We've had our lab/shepard/pit mix on Rimadyl (non-steroidal anti inflammatory) for a few months now, along with glucosamine/condroitin, and she is much more active and energetic.

I saw the X-rays, and her hip dysplasia is extreme, but she feels so much better on her medication that surgery was not needed.

It was cheaper in the long run for us to buy the whole container of Rimadyl 75 mg chewables, rather than a few at a time.

That is one cute dog!

How old is your dog, Petaloid?

Thanks, Sylvia. He's a big teddy bear. If anything happens to him, they might as well shoot me. He is a special guy.

I found a good website that explains total hip replacement, but it only talks about the pros. Cons are similar to other orthopedic implant surgeries: long recovery time, can only do one hip at a time, risk of infection, implant failure, very low risk of developing bone cancer. Also, it is expensive- usually $2500-3500 per hip, without complications.

As Petaloid mentioned, conservative therapy for pain management can also be beneficial. Medications like NSAIDs (rimadyl, etc.) are useful in controlling pain and inflammation. They can be added to other medications such as tramadol if your dog is still painful. Other modalities such as acupuncture and massage therapy may help. Besides glucosamine/chondroitin, there are other supplements that may help provide pain relief and decrease inflammation, such as Duralactin (concentrated milk protein), fish oil (concentrated omega fatty acids), and vitamin E (excellent antioxidant and free radical scavenger, painful products of inflammation). Drawback to chronic NSAID use is possibility of adverse effects such as liver/kidney damage, GI ulcers, so monitoring regularly with bloodwork is very very important (but adds to the total cost of therapy). Combining NSAIDs with steroids greatly increases the risk for GI ulcers, so if there was a medical need to use steroids (such as with immune-mediated diseases) your dog would need additional GI protectors and extremely close monitoring. Preferably, NSAIDs are discontinued for 2 weeks prior to starting steroids, when possible. Eventually, pain management may become ineffective, and you may be faced with the choice of surgery or euthanasia.

At 6 years old, there are benefits to doing the total hip replacement now rather than waiting. He is relatively young and should heal quicker than if you had the surgery done in a couple of years. He probably doesn't have any age-related diseases at this point, besides the arthritis from hip dysplasia. You'd be giving him great quality time with brand spanking new hips while he is young and can enjoy it longer. You don't have to deal with chronic drug therapy.

There aren't too many regular vets who do total hip replacement surgery, and given the choice I'd personally go with a specialist. Even the vet I work for does *tons* of orthopedic surgeries, and he refers total hips.

Good luck with making a decision. UC Davis is an excellent vet school (wish I had been able to go there), and I have no doubt he'd be in great hands if that is the route you choose.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gulf Coast Vet Specialist info on Total Hip Replacement

Todancewithwolves -- our dog is seven years old. Meghane always give such good advice. We give our dog fish oil capsules too, and it's good to read that is also of benefit. Maybe we should include the vitamin E supplement too.

Vet wants to do x-rays and an ultrasound tomorrow. She's concerned as well. They put him on rimadyl for pain and so far it hasn't done anything.

I would opt for hip replacement. Cost is no factor, he's my baby. I've been to Davis before with my other dog and they are awesome. My only concern is he weighs 120 lbs and recovery will be difficult.

Thank you all.

Thank you, meghane. Thank God there are people like you. You'll make a wonderful vet.

Turns out it's arthritis in his knees. I would have never guessed. Thank God the x-rays show that his dysplasia has not advanced. He's now on pain med's and rimadyl.

The vet has recommended physical therapy and thank God we have such a place for dogs close by.

I'm glad to hear his condition is better than you had expected, and hope he feels better soon.

That is relatively good news especially since you have a PT place nearby. Hope he feels much better soon.

Glad to hear it's not his hips.

Just be sure to watch for warning signs with the Rimadyl. It has been known to cause liver damage and kill dogs. Your vet should have taken some baseline blood work, in case future problems arise.

I have a dog with hip dysplasia and some injuries which resulted in his current arthitis (before he came to live with me). My vet had always supplied me with some rimadyl for the occasional dosage, when he was feeling really bad.

