Bad Hips - Quality of life - Page 3

Prodogz, if I were you I'd not take Janite up on his offer to mentor your friend on HD. If you want to know why, PM me here.

Oh, I invested a small amount of money in a consult with a canine physical therapist

Her take on swimming - not really as great as we think but that walking in chest high water is better.  She also reommended up hil walking and range of motion excercise and warms up / stretching before excercise.  She is not as fond of my ball play with my dog (I throw the ball along the ground so she does not jump) and would prefer not a lot of running.  We do try to avoid sharp turns.

Well there you go with quality of life - the dog has much prey drive and satisfying it is the only way we can live with her.  I would rather her tear up her hips more quickly that perhaps with a more sedate lifestyle because there is true enjoyment in her chasing the ball.

TIG I respectfully disagree with you too. I certainly don't need a 2nd opinion on this X-ray thats for sure especially when they belong to a dog as young as that !, have a closer look !.

Yes, the remodeling of the sockets is a dead give away.

Bunny hopping may not be diagnostic but it is an indicator of a limited range of motion. 

In my dog the only manifestation of symptoms was after a 40 degree (fF) windy day where the dog fell out of the boat and was not adequately warmed after the fall.  The symptoms presented to the vet as cruciate ligament but the x-rays told the true story.   I do not swim this dog in cold weather.

Good Eye. Suffering succatosh get a pair of glasses for the bad eye. Can you not read? What I disagreed with you about was the need for pain killers - this is what I wrote - "I respectfully disagree with the statement " He will obviously need medication of anti imflamatory pain killers at some point to keep him from pain. " As we said depends on the dog. I seen plenty of dogs that did just fine never needing pain medicine including two of my own both of whom lived to 14 and led very active lives.

My comments about xrays and 2nd opinions were in a separate paragraph and NOT about this dog which again is what I said which anyone can clearly see- "A  word for the wise. While these x-rays clearly show HD it aint always so when a vet says that to you". I was referring to incidents like BLitzen related re his Malmute. Insert GSD and I can not tell you how many hundreds of times I have heard or seen that very same story.  Since people who MAY have been given incorrect information by their vet ( note this has nothing to do w/ the original dog) will read this thread looking for hope and information I thought I would insert a caution since it is such a common problem.

Prodogz! Find yourself the best Vet in the area and listen to him/her. Desperate housewives are not the best experts on CHD. I will burn a candle for each day the dog will suffer when you take their advice.

Nice to see my statements confirmed again. Too many people with too many dysplastic dogs. What a disgrace.

GSD = The Glucosamine Shepherd Dog.

TIG, I don't know you, so I was certainly not referring to you.

Blitzen! How come you're back already from the Iditarod-trail? The fastest/smartest contender ever!? Or did you not sign up this year? I would recommend it to you, having so much time, and so many dogs wanting to RUN!! You'd make the best musher ever. Bw! Don't you think Prodogz is old enough to decide who he talks to? Jeez! Tell your dogs who they can talk to! THEY will certainly listen! Hhuhuh, NOT!

TIG ....... You missed my point entirely so never mind .

Hello again,

    Thank you again all who have taken the time to write and share your thoughts. Although I am not a vet or medical expert I do understand bones. True I am not a dog but I was born with a disability that affects my joints and my own hips are deformed. A dog with hip displasia can live a normal life but its the dog discomfort is the ultimate issue at question. We can read a dog and take a guess at their pain level but in the end we really don’t know. We also need to keep in mind natural selection and nature; if this was a animal in the wild would he be able to survive? are we being fair to an animal by medicating them to keep them alive because we love the animal to much to make a ultimate decision. I am in no way saying run out and put every dog that has displasia to sleep but I am saying that sometimes it takes stepping back and looking at it from the dogs ultimate comfort level. I am also not saying our dogs are like animals in the wild when it comes to natural selection but it is something we have to think about. I am sure my thoughts will upset allot of people but I feel sometimes we forget that dogs are animals and not people and what maybe fair to save a persons life for an animal it may be totally different.

"Now stop fighting & get out and train"

Jason ~ www.prodogz.com

Got nothing to train with Prodogs!

Please let your friend check this presentation:

http://jantie.demeyere.googlepages.com/IndianavomWildsteigerlandNeu.pps

I wish your friend the courage for the right decision.

Good luck!