What are things I can do to help my dog who has had hip problems?

He is a small 9 pound dog and his hips are very fragile. He had hip problems a few years ago. What can I do to prevent them from coming back? If they do come back, do you have any suggestions of how to help him?

You should get a food with added glucosamine, alot of senior foods have it. There is a senior line from Nutro, Natural choice that offers it. Also you can pick up glucosamine supplements from a vet or there are alot of options at your local pet store.

Keep your dog from getting overweight. Even just an extra pound is going to increase the weight on the hips enough to cause problems. You can go to any pet store or online pet store and order hip and joint supplements. They have glucosamine and other joint support products that will help you dog. You might want to take your dog to the vet yearly to get an xray done so the vet can examine the hips and spot any potential problems before your dog is in great pain. This increases the chance of being able to alleviate the situation before it gets too painful for your dog.

Did you get the dog from a pet store or a home breeder? When you are looking for a dog always buy from a home breeder, that way you will be able to get a copy of the parents hip charts so that you can tell that there is less a chance of your dog having hip problems. (also when you buy from pet stores you are supporting puppy mills ) The best advice I could give you is to bring your dog to a vet and have them check it out. Good Luck with your dog - I hope this helped

Go to Barnes and Noble & get this book. "The Nature of Animal Healing" by Martin Goldstein, DVM. It covers natural/holistic treatments for dogs & cats. Page 223 starts the section on hip dysplasia. You can also see if there is a holistic vet in your area.