Hi Audrey, It is certainly a situation that many of us have faced at one time or another so you are not alone. You need to consult with a board certified orthopedic specialist about the latest options available to you. The procedure of removing the femoral head is generally not done these days on large breed dogs particularly if it involves both hips. Many people opt for pain management control using anti-inflammatory drugs and supplementing the dogs diet with glucosamine sulphate and chondroitin sulphate, Cartrophen injections may help as well. Specific anti-inflammatories are designed for dogs and these days we are fortunate that we don't have to use aspirin and ibuprofen as these can cause stomach ulceration over long term use. It is very important that your dog not be overweight and lean would be good, swimming is a useful exercise option and allowing the dog free exercise is good, leash walks should be kept short and frequent rather than one long hike. I would suggest you have your dog's elbows and shoulders xrayed as well as in some cases of severe pain the dog moves with compromise and these joints can incur damage and of course the elbows can have their own problems separate from the hips. Total hip replacement is a very expensive procedure and not one I have had to have done at this time, I do know of a Samoyed who had one hip done and the stability in that one hip was to support the lesser affected hip on the otherside. His owner told me that he had to wait until his dog was full grown. It is also important that your dog not lie too long on cold damp surfaces and that he has good traction in the home and not sliding about on slippery floors.
It is very important to check out your dog's conformation and stability and health of other joint groups before subjecting to surgery. Rose T. -----Original Message----- From: Eric Seiler [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: June 9, 2003 12:06 AM To: Bernese Mountain Dog Mailing List Subject: Input needed- Hip Dysplasia Hi all, I have a wonderful berner male named Orion, he's the first berner that I have had the pleasure of owning. From the time of about his first birthday, I had noticed an occasional mild limp when he walked. Of course the first few times I took him to the vet just to be checked out, but they were confident everything seemed to be ok. Then about 2 1/2 months ago, I woke up to find him having trouble walking at all. I was very alarmed and got him in to see the vet as soon as I could. Well we x-rayed, my vet told me that his hips looked bad and left it at that because I wanted/needed to send the x-ray to the OFA. The OFA's finding is that my 18 month old puppy has moderate hip dysplasia with subluxation and remodeling of femoral head/neck present. I was stunned, because he just has not let it slow him down. So except for the occasional few bad days, you would think that he is fine. If anyone has had any experience with this it would be appreciated if they could give me some advice, or just let me know what was done and how that has worked out. My vet thinks that his only options are total hip replacement for both sides or femoral head and neck excision. I just don't know what to have done to him. Thanks, Audrey and Orion
