Jean,
sorry to hear about Sunshine's problems. I saw this a while ago and wanted to respond but got sidetracked.
I have quite a bit of experience with hip dysplasia in young dogs. I got my boy, Tuxedo when he was 10 months old, he was and is the picture of THE perfect Mini Aussie, the head, the structure, temperament, BUT he had hip dysplasia which was the reason why the breeder took him out of the breeding program. Now, this was a $ 3,000 dog that I got for almost nothing. But the breeder told me that she was pretty certain that he had hip problems. Having gone through the problems with a previous dog, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. There was a clear movement in Tuxedo's hip when he walked, any exercise over 5 minutes there was a very pronounced limp on the leg that that was effected. I talked to two vets, one said my one and only option was hip replacement surgery, the other one (which is my current vet) said, let’s wait and see, light exercise to develop his muscles around there but she was very clear, “It’s bad!!!”. I was determined that my dog would beat the odds.
I fed him a home made diet of grains (brown rice, bulgur, quinoa, amaranth, couscous, multigrains …..) with ground (almost raw) meats, ground bones, ground organ meat, some veggies, probiotics, kelp, lecithin, brewer’s yeast, essential oils ( I used Halo’s Dream Coat or Grizzly Salmon Oil, sometimes butter or safflower oil) calcium (from dried and ground eggshells or human grade bonemeal), he also got cottage cheese or yogurt (either mixed into the food or straight). Every second day I would feed raw meats like chicken drumsticks, chicken wings, chicken necks, turkey necks, lamb necks, beef rack, lamb meaty bones ……. Canned salmon with bones mixed with rice once or twice a week, grated and blanched veggies (until I found Dr. Harvey’s Veg-to-Bowl freeze dried veggies – LOVE that stuff).
I added very high amounts of vitamin C (Halo Xtra C or Berte’s Naturals Vitamin C), when they said ½ tsp, I gave twice or triple the amount. I added a Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplements on a daily basis (GlycoFlex from VetriScience, got it though
www.kvvet.com).
I listened to my vet and started to slowly increase the exercise, took him for 20 minute walks, took him to the dog park. Every time he would limp, and I kept thinking, oh my God, am I doing the right thing? I am hurting my dog! But I kept with it, a couple of months later I enrolled him in Agility Training, the breeder said, you ARE nuts, my vet said, it’s too much, too soon. I ignored what they said because I thought it is the right thing to do.
I picked up Tuxedo on August 19, 2006 for my younger son’s birthday, fast forward, end of September 2007 I took Tuxedo for his yearly check up to my vet. Her chin dropped, literally, she said, if I didn’t know better, I’d say this is NOT the same dog! I took him to a clinic in Chino Valley on October 5, together with 18 other dogs of 4 different breeders that are affiliated with the breeder that I bought my Mini Aussies from. The breeder that I bought Tuxedo from wanted to get his x-rays done, so she could go back to the breeder that she bought him from for a LOT of money and she needed to prove that there was indeed a problem.
The vet there took the x-rays, when I came in to get it interpreted, she told me, looking at the x-rays, that this was one of the worst x-rays she had seen in a long time, there was SEVERE hip dysplasia, even I as a novice with no clue could see the severe problem. Just based on the x-rays he shouldn’t even be walking and have hip replacement surgery done NOW. Looking at the x-rays and at him, however, there was a real disconnect. The vet in Chino Valley said that she would have never guessed that he was a dog with that severe of a hip dysplasia case, in fact she wouldn’t have ever thought there was a problem. She did take him around outside the clinic, watching his stride and movement and said this was nothing short of amazing, whatever I am doing I should keep doing, and asked me to write down for her what exactly I had been doing.
Tuxedo is a dog with SEVERE hip dysplasia according to his x-rays and he leaps up 3 to 5 feet in the air to catch a ball or a frisbee. He doesn’t limp anymore, I can take him for 2 or 3 hour hikes now, no problems. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain, he is not on any pain killers and he beats out his buddies who have excellent hip scores by the length of a nose or two EVERY single time. He is nothing short of a miracle according to the vets that have seen him.
Now, this was a novel, what I am trying to say, don’t get discouraged, EXTREME hip dysplasia is not a death sentence, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s hip replacement surgery or expensive treatment. Obviously, there are no guarantees and every dog is different but there are things you can do quite inexpensively to help your dog and give her a normal life. She will always have hip dysplasia, just like my little boy, Tuxedo, it’s non-reversible, there is no cure. But dogs are able to live a normal, pain-free and happy life, even with severe hip dysplasia, my little boy is living proof of that.
So before I shut up, here are the links for the supplements that I have used:
Vitamin C
http://www.mysimon.com/9015-10992_8-29595309.html http://www.b-naturals.com/product_info.php?products_id=81
Kelp
http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/product_...alse&mscssid=D9B7C084CBC14E0BBB8AC9ED4DDE6646
Lecithin The cheapest I have found is
www.vitaminshoppe.com
They also carry Halo, check for sales as well as human grade bonemeal (if you don’t want to go through the hassle of drying and grinding egg shells)
Brewer’s Yeast
www.vitaminshoppe.com
Oils
http://www.google.com/products?sour...C,SNYC:2004-13,SNYC:en&q=halo+dream+coat&um=1 again, check the Vitaminshoppe
http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-All-N...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1196142054&sr=1-1
Probiotics
http://www.b-naturals.com/product_info.php?products_id=84
On the meat, I either buy at Whole Foods, Frye’s, Safeway, wherever I find what I am looking for, otherwise look for Nature’s Logic, Bravo Raw Diet or Oma’s Pride. I will just mix it with the grains or veggies I have on hand. I feed green tripe at least once a week, sometimes I get Bravo frozen veggies or frozen pumpkin which is great when dogs have diarrhea or constipation
I use fresh grated and blanched veggies (kale, lettuce, broccoli, carrots, peas), if time is an issue check
http://www.sitstay.com/dog/supplies/servlet/product_10001_10001_61941_-1_Veg-to-Bowl___ or frozen veggies from Bravo.
The only other advise I can give you, whatever vet you have, DO NOT let them talk you into giving your dog Rimaldyn, this is a drug that is routinely prescribed by many vets for dogs with hip dysplasia, however, there have been numerous reports that Labradors have serious problems with that drug. Labs seem to have a problem metabolizing the ingredient in the drug and it can be fatal.
I know there are some naturopathic and homeopathic remedies that have worked well for a lot of people, but try this first, you can always add. Also check out Dr. Richard Pitcairn's Complete Guide for Natural Health for Cats and Dogs. Great Book!
I can’t think of anything else right now, but I am sure this was a lot of information anyway. However, feel free to email me if you have any questions or need further information. I am not a pet nutritionist, nor am I a vet. Just my own experience and the advise that I have gotten from my college roommate who has been a naturopathic vet in Germany for the past 10 years.
), I wish more people would do research on what they actually put in their pets mouth before talking about the drawbacks of "people food for pets". I get very passionate about this, and I am sorry if I rattle some cages or sound condenscending. Whatever you guys do, I am sure you want to do the best for your furry friends, but don't just dismiss "people food" for dogs without research.