Photo by Jane Vans35.
Dogs with mild symptoms and minor radiographic changes can sometimes be treated medically. Please be aware that dogs, especially large-breed ones, can be stoic. They want to please you and can appear happy and healthy. What they are showing you on the outside is not always how they feel on the inside, especially when it comes to pain. Always look for subtle signs of a problem to give you a guide and an indication that an exam and radiographs are needed.
Over-the-counter Ascriptin (aspirin and Maalox) can help in mild cases. Most dogs treated medically will need stronger medication. The most common and effective are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). They have been used extensively over the years for their significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect. These are available by prescription from your veterinarian.
Always have food in your dog’s stomach prior to giving any of these medications to prevent vomiting and stomach ulcers. Giving over-the-counter Pepcid AC can help irritation of the stomach. Just as with humans, some dogs do not tolerate these medications, so they cannot be dosed with them. Since the meds might be used on a long term basis, vets should always use the lowest dose possible. A blood panel should be checked every six months to assess the kidneys and liver while on NSAIDs.
Tylenol must never be given to either dogs or cats because of potential serious toxicity.
Nutraceuticals, which are substances containing health-giving additives and having medicinal benefit—Cosequin, Synovicare, Glycoflex, Arthramine and MaxFlex, for example—can help some pets when given with the abovementioned medications, although it’s easy to fool yourself and think they are working when your dog actually still feels pain.
Passive range of motion, swimming and hydrotherapy can also be beneficial, especially when combined with NSAIDs. Keeping your pet’s weight down and supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids can help. The use of a prescription diet like Hill’s J/D (Joint Diet) can be highly beneficial.
At LBAH, we also use acupuncture, laser therapy and a very effective modality called veterinary neural adjustment (VNA). Use of these treatments in combination with NSAIDs seems to give the best results and allows us to decrease the dose of the NSAID to minimize the chances of side effects when a pet is on them for the long-term. To learn more about these methods, click this link.
Medical therapy cannot prevent the onset of arthritis, so surgery is the best option in many cases. This emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis long before arthritis sets in. There are several options for surgical correction; three of them seem to yield the best results.
The arrow points to secondary arthritis on this dog with severe hip dysplasia.
The triple pelvic osteotomy (TPO) is used in dogs between 6 to 12 months of age. The pelvis is cut and then rotated to make a good contact between the head of the femur and the pelvis (called the acetabulum). This helps minimize the onset of arthritis.
Once the pelvis has been rotated, a plate is put on each side to stabilize it so that the heads of the femur have a tighter fit.
The total hip replacement is used in the mature dog with severe hip dysplasia. This is an advanced procedure and more expensive than the TPO.
Theses two surgeries are performed by specialists in orthopedic surgery and are usually not available in a general veterinary practice. If the procedures cannot be feasibly done, then a femoral head osteotomy (FHO) is utilized. In this surgery, the head of the femur, which is causing the pain as your pet moves, is removed. What remains form a false joint made from tendons and ligaments. It is used in dogs of all sizes but works best in the smaller ones.
Our website has detailed information on this significant disease.