Border Collie with hip dysplasia

My Border Collie Doug has slight dysplaysia sorry if I have misspelt) of his
hip. We noticed that he was walking slightly stiff legged, as I had 2 dogs
of 10 and 11 months I assumed it was a war wound (they play fight hard
sometimes) Doug was due to go in to be neutered so I asked them to x-ray his
hips while he was under the anaesthetic as he had been walking stiff legged
for too long for a war wound. The vet said his hip wasn't developing as it
should but it certainly wasn't the worst case they had seen and probably
wouldn't cause him too much trouble until later in life. I was advised to
keep exercise to a bare minimum, especially until he is at least two years
old..

My questions are... How far should I take the "keeping exercise to a bare
minimum?" he is a border collie after all and those who know BC's know they
have an abundance of energy. Plus we are about to move soon where he will
have acres of land to run about on. He loves playing with George, retrieving
etc. Doug is now 16 months old. any advice would be appreciated, especially
what I might expect later on or anything I can do to slow down arthritis
etc.

Many thanks

Shell
see my boys at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/hollyputt

"Christy" wrote in message
...
My collie mix just turned 7, and was diagnosed with moderate dysplasia and
beginnings of arthritis at age 3. He exercises every day, whether it be
free
running, leash . Your dog will
definitely benefit from a regular exercise routine.

I second this and in addition, keep him as thin as possible - every extra
pound is extra strain on joints. My BC is moderately dysplastic and I keep
her very active. (Like I could stop her from being from!).




Christy



--
Melissa S. Frye
Skyrocket cockers www.mfrye.com/skyrocket/

Deb wrote:
Subject: Border Collie with hip dysplasia
From: "Christy"
Date: 8/5/03 6:18 PM Pacific


I'd
also suggest starting him on a glucosamine supplement, with vitamin C and
MSM as well. As for exercise, I would not withhold any unless you see him
having problems - severe limping, for example.


Excellent advice, exercise is vital. My old gal is doing very well with a
liquid glucosamine product and Vit C as well as keeping her weight under
control. We go to the park every day and her mobility suffers if for some
reason we miss our run.

Very good advice. Exercise, especially swimming, glucosamine, vitamin
C, and *keep that dog thin*.
Keeping the dog thin can be a tough one. My dog's hips are healthy,
but my female BC gained weight after spaying. What finally worked to
help get the weight off was strict portion control - no free feeding;
two meals a day. I also switched for a high performance formulation to
an adult maintenance formulation in the same brand so that she could
still have a reasonable volume of food to munch down.
Also, I started giving her veggies mixed with her kibble at night, so
she could go to bed with a full tummy. Carrots and green beans are
favorites. She'll eat almost anything, but a single incidence of
yarked-up beets was enough to make me cross them off her list.
There are plenty of dogs in flyball (a sport which involves jumping and
a moderate amount of impact) with mild to moderate dysplasia, both
surgically corrected and uncorrected, with *no* activity restrictions
from their vets. The benefits of regular exercise far outweigh the
risks, even for dogs with faulty hips.

Kathleen
http://webpages.charter.net/dhfm/ZControl.html

Mark/Shell wrote:

wouldn't cause him too much trouble until later in life. I was advised to
keep exercise to a bare minimum, especially until he is at least two years
old.

That sound you hear is that of my jaw hitting the ground. That is
incredibly bad advice, and that coming from a vet would prompt me to
change the vet and pronto. General advice would be to avoid high impact
exercise (such as jumping), but to do everything you can to keep very
good muscle tone. I've known several dogs whose CHD was diagnosed at an
earlier age (6 months) and told that they would require surgery by the
time they are 2 or 3 years old who are doing just great because they are
kept lean, given oodles of exercise, and kept very fit. One friend
whose GSD has CHD no longer allows her dog to fetch as she was told that
the stopping and starting can be difficult, but he gets plenty of free
running around time chasing other dogs, goes on moderately long walks
and swims.

Suja

I want to say a big, big thank you to all of you who have answered my post.
I was told by two separate vets (same practice) to keep exercise to a bare
minimum, they actually suggested 10/15 minute on lead quiet walks twice a
day. To be honest for several months I have been feeling quite bad as I have
not adhered to the advice. I have a 16 month Border Collie! and a 17 month
collie x Lab and they were telling me to not exercise Doug?? To me it
bordered on being cruel. I try not let him jump, and try to keep their very
rough playfighting to a minimum but that's easier said than done. They are
like kids and love to play, they both love chasing balls, retrieving. We
also live on the coast so they love the beach and swimming (which I know is
good for Doug) so thank you everyone for telling me I haven't been harming
him by letting him run free and have more exercise than I was told.

I will definitely be thinking of changing my vet!!!

Can you give me some more info on the supplements most of you suggested, a
website or even where I should go to buy it, I am in the UK.

Shell
See my boys at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/hollyputt

"Suja" wrote in message
...
Mark/Shell wrote:

wouldn't cause him too much trouble until later in life. I was advised
to
keep exercise to a bare minimum, especially until he is at least two
years
old.

That sound you hear is that of my jaw hitting the ground. That is
incredibly bad advice, and that coming from a vet would prompt me to
change the vet and pronto. General advice would be to avoid high impact
exercise (such as jumping), but to do everything you can to keep very
good muscle tone. I've known several dogs whose CHD was diagnosed at an
earlier age (6 months) and told that they would require surgery by the
time they are 2 or 3 years old who are doing just great because they are
kept lean, given oodles of exercise, and kept very fit. One friend
whose GSD has CHD no longer allows her dog to fetch as she was told that
the stopping and starting can be difficult, but he gets plenty of free
running around time chasing other dogs, goes on moderately long walks
and swims.

