7 yr old Rott with mild HD....question

[OdinsMom01]

I have a 7 year old Rottie named Odin that has mild HD in right hip, moderate hd in left hip. He was diagnosed at 10 months old. We have been managing his HD with glucosamine/chondrotin and MSM, homemade diet trying to keep his weight down, and moderate exercise. Today Odin chased a cat up a tree and before I could get him back in the house, he did quit a bit of jumping up at the tree and the privacy fence barking at the cat. When he first came in he seemed fine, but a few hours later we noticed him having difficulty getting up and he's now limping when he does get up, after a minute or so his walking is better, less limping. I've noticed as he's aged he does not handle jumping up as well, we try to control this, no frisbee playing etc, but this morning was something very unexpected. Right now I'm giving him ascriptin to help with any pain, until I can call the vet tomorrow.

My question...finally I know... is those of you with Rotts that have HD that are aging and have not had surgery.... do you notice as they have aged they have problems such as Odin, they don't handle episodes of "over exertion" as well? What have you done to manage this? I'm wondering as Odin ages what we are in for, I know no one has a crystal ball, but just trying to determine if there are other things I could be doing to help him out besides glucosamine/chondrition (1500mg daily at present), controling his diet and mild exericse (daily walks only)?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Lisa

[SonnyRott]

Yes! Growing up, our Alaskan Malamute had the very same thing happen. He was diagnosed at 6 months with HD.

We were giving him pain meds 4x a day in the end, when it was finally time to PTS at the age of 7. Surgery back in those days wasn't like it is today.

You'll know when the pain gets to be too much. For us, we made the decision when he couldn't get up without help.

If your dog bounces back from this episode, I would suggest swimming and slow, short walks. Slow movement is still beneficial.

[Mathilde's]

My bitch is also diagnosed with HD, severe in her case, but I have never seen any signs of it (yet). She is now five years old, and I am starting her on gluc/chond these days only as a precaution. We have not been excercising her any less because of the HD, but have to the contrary done regularly climbing with her in a varied terrain (off leash) to keep the muscles in shape, and I think this has been very good for her. The clue is regular, not moderate excercise I think. We have also avoided biking, running, and have not let her carry any weight. She has been on a BARF diet since she was 18 months (when she was X-rayed) and she also gets Omega 3 an vitamin E. I keep her very lean.

I don't really know of that many things you could do, except maybe swimming to build muscle without pressuring his joints (unfortunately my girl does not swim). Some have gold studs implanted in their hips, and say it works wonders, but not everybody get the wanted effect from this. Avoiding any kind of starches in his diet is also very important, but you probably have that covered cooking his food yourself. And there is the option of surgery (which is what I will do if nessecary - and if her upcoming removal of mammary tissue/lumps goes well, but that is another story), at least as long as the dog is otherwise healthy, and the $$$ is there.

How a dog with HD manages is extremely individual, and I think that predicting how they will do as they get older is impossible. Odins reaction to over exertion is quite common in HD dogs, and I don't think you can expect anything else in those situations.

This probably wasn't of much help, but I do know how you feel, it is horrible to watch them when they are in pain, and you feel helpless.

Good luck at the vet's.

Best of wishes, Thea