German shepherd - HD

[robotics]

I have a german shepherd dog with HD, any advice how to care for him
[edited by ABED]

[lankeela]

Sorry to hear this. Here is a site with several useful articles.


http://www.gsdhelpline.com/

[lankeela]

Another useful site:

http://www.marvistavet.com/ click on pet web library and they have sections on HD and Arthritis. Both have useful information.

Here is a link to a group for owners of dogs with disabilities:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/disableddogs/

[GypsyGSD]

I have a rescue gsd with hd,also the owners before he was resuced broke his back leg so he will be prone to athritis in old age in his other hip as well this was all before he was 4 months old my vet told me he would be a cripple by the time he was 3,he is now nearly six and going strong . i give him gently exercise daily to build his mucsles this supports the joints,i have kept him leaner than my other shepherds so that he does not carry to much weight he still does all basic training sits stays recalls etc. but can not stay in down position for to long my point is they can have a very long and happy life so hd does not have to be a problem as long as we as owners take care basicly he is treated the same way as my other gsds

[Kimmiebear]

There are surgeries: either hip replacements or femoral head ostorectomies. I had the latter done on my Great Dane when he was one. It was a long a difficult recovery, and I am not sure I would have another one done on an older dog. Is he bilaterally displastic or only one side? Is there lots of artritis? Pain can be controlled with NSAIDS if it has progressed very far and you could try glucosamine supplements and green lipped muscle as well. (works really well for my dogs) I also have my dogs on Cartrophen injections once a month which helps maintain senovial (joint) fliud as well as the joint cartilage.
Keep him skinny with mininal exercise. Short walks with no uphill. When he walks up hills most of his weight is on his sore joints. If he plays tug of war with you that is a good game because he can push with his front legs and his hind can be used for stabilization if he is sore. Swimming is also good, if he will swim. But keep the sessions short. It is important to keep the joint moving without putting extra stress on it.
Sorry I wrote you a novel, but I hope it helps.

[lankeela]

This just came through on one of my dog groups, thought it might be useful:

"I couldn't BELIEVE what my vet was charging for Synoquin so I read
the label and realised that all it is is Glucosamine and Chondroitin. I
found a newspaper advert for http://www.vitaminsdirect.co.uk who sells
tubs of 120 capsules of Hi Strength Glucosamine & Chondroitin -their
normal offer is something like �25 for 3 tubs but frequently they have
offers like a tenner each and buy one get one free. P&P free. I asked my
vet if it was okay to use these instead and he said fine, no problems at
all. I've had my Dandy on them for about 3 years now and it has made a
huge difference to his HD, at a fraction of the cost of what the
Synuoquin would have cost me."