Guinness and his hips L O N G
The vet I am seeing now is head of the ortho dept and has made great changes.. NOW guinness has fell twice on his other hip I finally went back to VOSM where the vet is I hate but saw guinness' pt vets husband that was so kind Oh he actually called me at home and called the org vet too and tried to build a realitonship (when all this diagnosing was going on) I trust this guy (well if I can ever trust a surgeon) He did some xrays told me his wife told him to take pics and that he has to do everything the best for guinness because his wife adores him This vet has a great rep Not an owner in this practice but I like him a lot. He said we could manage it medically, guinness needs to lose 10 lbs Walk him on hills and increase the anti inflamatories A hip replace may be needed down the road 6,000 which would be best or he did well with an FHO 2,500 I think?? But when they get older (guinness is 6) and lose muscle mass the FHO does not support the hip as well... Then thur he went totally lame rolled on the bed from side to side We helped him up he hopped to his bed He actually growled at me when I put a towel under him to help him out Dr L was off but called me and gave me advice and I upped his rimadyl toradol and now he is up again and seems sore I thought it was from his exam mon. Dr L said no it was too far away but who knows?? The techs seemed to be fighting over who handled him and thought he was sooo sweet and his pads were soft and his coat was so beautiful. Thats my boy!!! This may be fragmented as I am about stone crazy but wanted to inform my sheepie friends, Has anyone had a lg sheepdog have bilateral FHO's ?? How did they do?? I told the surgeon when the time comes I will find the money (hey there is ebay and I have some nice things that I can let go of for my boy!!Maybe a kidney!!) but I do not want all the unecessary things done and I do not want my boy in pain for almost a year!! He has no clue as to why guinness went lame so fast but it is resolving.... I don't know what will happen later and just don't know what procedure to have done (I am hoping losing the weight will help he is 90 lbs and really needs to be 80) After this cluster bob will not help make a decision it is all on me . I screwed everything up with the last two dogs. We actually did massage , adjustments and swin therapy but it did not help so we went for THR Just want some support and words from those who have been through something like this. I feel as if my world is falling apart..................... |
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| Cindy, I'm so sorry. I of course don't have any answers for you but do know that hide sight's a bitch plain and simple. We know the answers after all's said and done. Only time will tell whether we make the "right" choices for our dogs... we don't have those answers going in. Have you checked the Yahoo Group CanineHD? http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineHD Maybe someone there has been through a double FHO on a big dog and can share their experience. I anguished over what to do with Panda too so I feel your heartache over Guinness. Panda had an FHO on April 17th down at Michigan State University. It ended up being just under $1,900 though the estimate was higher. (NEOESR covered the bill.) I plan to post about this after she's farther along in her recovery. Diagnosis- Bilateral hip dysplasia with severe bilateral coxofemoral osteoarthritis and severe bilateral pelvic limb muscle disuse atrophy." After the surgery, her leg was like jelly but she's doing better... we went for a nice long walk today. She's toe-touching but putting full weight on it to walk... her sits are square more often. The time could come when she needs to have the other hip done and I'm hoping her elbows don't go too. Only time will tell whether I made the right choice too. Let me know if you need to talk, Cindy.  Does anyone really wonder why I have little patience for breeders who say they love, love, love this breed but cut corners to make more money and don't OFA their breeding dogs? That's not love... that's greed and/or ignorance. Do everything possible to prevent this kind of suffering... of both dogs and their families. |
| Cindy I really don't have anything to add, but if I remember correctly I think our vet wanted to do both hips on Frankie if he did a FHO. I know someday we are going to have to make that decision. I also had to use my 401k savings for Frankie's stem cell procedure. I say that's his bank account. You don't always know what twists and turns life is going to throw at you, all you can do is the best that you can do. Thinking of you Cindy. If you want to talk feel free to PM me. Lisa Frnke and Mattie |
