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My 10 month old American Water Spainel has hip dysplasia, confirmined by x-rays and a second examination by a different vet. Both vets say they don't think surgery is the right option and that right now and for the foreseeable future, medication and joint supplements are the way to go. They both have said that a hip replacement may be in her future but that will depend as to how things develop later on.

They both recommend Adequan injections and glucosamine / chondroitin supplements.

Do any of you have any experience with the different glucosamine / chondroitin supplements??? There seem to be several on the market and the vets didn't give me any indication which one would be the best choice.

Also any other advise as to what we can do for our pup. She has got a great nose, loves to hunt and we don't want to retire her.

My Setter was diagnosed at 6 months of age with severe dysplasia in both hips. . The vet said a simple syrgery cutting off the top of the leg bone would result in a healthy non hunter, a full hip would make him as good as new. Apparently only 1 hip is necessary. I went for the whole Magilla. ($3500.00- 1997 dollars) Petey is going to be 10 this coming October (October 1, for those of you sending a card)and still runs like a puppy. Unfortunately, he has his bad days. Usually 2 bad days after every good day. On the good days he runs and runs around the yard nonstop. Then the next two days, he barely leaves the couch. When he does its a full limp. Obviously, he's in pain.

It never dawned on me to give him glucosamine/chondroitin, even though I've been taking it for years. Then one day I saw the stuff in Petsmart (liver flavored) and the lightbulb went off. We've been using it religiously since August with a coated asperin, the same asperin I take, with excellent results.

Petey hasn't hunted in 3 or 4 years because of the hip, but lately I have been getting a little optimistic. We may actually try a half day preserve trip before NY's prreserve season ends on March 31. Wish us luck.

And good luck to you.

Peter n Petey

Joined: 06 Oct 2006 Posts: 10 Location: Indiana

Rudy C,

One of the most important questions you have to answer is what you want from your dog. The answer to this question will help determine the next best route for you to go. Decide if you want a pup that becomes more of a house dog and occassionally hunts, a part time hunter, or a full time hunter. Realize that option number three may never happen, depending on how bad the hip dysplasia gets.

The conservative approach to managing hip dysplasia is what has been given to you as an option. Generally, management of the disease is attempted through use of NSAID's (non-steriodal anti-inflammatories), joint supplements, and proper exercise/restriction. For mild cases of dysplasia and dysplasia that is later in onset, this option works out best. Other options are surgical and vary in cost and effectiveness. Once hip dysplasia has been diagnosed and progresses to the point of considering surgery, conservative management isn't very effective. In order to understand the procedures and benefits as well as draw backs, it is important to first understand the disease.

Hip dysplasia is a developmental orthopedic disease that presents itself at various times during a dogs life. As to when the disease will show in a particular dog is highly dependent on environmental factors (food, exercise, trauma, etc) and genetics. The disease starts out is a looseness or laxity in the hip joint, specifically between the head of the femur (upper leg bone) and the pelvis. With time and continued repeated trauma caused by the looseness of the joint, the bones involved begin to remodel and develop arthritis. This is the point where severe inflammation and pain most commonly occur.

Surgery consists of several different procedures of varying degrees of complexity and cost. FHO, or femoral head ostectomy is one procdure that has been mentioned. This procedure is the surgical removal of the femoral (upper leg bone) head. The procedure aims to eliminate the grinding of bone on bone between the femur and the pelvis. Generally, this procedure isn't recommended for large breed dogs or dogs that are poorly muscled. It is realy quite amazing what these dogs can do without a normal hip joint, given that the right dogs are selected for the procedure.

Total hip replacements are available in the dog. They are the most expensive surgery, and do not prevent arthritis or problems. The surgery is quite complex and is a specialty surgery. The head of the diseased femur is removed and an artificial one takes it's place. The acetabulum ( the section of the pelvis that the femur creates the ball and socket joint with) is removed and an artifical socket is then placed to except the artifical femoral head. There are more complications with a procedure like this but tends to give the best results as far as normal activity and life afterwards. If you were to do this, I would recommend doing both instead of one, the other hip is normally diseased as well. Other procedures are available in dogs that are very young, between 3-6 months old that try and prevent the progression or development of arthritis. These procedures try to re-create the normal joint by changing the bone growth and/or angles of growth.

Bottom line is this....there aren't any studies out there that look at the long term outcome of any of these procedures on sporting/athletic dogs. So I really can't tell you which procedure would work the best in your situation. I am struggling with the same decision that you face at this point. I diagnosed my Braque du Bourbonnais with hip dysplasia this past summer. He managed to make it through the hunting season OK but I limited him significantly over the previous year's hunting.

One last note....a new procedure out of Europe has shown some promise. Denervation is where the surgeon will physically remove the nerves that innervate the hip joint and remove the source of pain. This has shown a great deal of promise for those dogs that are in pain. There is a study being funded and conducted at Kansas State as we speak that looks to objectively evaluate this procedure as means to help with the disease. The disease process continues as it would normally, but the source of pain is removed, thereby allowing a near normal activity level which is pain free.