Hip dysplasia in Shelties?

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soloshirisque

Forums Regular
Has anyone had a sheltie with hip dysplasia? We adopted our boy about a year ago and he was quite neglected when we got him. He's totally blossomed in the year we had him and is a completely different dog from the sad little pup we brought home from the shelter. However, I'm concerned that he's got a problem with his hips, now that I'm aware of what is normal/abnormal for him. When he gets up off of the wood floor, he often has to put a little effort into getting his hind end up (easier on the carpet), more so than what it should take to get up from a recumbent position. If he's running and chasing after a toy, it seems like he's doing the "bunny hop" that I've read about in dysplasia articles, but I've never actually seen what this looks like. I initially found it surprising that a smaller dog would be susceptible to this, but genes can definitely throw you some curveballs. I have no idea about his bloodlines, he is larger for a sheltie, slightly taller and heavier than the accepted range. If you've had a dog with this condition, what have you done for him/her? Are NSAIDs alone fairly effective keeping them comfortable? If this is indeed what he has, it seems to at least be a fairly mild case, but I'm sure it will get worse as he ages.
 
Meds can help for some, while some end up needing osteotomies. The opinion of an orthopedic specialist can be invaluable....
 
Our Bitsy Boodle has severe arthritis, especially in her hips. Acupuncture is working wonders, along with Vibrant Pets. We think the Vibrant Pets kept her galloping for years!
 
Watson has it but no arthritis yet, he is 3. He takes glycoflex and gets coconut oil. He also has some instability in one knee that can get tweaked sometimes making it hard to tell if he's really being bothered by his hips or the knee. He has a prescription for novox as needed when it looks like one of the two is flaring and he starts hopping a bit with it.
 
Pixie has severe arthritis in her front elbows and my vet thinks there was some displaysia there too. She's 9 and also on Vibrant Pets Senior plus a glucosamin supplement and Adequan shots. The regimen is keeping her moving, although she's pretty stiff at times.
 
Interesting. I had a horse that was on Adequan and was recently wondering if it was appropriate for dogs. Rigby's going on 6 so I'm not sure about the arthritis bit yet. He doesn't appear to be uncomfortable and doesn't really show any stiffness, but the Adequan could be useful in the future.
 
Can you get him x-rayed by the vet? Could he have been injured before you got him and that is causing the issue? Just a thought...
 
soloshirisque said:
Interesting. I had a horse that was on Adequan and was recently wondering if it was appropriate for dogs. Rigby's going on 6 so I'm not sure about the arthritis bit yet. He doesn't appear to be uncomfortable and doesn't really show any stiffness, but the Adequan could be useful in the future.
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I had used Adequan on another Sheltie we had years ago and it didn't help him. I really think it depends on the animal...same with horses...works for some and not others. It really does seem to be helping for Pixie. You do a loading dose of several times a week, then once a week, and now I do a maintenance shot once every three weeks. Her arthritis is pretty bad so we combine it with the oral supplements and so far I haven't had to put her on pain meds.
 
ggomah said:
Can you get him x-rayed by the vet? Could he have been injured before you got him and that is causing the issue? Just a thought...
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I'm guessing when I tell the vet his symptoms they'll probably want to do x-rays anyway, so either way it will show dysplasia or possibly something else.
 
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