Hi, Mary.....Yeppers, definately nutrition can help a dysplastic or any ortho dog. Again take mine, a dozen super ortho vets said he would be crippled by a year, go look at my site, he runs , jumps, does stairs using the rear legs independent of one another , climbs on everything , stands on his rear and walks like a bear....totally, totally nutrition done, nutrition including supps. It took me a year tho' to get the muscles to start developing but swimming, good old non weight baring exercise did it along with diet a close watch on what goes in directly has a effect on what shows outwardly. You can slow the progress of HD but not stop it if the genetic predisposition is there.
A puppy needs proper exercise just as a child does to develop properly and strong, IF they have no genetic defect. But with the defect they need specific exercise and therapy to develop without causing more pain. Not locked up to atrophy the muscles but guided with the proper exercises , including massage to the inside muscles and ligaments of the thighs in an HD case. I also work on the fore limbs of my fella as they did take the brunt of his weight at the start and still massage them cause I don't want the elbows to go either! Yep, nutrition is a good thing but if you have the genetic predisposition to ortho nutrition won't prevent it just keep the inflammation and pain out, that is all. Rusty C & Good Company
