Facing hip surgery and/or hip replacement

BryanAndLarrysMama

BryanAndLarrysMama

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Well, darn.

My little Bryan (turns 5 in July, with is brother Larry) seemed to be doing great. We have been going on 30min walks daily, he's lost several pounds (has more to go). He LOVES his walks. Bounces through most of it! Day before yesterday he was walking and slowed right down. Several times he wanted to lay down. It was quite hot out so we walked home slowly and he rested. When he got up he had a limp. Took him outside to potty and he went, but then laid down right away.

Last night he was restless. Couldn't sit down, couldn't lay down, pawing at me, wanting me to hold him with BOTH arms around him, wanted to be nose to nose with me only. Something was wrong. So I called and made a vet appointment for today. I figured that his leg was bothering him so bad he didn't know what to do with himself. I was right.

X-ray shows a horrible progression of the hip dysplasia. I wish I could load the photo up here. I saw it and gasped. Even the vet said she took the x-ray and then asked two others to come and take them again to make sure it wasn't just that he was at a funny angle or something. He must be in such pain!

So they gave us Rheumocm (Meloxicam) liquid NSAID to give him. The Ortho doctor is back from vacation next week and we'll consult with him. We won't hesitate to get surgery for him. I want him to NOT be in pain! From what I've read, recovery is pretty good, like someone getting a knee replacement and wondering why they didn't do it sooner. If it means many years of walks and painfree living for him, I'll do it.

I'm just so sad to think the little guy is in pain. That's just too much to take. Sigh.

Anyone else here have hip surgery for their Sheltie?
 
I am so sorry. Hips have not been an issue in my dogs or the friends I know with Shelties. I'm sorry little Bryan is having such pain. He's fortunate you are able to get the surgery for him. At his age he should heal well and have many more years of healthy life. How is his other hip? SO IMPORTANT to get the weight off him and keep it off. Especially after surgery he will not be mobile for a while and you don't want the pounds to creep on again.

This surgery is pretty routine now and I predict he will be fine and much happier, poor little dude.
 
Awww poor Brian! I can certainly understand how hard it is to see them in pain, Piper has arthritis is his elbow and has the occasional flare up, I hate seeing him hurting!
Never experienced hip surgery in a dog but my sister’s 2 Bichons blew their ACL (one dog was both hind legs at different times) and they recovered 100%. One dog lived to 15 the other is almost 9, hers was done a few years ago. It’s amazing what they can do with the joints now (my sister actually had her ankle joint replaced 2 years ago).
 
I'm sorry to hear about Bryan....HD is always a tough diagnosis to get, but thankfully the surgical options are so much better now that they can work wonders. And as strange as it may sound, he is probably better being so young, at 5, than if he were an older dog. He will heal faster and better now.

My Sprite had both hips done before she was 2. I found that she had serious HD by the time she was 10 months old. I had FHOs (femoral head ostectomy) done on both hips, the worst hip first by her first birthday, and the second hip done months later after the first was healed. From what I understand, it's the recommended procedure now and is actually quite simple if it's appropriate for Bryan. Sprite did remarkably well...I did PT at home with her and she healed nicely.

My vet said she knew dogs who did agility after the procedure. Sprite doesn't do that, but she's 9 now and can chase a ball faster than any of my other five who are bigger and faster than she is! She can jump up on her hind legs and jump on couches and chairs, and you'd never know she had anything done. It wasn't a terribly expensive procedure either, and the best decision I ever made for one of my dogs.

I hope Bryan does as well. My vet did require that we have a board certified surgeon perform the procedures, so that's important. Please keep us posted on what you find out and how he does!
 
I understanding how devastating this is. Little Tully had a hip replacement at 6yrs old, I was also shocked how bad it was and felt guilty that she'd been walking - in fact the ortho vet even missed it and for 6mths was treating her shoulders!

We had to go interstate for the surgery and at the time Tully was the smallest dog they had done (it was just when micro-hip joints had come out). She had a cement one and I think the angle wasn't quite right - she didn't go back to flyball or agility anyway. But that said, she was still walking on that hip until almost 17yrs. And in a way that hip kept her walking as she got old lady arthritis everywhere else but that hip.

I do think it's better going for the THR surgery if you can afford it, rather than the FHO.

Btw - did they mention Legges Calve Pethes? Shelties are one of the at risk breeds. It would explain why it came on later and quickly. The ortho vet thought Tully might have LCP that was exacerbated by an agility accident. It is usually a young dog disease but Tully got it about the same age as Bryan.
 
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