I've been doing more research on hip dysplasia and have discovered something new. I been reading
Cooper's diary. He was 6 months old when he had hip xrays done and was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. The owner went 3 different vets for a diagnosis. Two of them recommended Triple Pelvic Osteotomy, the third said to wait and see how much worse the hips get. The owner put Cooper on
Foster and Smith Joint Care and
Solid Gold Yucca. She also took him too a physical therapist and did hydrotherapy(swimming - just what Oak refuses to do!). The therapist explained to her that the inside muscles of the thigh were tight. This was causing the hip joint to pop out even more and the muscles on the outer leg to not develop enough. The symptoms for Cooper were very tight inner thigh muscles, and a very tight back(Oak's spine was very tight the first time we went to the chiroprator). The therapist said that dogs have a lot of extra skin on the top, and that you should be able to roll and stretch the skin easily all the way down the back from the neck to the tail(I'm not sure I understand this). In Cooper's case it was very tight.The therapist recommended massaging the inner thigh to loosen these muscles and make Cooper use his out thigh muscles more. So, to make a long story short, after using supplements, hydrotherapy and massage for the next year and a half. They xrayed his hips again at 2 years of age, they looked fabulous! The xrays were sent in to be rated and he got a good rating!
After reading this story, I got to thinking that Oak is showing signs of tight muscles. He doesn't like to lay in a "froggy" and he's not too keen about laying on his back with his legs stretched out. Both things he wouldn't like to do if his muscles were tight. Now to check into massage.
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3 comments:
Very interesting. Our dog just got his OFA elbows back with mild changes in his joint. We have started the dasuquin joint supplement and switched his food to one with hihger levels of fatty acids and antioxidants.I feel like my vets are not as educated on elbows since my three dogs are the only ones they have ever sent to OFA. I am going to look into some massage and hydrotherapy maybe. Not sure if it is right for his situtation or not, but It couldn't hurt. Thanks for posting the idea., I don't think I would have thought of it but it makes sense. Our breeder told us to recheck the films in 6 months anyway. I trust him more cause the has been doing OFA eblows on his dogs for 25 or so years. Thanks so much!
In reguard to Patricia McConnell. I already had some of the techniques in my training program for my dogs. Esp her body blocking I use that alot and it works very well. like any trainer not sure I am sold on 100% of her stuff. She mentioned hips slams being used by bitches to keep other bitches from ovulating, which may be true, but I had a bitch who used to hip slam me, I don't think she was trying to inhibit my ovulation, and she was also not a pushy or dominant girl, I'm still not sure why she did it. And she admits some of her stuff is just theories.But anyway there is still a ton of good stuff in those tapes. I am going to try some more of her techniques. Esp the come. The dogs hate the obedience style comes, so maybe I'll save that for the ring and do the more fun ones at home to different cues. I also like the way she uses terms like dominant and shy etc., very insightful, and the way she uses small changes to read body language. Also like the way she explains why we behave the way we do. I love to learn new things about my dogs, and myself, don't you.
Thanks for the excellent info. Yes, I am always trying to learn new things about dogs. Both training and health.
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