Canine hip dysplasia

joolsveer

My daughter's dog (the family pet) is just over four years old and has been having a problem with lameness in both her back legs. The vet has x-rayed her yesterday and diagnosed hip dysplasia. She (the vet) says that one of the hip sockets is malformed and that the dog will eventually get osteoarthritis and may need surgery. It the meantime we have been advised to rest her and give her anti-inflammatory tablets for the next ten days.
Is there anyone who can advise me on the following
will this condition have an adverse effect on her lifespan?
is there any particular food that should be added/deleted from her diet?
I would appreciate some guidance please.

Doper Than U

Thats so sad, sorry to hear it.
Keep your dog slim and trim at all times, don't feel sorry for her and give her treats all the time. The extra weight will just makes things worse for her. You might want to look into adding some olive oil into her feed (lol, after me just telling you to keep her weight down), and changing her feed to one of the better quality ones, such as Hills (Do Hills do an arthritis feed?). The reason I suggest this is that the nutrition content is far higher than your typical tinned mush, and they come with specific guidelines on how much to feed, so you can control your dogs weight easier that way. Obviously I am not suggesting you starve your dog, but keep excess weight off her.
Anti-inflam's, if they are cortisone based, can cause side effects if used long term, and so they're not really desirable for chronic pain. I suggest Metacam if your vet approves (it may not be necessary for a younger dog), it is aspirin based, and does a great job (My 14 year old Belgian has crappy hips after a car accident years ago, is on Metacam, and it's given her a new lease of life.)
Unfortunately, hip dysplasia is one of those conditions that arises primarily in pure bred dogs due to genetic defects caused usually by interbreeding (years ago, when perfecting the breed). It's become common practice when buying a puppy of certain breeds (eg Labs, Retrievers etc) to ask for hip scores and eye scores now, and good breeders will be forthcoming about this. If you did get the dog from a breeder, you should ring them to tell them your dog now has hip dysplasia. They should offer you your money back BUT will ask for the dog to be put to sleep, not something you would want I imagine. At this stage you have no legal recourse, but at least you might stop the breeders from breeding with unsuitable dogs.
If your dog isn't a pure bred, then sadly, it's just bad luck.
Hope everything works out.

joolsveer

Thanks for the info. The dog is a pure bred Golden Cocker Spaniel. I bought her from a breeder in Enniscorthy and I intend to let the breeder know the diagnosis. I am not interested in getting the dog put down as she is a pet with a beautiful temperment and my family would be devastated if she had to be put down. We have looked after her very well so far and would intend to continue the TLC to ensure she has a long live ahead of her.

Doper Than U

I wish you the best of luck, your dog is indeed a very lucky lady to have such caring owners.

FranknFurter

jools, my pomeranian has a similiar problem,....
unfortunately, I somhow managed to break my wrist today an one handed typing is killing me so ill be able 2 give u sum tips soon, i learnt some good lessons reading about displasia, lol (plz excuse typing, doing it one handed lol)