Aw, poor puppy! I thought hip dysplasia affected larger dogs, but I guess it can happen across the board.

When I had German Shepherds I heard dysplasia can sometimes be corrected with surgery.

My 13-year-old Husky-Shepherd has severe arthritis. He's on Previcox, which costs me about $80/month and which runs the risk of hurting his liver and/or kidneys. It hasn't cured the problem, but it certainly has helped.

Several years ago my Collie-Shepherd (who had only three legs, thanks to a hunter who shot her on my property) died from taking Rimadyl, another arthritis med. It gave her three good months, but she had a painful end. (Why do these things always happen on holidays, when the vets aren't around?)

Good luck to you and your dog. I'm sure it helps that the condition was caught early.

Susan

I'm sorry your Pup is feeling poorly.

My Ruby is fifteen years old and is very stiff and arthritic.
We give her asmall dose of tintic every day; 1 to 2 cc.
This keeps her comfortable and quite lively, believe it or not. She sleeps a lot but romps (slowly and deliberately) and plays. I keep heating pads all over the yard and barn so she always has a warm place to lay but she prefers the sunshine. She is somewhat senile as the cats often sleep with her..something she would NEVER allow if she were younger. LOL

Your vet is the best place though to get advice and meds for you dog though. What works for my dog may not work for yours. If you don't like what he is telling your find another vet. There are many drugs and therapies available to keep our doggie companions comfortable and active. However, give each treatment time to work.

Good luck!

Lori

My 12 year old black lab has arthritis in his spine. He is on Rymadyl(anti-inflammatory) which helps tremendously. Of course it is not without its drawbacks, but my dog seems to do fine. I also have him sleeping on a thick foam pad and sometimes will warm that up with a heating pad.

I started him with acupuncture 5 months ago and I notice a drastic improvement. I was skeptical at first, but now I highly recommend it. Another good thing is there are no side effects, except he does look like a porcupine during treatment lol. It calms him almost instantly which is a huge bonus.

I'm sorry to hear about your pup, Susan. Poor little girl.

My older collie, Paisley, is on Tramadol for pain, she has a degenerative breast bone, something the vet had never seen before. She was on Rimadyl, then Deramaxx, and now Tramadol. The first two can be hard on livers and require blood work testing to keep an eye on liver levels. Tramadol seems to be the least dangerous, at least for now. And it works great and it's so much cheaper than the other two, too. We pay about $20 a month to keep her comfy, as opposed to $60+.

I hope you and your vet come up with a plan to keep your baby happy and comfortable, Susan.

I'm sorry about your puppy Susan and I have no advice because I haven't experienced it. But now I'm wondering if my dog should be checked because when we're out walking he will just plop himself down and not move until he's ready. No matter where he is.

Thank you everyone. Zeetera, that's exactly what Gracie started doing a few weeks ago. And she used to love her walks.

Oh no. Don't tell me that. The groomer did say once that he winced when she held his paw out and I took him right to the vets. They said he was fine but just by manipulating his front leg.

I'll have to make another appointment. Thanks for letting me know.

I thought she was resisting walks because it's cold out, and I know she's more sensitive to the cold than the other dog is... but the xrays confirmed these problems.

Susan, I forgot to mention that I have also been giving my dog "Synflex for dogs". It was prescribed by my vet, but you are able to buy it online. It has glucosamine, Omegas, shark cartlage and a few other supplements. It's gravy flavored. It's not cheap, but there are other supplements for dogs with the same ingredients, such as Synovey G3. He was on that before and I bought it through petmeds.com. The Synflex is not offered there. I know some people who give their dogs the same joint supplements (OTC) that they take, but of course adjust the dosage.

Ask your vet what he thinks.

Well, I bought something from the vet today, that has glucosamine in it. When it starts running out, I'm going to see if I can get it online. I might have trouble with that, being in Canada. I'll have to see if anybody knows about ordering meds for their pets online in Canada.

Susan, my brothers dog, Ben, a 12 year old Poodle/Terrier mix has very bad arthritis in his hips. It's funny, because my brother has had both hips replaced due to Arthritis. Anyway Ben's back end is very weak and can be quite painful. He has medication for it that my brother gives him (a liquid) as needed that works wonders! A non-steroidal anti-inflamitory called Metacam. Poor Ben can't walk some days without it. Ask your vet about it.

I will Mush, thanks. I'm supposed to call the vet in 5-6 days.

I'm taking notes here. I'd love to get Wolfy off the Previcox and on something safer.

Lori, what's Tintix? I Googled it but didn't see anything.

I had asked my vet about Tramadol, but for some reason he didn't want to do it. I'm planning to try another vet anyway, so I'll ask him/her.

One of our dogs, who is eight years old, has hip dysplasia. She gets an anti-inflammatory called Rimadyl, which helps her be more comfortable and active, and glucosamine-condroitin.

Do you remember how long it took the medication to work?

the inflamation of arthritis can be greatly reduced and thereby reducing pain by taking turmeric....you know, that yellow, curry-like spice that you have in your spice rack. Very inexpensive, no side-effects. I would add a bit of water , just before it turns to a paste and roll it into a tiny ball. You ccan then pop it into her mouth/throat or hide it in a treat. By the way....this works for people too.

This just breaks my heart. She is so young yet. Poor little thing. :( I haven't had to deal with this before, I just wanted to say how sorry I was.