Best diet for dog with HD

[abbiesdogs]

First of all I want to thank everyone here for passing on your knowledge and advice on our wonderful rotties.

Lottie will be 5 next week, she has mod/severe hd in both hips, at the moment I feed the best kibble my local pet store has which is royal canin, they also have one called advantage but I can't read the label because its in every language but english.
With the kibble she has chicken, beef or sardines. After reading some other threads I'm not sure whether she should be on a high protein diet or not. She won't eat raw so I cook all her meat.
I am prepared to have better quality food shipped if you think canin isn't any good.

thankyou Abbie

[poohbearsmom]

The protein content really depends upon your dog and your dog's activity levels and how your dog thrives on the food. Royal Canin is a pretty good food. The supplementation of sardines is good because of the Omega acids in the fish, and that is excellent for the joints. I'll give my guys salmon oil, or salmon scraps (skin) from a friend's restaurant.

It's very important to keep a CHD dog as lean and muscular as possible, as the muscling will help hold those joints together.

You might also supplement with a good Vitamin C (Ester C absorbs the best) as that is very good for the joints/soft tissue as well.

Kibbles that contain glucosomine/chondroiten don't usually contain enough of those supplements to do any good, so supplementing with that would be good as well.

Hope this helps.

[abbiesdogs]

Thanks for the reply, lottie has 2-3 short walks a day about 20 mins as she suffers if they're any longer, otherwise she's a couch potato,exept for playing ball!
I'll try and get some Ester C from the internet.

Thanks again. Abbie

[abbiesdogs]

I forgot to say she weighs about 90lb, should I drop her weight a few lbs or is she ok?
Abbie

[cally01]

Regarding the weight that all depends on what is healthy for your dog. See what your Vet says :)

For my Rottweiler with HD I fed grain free food as grains can aggravate arthritis. Then I found kibble was not very good for her then switched to complete grain free canned, and then grain free canned mixed with freeze dried and or dehydrated. Then I moved to complete home prepared and even tho she now get grains in her diet she seems to be doing the same if not a bit better. I make sure she gets lots of raw cartlidge which contains natural glucosamines. I give her a glucosamine supplement that contains Glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin sulfate, Vitamin C etc. Green lipped mussel is great as well. I too give my Rottweiler sardines for omega 3's and steamed salmon, herring has a good amount of omega 3's as well.

I keep my Rottie's exercise consistant and never over do it. We walk mainly on old country trails so they are soft and natural and we never walk on pavement. Not that this is any great deal but the surface seems to be agreeing with her. We also do lots of swimming and I learned about acupressure to relieve pressure points.

Athena was diagnose with very bad degree HD at 1 1/2 and was re-X rayed at a bit over 2 years. She was in pretty rough shape back then and had a hard time getting out of bed and stairs etc. Since I learned about proper foods, holistic and herbs to give her and homeopathy she is now soon to be 9 years of age and is doing so well now you would not know she has HD or that she had ever suffered at any time. I am so proud :)

Here is a great site for you to review as well.

Arthritis

[AngelBunny]

Originally Posted by abbiesdogs

I forgot to say she weighs about 90lb, should I drop her weight a few lbs or is she ok?

She sounds heavy for a bitch.

Since she's orthopedically compromised, the best thing you can do is keep her lean.

cally01 suggests seeing what your vet has to say about her weight.

On the surface, this seems like good advice, but keep in mind that many vets are hesitant to be honest and frank about the weight of their clients' pets. They fear offending their clients to the degree the person leaves in a huff, never to return to the practice. (Least you think this is poppycock, there is a RDNer who has posted agreeing that vets can be less than forthcoming about fat pets--his or her relative is a vet.)

How does Lottie compare to the dogs pictured??

Corpulent Canines?

Is Your Dog Fat?

Evaluating Your Dog's Weight

Body Condition System

[abbiesdogs]

Thanks for the info, Cally01 I'm so happy that Athena doing so at well nearly 9,
AngelBunny, I'd rather "listen" to your and others advice on here than my vet, as his rottie is very heavy! Lottie does have a waist but I agree she needs to go on a diet.
I'll post some pics on tues for her birthday.
Abbie