My baby (lab retriever) has been diagnosed with early stages of HD as well. Went for xray & it shows. Vet has prescribed synoquin - have ou guys heard of this? The vet says it has worked pretty well with a few of his patients. Does anyone have a better recommendation?
Do you mean the drug "Cosequin"? ... Maybe "Synoquin" is another brand-name for cosequin.
If you mean "Cosequin" ... then it consists essentially of glucosamine & chondroitin. From personal experience, we know that glucosamine is helpful in cases of canine hip dysplasia ("CHD").
(A) Sometimes, mild CHD improves as the dog matures, and stronger muscles take over the load.
But CHD can be degenerative, getting more serious as the dog grows older and gets heavier ... so care has to be taken. Most believe that CHD is genetic & hereditary, so your dog should be desexed and not allowed to breed.
(B) VERY IMPORTANT to keep the dog's weight under control ... make sure your dog does not get overweight. With a young dog, you must be careful. You need to feed the dog well (young dogs need good nutrients to grow) but you should not feed so much that the dog gets overweight. So learning and understanding dog nutrition becomes important.
(C) VERY IMPORTANT to provide your dog with good & reasonable amounts of correct exercise to maintain good muscle tone & strength. Good muscles can help balance the weak hip joints, and help hold the joints in better position.
No jumping and do not place unecessary stress on the hip joints. Avoid rough-housing with your dog. Avoid hard or slippery surfaces as much as possible - slipping and sliding places stress on the hips.
Good walks on grass and general play are recommended.
Hi, my dog is on Cosequin now for about a week but no visible improvement observed so far. Since my dog (min poodle) is still young, about 1 and a half years old, she is rather active and jumps on and off the couch and bed all the time. It will take me sometimes to stop her doing that.
I walk her regularly so hope to strenghten her muscle and to lose some weight. Just wonder if she is allow to chase balls and play fetch? She will nudge my hands with her ball to paly fetching every day, so there is lots of running. If she is not allow to play ... then it is really boring and sad for a young dog too.
Cosequin is a long term treatment ... and some dogs respond faster than others.
Check the websites provided above ...
Whether you should allow your dog to chase balls & jump will depend on her condition and the degree of CHD ... the musculature and condition of your dog ... It is impossible to tell without seeing the dog ...
I assume your vet has done an x-ray ... rather than risk over-exercise ... it is best to check with your vet for advice.
Hi, just wondering how young is your lab? I am surprised that your vet could diagnose HD at a baby age. Think you could give Vit. C and lots of swimming if possible. If you could get hold of Adequan from the US, that will be great. The Gloucosomine and Chondroitin stuff are not as effective as Adequan. Because it is pricey and also not available here. But if you could get hold of it. It is really great.
i call her baby bcoz she is my baby girl:-) she's actually 16 months & have put her on synoquin - doc's recommendation. she seems a little better but due for her next appt end of this week - hopefully things are better. i read about synoflex - its in liquid form & the website rants & raves abt it. checked with my doc but he says its not available her.
Hi, Understand your baby now. I will strongly recommend you to find a means of importing Adequan. It is easily administer through the muscle, and I think it will help. The other exercise you could do is swimming, and avoid rough or tough play. Need to build up the muscles slowly and not allow the weight to grow more than the legs could carry the body mass. Believe me ... go get Adequan.