Black lab with bad hips (labs, vet, wound, skin)

[1+1=5]

Hi everyone,

We took our black lab into the vet today, and received medication for her hip. She's about 10 years old now. We got her all checked over and medicine for her, but he wants to x-ray her hips and knees. I forgot to ask him (and we went Friday at 5 pm), do they recommend surgery or other interventions if the arthritis is really bad? I'm just wondering what to expect.

Please forgive the silly question as I work in the medical field, but if a human's parts go bad, we just usually replace them. Not sure what they will do for my dog - hopefully the medicine will work, and she won't have to have injections or surgery. I will do what it takes to keep her happy and healthy, though; I love her!!

Thanks so much!

[PinkAquarius]

If you truly trust in our vet then yes go ahead. But labs are expected to have hip problems.

[Butterfly4u]

Just remember, she is also 10 years old.
She has lived a nice long life, and she is a senior in her breed.
If the medicine is working, why do anything else?

[foxywench]

if its arthritis theres nothign other than medication a vet will do, especially at her age...
y guess is he things its dysplaysia rather than arthritis and thus surgery could be done however i personally woudlnt risk it given her age. assuming shes getting around fine and is doing well with meds id see no point in risking surgery of any kind on a dog her age.

id be calling and asking WHY they want the xrays, what the expect them to show and of what benefit/course of action they would lead to. given 10 is "old" for a lab, not ancient by any means but shes certain no spring chicken, i cant see doing surgery and it would seam to me that xrays would be overkill...

[Dogmama50]

You may also ask the vet about glucosamine and fish oil supplements. Our vet suggested them for my old dogs and it seems to a lot.

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by Dogmama50

You may also ask the vet about glucosamine and fish oil supplements. Our vet suggested them for my old dogs and it seems to a lot.

It helps my two labs.

They are 13.

I think Angel would not have made it this far without it.

[1+1=5]

Thanks, all; I appreciate the feedback so much.

I forgot to tell you that she is already on glucosamine plus another supplement. The two supplemental meds that she has been taking help but not really when it gets too cold out or she gets off the leash during our walks and wants to run around. What really helped her the most was the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory that she was on before we moved down here, so we just got more of that and more glucosamine.

I am sure if she didn't have the glucosamine it would be a lot worse, however. This vet said the other supplement (a milk protein) wouldn't hurt her but probably wouldn't help much. It was over $100 so we didn't buy more of that one.

Hopefully she will do fine on it. Thanks for the feedback!

[kiacook]

They don't do knee or hip replacements on dogs. For hip displasia they will do an FHO where they remove the top ball of the thigh bone so there is nothing to "pop out" of the hip joint. I don't know what they would do for arthritis.

[grannynancy]

That is incorrect-hip replacements ARE done on dogs regularly. (Though FHO's are as well)

They are not likely to do a hip replacement (THR) on a 10 year old dog though if she has a cruciate injury they may do a TPLO** -- Hips most folks are able to treat with medicines but if it is the cruciate ligament (and labs are particularly prone to cruciate injuries) surgery is usually the best option. But a good vet should be able to tell if it is the cruciate by doing physical manipulation (shelf test)....I would do the x-rays if it were my dog (I did for my old guy who wound up having some back problems)

Hopefully the dog in question is very lean and kept active with low impact type activities -- walking in chest high water is particularly good. Swimming may or may not be because they tend to overextend.

**which is pretty extensive but it depends on level of tear, weight of dog ect. Big dogs are more likely to need the TPLO instead of a simple ligament repair.

[1+1=5]

Thanks, all! I really appreciate the information. The dog is overweight so we are working on that also. After yesterday's dose of the anti-inflammatory, she was hopping around like a puppy on our walk. Will keep a close eye on her.

Appreciate your input so much - thanks again.