[BabyBrownz]

We decided to have Quade pts. He was in so much pain not even the metacam was working. He was dx at just over 5 months with Grade 5 (severe) HD. He's sprained his good foot once quite bad and then again just recently.

At 8 months we noticed that he was starting to use his bad leg to support himself more often and he was limping more and from both legs. We had him to the vet because we suspected HD starting in the other hip or ligament damage in the knees. The vet found was quite a bit of looseness in Quades knees and his shoulders were starting to really bother him. But no signs of HD in his good hip or rupture to the ligament.

We found too that he was spending more time in his crate or in a room with nothing for him to jump on because nothing seemed to stop him. It was a catch 22, prevent him from further injury and have the sprain heal but then he wasn't developing the muscles he needed to support his steadily growing body.

When we last had him at the vet they sedated him to do the drawer test. When they went to put him on the table his eyes flashed with panic and he went into fight or flight mode. It took 3 techs to hold him down and a fourth to muzzle him and knock him out.

That's when they found the knee problem and that he is now completely bone on bone in the right hip and there is no socket left at all. It is this that is causing him more pain then anything.

Although overall he's still loveable and a big goober we noticed changes in his personality and his overall comfort level. He would wake up panting and crying during the night (with pain medication). He had daily doses of Glucosamine/Chondroitin, Flax Seed Oil, Salmon (fish oils), Ester C, etc. and we fed him Orijen 6 fish kibble.

We did what we thought was best for our boy as the look of pain in his eyes and his lack of quality of life were quite evident. There was no way we could keep him in this condition for 4 more months until they could do hip replacement surgery. No idea what his personality would be like because of the pain and because there were other issues with his body as well.

This has been a learning curve and we found out a lot about HD. We initially thought that we caused it because Quade had slipped once on tile floor but the vet said that would not have caused it and not to that severity. That Quade was born with a very bad hip and that it was a polygenic disease. That it was the combination of his parents genes that were the greatest contributing factor.

Sorry this is long and hopefully it makes a bit of sense. Again for those who's dogs have HD it IS NOT a death sentence. Some dogs can respond well to main medication and have no other issues.

Thinking of each of you, sending thoughts and prayers that it is not the case but if so ask lots of questions, do not be afraid to question your vets prognosis or to ask for alternate treatment methods. Get second opinions and see an Ortho vet. We've had such wonderful support from our Vet, his staff and people here on RDN.