Suja

Mark/Shell wrote:


Can you give me some more info on the supplements most of you suggested, a
website or even where I should go to buy it, I am in the UK.

Just getting you started on researching CHD so you'll know what you're
dealing with, including treatment options:
http://petsurgery.com/caninehipdysplasia.htm
http://tinyurl.com/j6n3 OR
http://www.newmanveterinary.com/lame...t%20Disea ses
http://www.southpaws.com/topics/hip-dysplasia.htm (I'm including this
because a standard vet may not be well enough qualified to make proper
diagnosis through reading X-rays. You might want to consider getting a
second opinion from a specialist, just to play it safe).
http://www.arthritis-cats-dogs.com/d...dysplasia.html (Good
information on using Glucosamine in treatment of CHD)

I haven't the foggiest idea where to get this stuff in the UK, but I
would suggest looking in any good drug/vitamin store, where you can get
arthritis care products. Generally, the ingredients in the canine
formulations are the same as those in the human versions, and the human
versions tend to be less expensive. If you do want doggie versions, try
the pet store 'supplements' aisle or pet supply catalogs. I don't know
if such a thing is available over there, but some dog foods contain
Glucosamine/Chondroitin as part of the ingredients. Do not switch the
dogs' food for this reason alone, since this is more marketing gimmick
than anything else, and the food does NOT contain sufficient doses of
either to make a substantial difference.

Suja

Since my original post I have spoken to my friend who runs a Border Collie
rescue. I mentioned my concerns and she agreed with all of you in that
building muscle would be more beneficial to Doug. She also recommended some
homeopathic medicine, have any of you gone down this route? I am not
familiar with homeopathic remedies.

Here is the link to the website if any of you are interested.
http://www.dorwest.com
Thanks again everyone for your feedback.

Shell
"Suja" wrote in message
...
Mark/Shell wrote:


Can you give me some more info on the supplements most of you suggested,
a
website or even where I should go to buy it, I am in the UK.

Just getting you started on researching CHD so you'll know what you're
dealing with, including treatment options:
http://petsurgery.com/caninehipdysplasia.htm
http://tinyurl.com/j6n3 OR

http://www.newmanveterinary.com/lame...0and%20Joint%2
0Diseases
http://www.southpaws.com/topics/hip-dysplasia.htm (I'm including this
because a standard vet may not be well enough qualified to make proper
diagnosis through reading X-rays. You might want to consider getting a
second opinion from a specialist, just to play it safe).
http://www.arthritis-cats-dogs.com/d...dysplasia.html (Good
information on using Glucosamine in treatment of CHD)

I haven't the foggiest idea where to get this stuff in the UK, but I
would suggest looking in any good drug/vitamin store, where you can get
arthritis care products. Generally, the ingredients in the canine
formulations are the same as those in the human versions, and the human
versions tend to be less expensive. If you do want doggie versions, try
the pet store 'supplements' aisle or pet supply catalogs. I don't know
if such a thing is available over there, but some dog foods contain
Glucosamine/Chondroitin as part of the ingredients. Do not switch the
dogs' food for this reason alone, since this is more marketing gimmick
than anything else, and the food does NOT contain sufficient doses of
either to make a substantial difference.

Suja

Mark/Shell wrote:

building muscle would be more beneficial to Doug. She also recommended some
homeopathic medicine, have any of you gone down this route? I am not
familiar with homeopathic remedies.

Here is the link to the website if any of you are interested.
http://www.dorwest.com
Thanks again everyone for your feedback.

I took a brief peek. My acupuncture vet (which I referred to in a different
post), doesn't explicitly suggest any of what I saw there. Her rec. is
glucosamine
and MSM. She seems happy with the inflavinoids that we have Molly on
(gotten from the previous chiropractor vet, who referred us to the acupuncture
vet). The inflavinoids are used really to relieve pain. We find that Molly has
less lameness when given them regularly. You can see the ingredients he
http://www.metagenics.com/products/c...il.asp?pid=162
I wouldn't use them if your dog is asymptomatic. For our BC who has
some arthritis but is asymptomatic, she gets just the glucosamine, MSM
and fish oil. Oh, we started the fish oil supplement, which I did see at this
site, because chiropractic vet saw a study that said it improved joint
health. I don't know if it helps Molly's dysplasia, but her coat is nice and
shiny.

Mary

"Christy" wrote ...


It is vital for them to have
strong muscle tone, primarily in the hips, because depending on the
severity
of the dysplasia, the muscles may be all there is to keep the dog from
becoming crippled.

I learned this at the weekend from some Newfoundland owners, who told me
that most if not all Newfies are dysplastic to some extent, and they knew of
one dog who had practically no hip joints at all, but was perfectly active
and healthy because of excellent muscle tone.

having problems - severe limping, for example. If you have already done
so,
you will probably need to build him back up. If you have access to water,
swimming is an excellent, no-impact way to build muscle. Otherwise, leash
walks on grass (avoid hard surfaces that increase the impact on joints)
and
work up to free running, uphill fetch, that type of thing. Your dog will
definitely benefit from a regular exercise routine.


I agree swimming is about the best exercise you can give your dog, because
it's non-load-bearing. Otherwise walking on leash (we've found with Murphy,
who has arthritis in one hip, that off-leash she doesn't pace herself until
she starts to limp, so obviously you can't rely on the dog to avoid
aggravating the condition. Likewise she'll get the zoomies with her sister
when we go to visit my mum, and both of the 11 year-old dears will be
hobbling around after about 5 minutes!).

Rachel
(New Zealand)