Thanks I may just call you both...It is so hard to know what to do and so hard when you have been "had" by some vets. I do completely trust Dr L and he is not one to rush into something surgical. He agreed I had been thru a lot of poo but did not use that term  I have been told to report the radiology group (yeah I drove 2.5 hrs in a blizzard to get his MRI done) and the neurosurgeon. I have so moved past that.  I was so happy when Dr L said we could manage medically and then boom he was in awful pain Seems better so I will just be thankful for that. I am retired and money is tight but I still do not want my boy to go thru what he did the last time...pain for months. Of course once you get started with diagnostic tests the $$ mounts up too. Even the suppliments I have him on are expensive and I have to have liver enzymes done on him every so often Jaci you are right people who breed willy nilly do not love the dogs they breed they love the $$ They do not think of the anguish and pain they cause the owners and dogs Yes I could have him put down for 100 and just end it all but I love him so and would take a bullet for my friend and he would do the same for me.....I love rescue dogs but with them come issues.Thanks for the input Hopefully I can manage him medically but he is 6 what happens when he is 8 and goes lame and the risks are higher AUGHHHHH Life is a crapshoot at best |
4dognight wrote: AUGHHHHH Life is a crapshoot at best That sums it up really well.  Although not experienced with such problems, you know you can call any time you want just to talk. "Broad shoulders, no waiting". |
| I have no experience, but I just wanted to let you know I read and sympathize with you - bunches! |
| I was talking with our family vet today when we had Panda in this morning... I asked about 90 pound dogs and bilateral FHOs... I told her about Guinness. She has done this surgery successfully on both sides. Success depends on whether the dog has recovered decent muscle mass in the first FHO leg. So even with Panda for example, she's 63 pounds, if she doesn't recover muscle mass in her right leg, she would not do surgery at a later date on the left side. We needed to find another homeopathic vet.  Our new doctor has performed numerous FHOs in his career...Quote: "...During my time in surgery I performed almost a thousand of these with about 90% success..." I can PM you if you want contact info. (We do telephone consults.) |
| That is encouraging I can afford another FHO He has built up great muscle mass in the one that was done. we know he has a history of failure. The one thing that this vet said (and he has a wonderful reputation and really cares I have not had that experience in the other specialists just my reg vet) is that when dogs age and the normal progression of lost muscle mass starts The dogs with FHO.s seem to not do as well as ones with the THR But who is to say if he has another THR that it would not fail and we end up with another FHO and I just cannot afford that!!!Nor put Guinness through it. We cannot afford the THR now. If I knew it would be a sure thing then I would find a way. I waved my credit card for guinness and bruiser like I was rich!! I got caught up in the love in their eyes....again it is the damn backyard breeders that random breed GRRRRR but I have no time or energy to dwell on that. Guinness is back to his normal ouchy hip self so I will just keep my fingers crossed and start our walking PT to build up muscle in both hips and get weight off both of us. We have a wonderful homeopathic vet/surgeon about 1.5 hrs from me She does traditonal med/surgery/and manipulates like she has golden hands A horse woman about my age and she is a hoot!!! |
| I'm sorry to hear about your ongoing problems with Guinness. I hope you find a solution which improves his life. |
| I don't know where we're going to end up but if it's at all encouraging for Guinness, I just sent the video below to Panda's ortho vet at MSU this morning and she wrote back. Panda's knee is turning in as she walks. Surgery April 17th... video today, April 30th. http://oesusa.com/PandaWalking-043012-P ... 41712.html Quote: Based on the video I think Panda is looking pretty good. The knee going inward when she walks is due to her lack of muscle mass. With physical therapy this should improve and walking in water will be very good for her!... I picked up a 12' x 36" pool at Kmart... I'll fill it part way with warm water and we'll start with some resistance walking. I ordered one of those egg-shape ball type things... we'll try to get more flexibility. All we can do is the best we can do with what we have to work with. We don't want to cause greater pain or mobility issues but sometimes the point comes where we've run out of options. |
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