The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
-
Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.
-
Updates to let us know how you are doing. This provides valuable feedback on past advice / encouragement and will hopefully make people feel a little more motivated to follow through. If you want to be reminded to post your update, see the post titled 'update reminders', below.
-
Advice. This can be in response to a request for advice or just something that you think could be generally useful for many people here.
-
Encouragement. Probably best directed at specific users, but if you feel like just encouraging people in general I don't think anyone is going to object. I don't think I really need to say this, but just to be clear; encouragement should have a generally positive tone and not shame people (if people feel that shame might be an effective tool for motivating people, please discuss this so we can form a group consensus on how to use it rather than just trying it).
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
My German Shepherd, 9 years old now, suddenly developed a painful limp in his rear leg and could barely move without whimpering in agony.
The vet I was seeing initially suggested it was a sprain and prescribed NSAIDs, but after a few weeks of no improvement, I took him for a review and then got an xray done. After reviewing the plates myself, I'm confident he's developed hip dysplasia, which is what I initially suspected.
So far, I'm not satisfied with the followup advice from the vet, which encompasses more painkillers and physiotherapy. Does anyone here have experience with a large dog with hip dysplasia? Any tips for restoring QOL?
What especially sucks is that he was healthy as ever till it happened, seemingly overnight, and it breaks my heart to see him this way. If surgery or other, more intensive options can help, I'll shell out for them. I want him to be happy, goddammit. Why does everyone we love grow old and die? Especially dogs, who are cursed with a lifespan far shorter than their nature warrants, when nobody fucking asked for parrots to often outlive their owners. "Polly wants a cracker." Shut up, Polly, unless you want a cap in your ass, you glorified echolalic painted chicken.
All dogs don't go to heaven. Nobody does. That's all the more reason to make their fleeting time here worth it..
Hip dysplasia, (at least in humans), is usually fixed with 1. osteotomy to change the shape of the joint to provide more stability, very big surgery, or 2. hip replacement, less big of a surgery. Hip replacement is usually used for cases with a lot of osteoarthritis, where 1. tends to fail. It seems these are also options in dogs, I would try to find couple vet hip surgeons and get their opinions on whether there is dysplasia and what would be the best treatment. In humans mild cases are still treated with therapy, as intense pain + mild dysplasia is probably caused by something other than the dysplasia. Also in humans at least, physical therapy can be customized for the condition of hip dysplasia and non-specific PT may not help as much as hip-dysplasia-specific PT. I'm not sure if this is the case in dogs but it may be worth trying to find a PT that specializes in hip dysplasia, at least to help with the post-op rehab. Here are some links for more information: https://www.vetspecialty.com/specialties/surgery/orthopedic-procedures/total-hip-replacement-thr/canine-hip-dysplasia-chd/ https://ofa.org/diseases/hip-dysplasia/ https://rehabvet.com/conditions/hip-dysplasia-dog-physiotherapy/
Regarding PT, this link seems like it has some good info: https://drandyroark.com/wp-content/uploads/Published_Copy.pdf, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28576271/ Best wishes.
I'm familiar with the treatment in humans, if not canines. Thanks for looking into it!
No problem, hope you find a treatment to help your dog!
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link