the best of him. He was on meds for the last 4 years, then one day he couldn't lift himself off of the floor, at that point he gave me " the look " ..... I had him put down the same day ...
RIP Charlie ... Run free and painless !


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## KOUNT (Sep 3, 2004)

KLAUS is on the senior food (nutro/natural choice), with glucosimine and chondroitin. He has been on this for 3+ years. I also feed him 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (cooked plain) with his food every day. And whenever I eat steak or roast, I give him raw pieces (about 6 oz) from that.

I've heard of, and read about stories where the GSD can just succumb to the dysplasia very quickly. I just don't want to believe it.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I would add a joint supplement. I don't think there is nearly enough in a dog food. I like the springtimeinc.com joint supplements. I would double, possibly triple, the dosage for him. 

Add fish oil for the omega 3's that help with inflammation and arthritis. I would have to look it up again but I think you can do 1,000mg/10 lbs. I would give him at least 2000 - 4000 mg. You will have to look at the EPA/DHA percentages in the fish oil. Some are concentrated. Make sure the fish oil has been purified and tested for heavy metals.

And Vit C - Very important. It helps the body process what it needs for the joints. I think it's the chondroitin but not sure. You can look that up also.

Vit E - Add 400 iu daily if feeding fish oil. Their bodies use their natural Vit E to process the fish oil. I've never been clear on whether it's just salmon oil or if it's all fish oil but it certainly isn't going to hurt him.

And keep him lean! Keeping any excess weight off of him is vital. But it sounds like you already know that. 

btw...I order the vitamins/fish oil from vitacost.com. They have free shipping today.


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## Woodreb (Oct 27, 2008)

Has he had any x-rays recently?

I agree with everyone that increasing his supplements may help. But a x-ray may also give you a little more information about what is going on. My old girl Rica had severe HD. In the last year and a half of her life, she started losing a lot of function in her legs and an x-ray showed not only the HD but an incredible amount of arthritis in her hips. They looked like Christmas wreaths. And she had spondylosis. It was a combination of all of those things that ultimately got her.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Johanna is right. You really should start with xrays to see what is going on. I would do blood work too to see how his organs are functioning as well given he's been taking rimadyl for such an extended period of time. Then you could talk to your vet about pain management and treatments also.


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## Rusty_212 (Apr 21, 2010)

It happened to my first boy within a few weeks he wasn't able to get up or even walk when we picked him up. I carried him around with a towel under his belly the last few months before he told us it was time. Just 8 1/2 yrs. old.


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## KOUNT (Sep 3, 2004)

Hi everyone.

We're doing the xrays today. I picked up a chondroitin/glucosamine/msm supplement yesterday, and mixed two tabs in with his food. 

As for the blood panel, we had that done 2 months ago (I had a small cyst removed from his eye, and the blood panel was done before that surgery - the vet even noted it was all looking good).

I am going to expand on the supplements, with the omega 3 fish oil (I used to give him that many years ago, primarily for his coat), and see what the vet recommends, too.

KLAUS isn't overweight at all - his adult weight has always stayed about 81-84 lbs.

I'm REALLY afraid he could be in his last months - I'm not going to let him suffer with pain or immobility.


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## KOUNT (Sep 3, 2004)

Just an update. Xrays were done again yesterday, and yes, the dysplasia has obviously gotten worse. Got some pain meds from the vet (which already seem to have a positive result), and I also picked up some fish oil to go along with the Chondroitin/Gluco/MSM supplement. In addition, the vet recommended increasing the rimadyl by an extra quarter tablet every day (1.50 tabs p/day).

Still, I'm VERY, VERY sad because I know we've entered into a whole new period, in which the clock is ticking down; KLAUS will never be able to run/jump any more, and will be on meds every day for the remainder of his life.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Did you talk to the vet about the laser therapy?

Make sure to get him on Vitamin C as well. The C helps the body process the joint supplements. I can't remember how though.

And also, give 400 iu Vitamin E with the fish oil.

The best price on both of those is on vitacost.com. I order

NSI Natural Vitamin E -- 400 IU - 250 Softgels - Vitacost
NSI Vitamin C Powder -- 5 grams - 8 oz - Vitacost
NSI Fish Oil EPA 360 mg / DHA 240 mg -- 300 Softgels - Vitacost

And I've ordered this Salmon Oil before but the fish oil above has more EPA/DHA and is distilled for heavy metals.
NSI Norwegian Salmon Oil 100% Wild Caught -- 2.2 g - 240 Softgels - Vitacost


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## KOUNT (Sep 3, 2004)

Thanks, Jax! Darn, I forgot about the laser question, but no prob, I can call and leave a message for him. And thanks for reminding me about the vitamin c & e!

LOL, KLAUS has almost as many bottles of meds/herbs to take every day than I do :0


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I have a bucket I keep the dogs supplements in.  There are a lot. Fish oil, vit c, vit e, turmeric (good for inflammation so you might want to research this), benadryl, tagamet (last two for the one with cancer)

if your vet does not have the laser therapy, find one that does and talk to them. It's definitely worth try and less per month than the pain pills. It was about $200 for the initial 6 treatments (not sure how they are spaced out) and then $30/month after that at my vet.


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## Kaluig (Dec 6, 2010)

My dog, Igor, is almost 9 years old and the signs of HD are visible. Another day, he woke up like the hunchback of Notre Dame. I was very scare as he looked totally incapacitated. It last for almost 30 min, I lay him down, massage his back and hips, and gave him 1 tablet of Rymadil. He stood up and start walking again. His eyes is always red and he keeps chewing his paws a lot. 

Igor has been on special diet with extra glucosamine and chondroitin. I also give him one Cod Oil Liver capsule daily during the winter time (in the summer, his stool becomes very soft), which has vitamins E and D. I give him Rimadyl once a day, for 3 days, when he seems to be in pain. I do not not want to give Rimadyl daily due to the side effects, especially on the liver.

I heard about the denervation procedure, which removes the nerves from both joints. Nerves are the culprit for the pain. It is a lot less invasive than the regular HD operation and the results have been between over 90% success rate. However, I cannot find a vet in the US who does that procedure. I talked to my vet in Brazil and he gave me an article, in English, explaining about that procedure. Very few vets do that and in Brazil, we only had only, and in another city. I am not sure about that here in the US, does anybody know a vet who does that? I am in Charlotte, NC, and am willing to travel with Igor to alleviate hi spain and give his life back.


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