Since my boy has cancer now and is taking Prednisone, we have switched out the rimadyl for Tramadol to keep him comfortable in his last days. Rimadly and Prednisone would likely send him to the Bridge prematurely.

I just read another story about death by Rimadyl today. So be VERY careful with the stuff.

"Please do a search, adverse effects of Rimadyl and Deramaxx. I work for a holistic vet, and she gave a talk on osteoarthritis in dogs, and it was pretty sad to hear the facts. She said this is the number one cause of death in dogs.. they are either put to sleep due to the debilitating pain, or put to sleep due to the adverse effects of the NSAID's, or simply die from the NSAID's. My neighbors had a young lab, their vet put her on Deramaxx (just because... to ward off any arthritic issues..) She got very depressed, went off her feed, vets found no reason why, and she just died. Just plain died in their living room. Vet determined she had bled to death, but refused to admit why. Of course they do not admit why, because they Rx the drugs that cause these problems. "

clg7067, I'm so sorry to hear your boy has cancer, God love him.

I don't like pharmaceuticals and would much rather find alternative supplements. I'm going to speak with the therapist on Monday for other options.

Edna

Deramaxx is one of the most ulcergenic NSAIDs known with long-term use. It should not have been a surprise for anyone that the dog bled to death through its GI tract. That kind of thing just makes me *so* angry!

NSAIDs can be a godsend for some dogs. The rate of reaction considering the number of dogs on chronic NSAIDs is quite low. However it is extremely important to 1) know what, if any, underlying conditions the dog has 2) monitor both the behavior and bloodwork of the dog on a regular basis 3) give the appropriate dose and 4) avoid potentially dangerous drug interactions (steroids are a definite NO with NSAIDs, and that includes topical preparations).

That said, if you are able to provide some extra effort, your dog can benefit from many alternative treatments. I'm a huge fan of Duralactin for my arthritic dogs- Ana who has 2 grade 4 (the worst) luxating patellas is only on Duralactin, glucosamine/chondroitin, vitamin E, and Fish oil and she does pretty good. She needs an NSAID very rarely for when she overdoes it, but otherwise is maintained just on regular exercise and those supplements. Hopefully your dog (what is his name?) will feel better with safer alternatives, but if not, follow through with monitoring. If he feels bad on NSAIDs, STOP the NSAID and call your vet immediately. It could be a serious problem, no matter how long he has been on them. I've known dogs to have reactions *years* after starting chronic NSAID use.

If using Rimadyl for a long time, please consider using Denamarin in conjunction to "support" the liver.

Tramadol is an excellent pain reliever too. An alternative to the Rimadyl.

Here is a link that might be useful: Denamarin

I strongly suggest finding a vet that does acupuncture and chiropractic work on dogs. I used to work at a vet clinic that specialized in this. I started working there because they paid well and were right down the street from my house. Frankly I didn't believe in acupuncture and thought they were all nuts. Seeing the results totally converted me. With 90% of the dogs were treated for orthopedic issues we were able to decrease pain, increase mobility and improve muscle tone.

before considering surgery i would exhaust all the many other options. one of our dogs, tracey, has severe displasia due to bone deformation, she has a ball on the top of the leg bone but no socket in the hip bone so it rubs. she was 2 before we found this out by moving into a much bigger house w/ room to run and play w/ her furry sis. both dogs have insurance but i wanted to try all our options before surgery.

she has been doing great for the last 7 yrs using: ascriptin (coated aspirin), metacam as needed, synovi G3 soft chews, some massage therapy and accupuncture. i was leary of the accupuncture but tried it 7 yrs ago and after 1 treatment she was like a puppy! she did several treatments in a row and now only goes a few times a yr when needed. i am soooo glad we did not do surgery as she is pain-free as far as we can tell and active. she's 9.5 yrs old now and starting to put on a bit of weight so we are exercising her alot more. we recently added nutramax's new patented Dasuquin MSN w/ very good results. our other dog tore up her ACL this past dec, recovered w/o surgery and then caused 3 slipped disks in her back, she thinks she's 2 when her age is 9 yrs :-/ the dasuquin has been a huge help to her.

good luck w/ whatever you do! ~ liz