Trip to the Vets with my boy

[tugglesf239]

Took my boy Buster into the vets on Tuesday due to him struggling to walk after a big walk on Sunday. The vet examined him and even though he was unable to conduct a full examination (dog was in a lot of pain) he suspected a cruciate ligament problem.

Pretty gutted to have found this out as he is a Springer spaniel and therefore VERY VERY active. There are few things i enjoy ore than watching him fly around the wood or field at 1000mph. Nose down and arse up, with his tail wagging at about 500 times a second

The vet did mention laser treatment as a potential for any minor damage, along with more traditional treatments like anti inflammatory and gentle exercise etc

Today he went under a general anesthetic in order to perform an x-ray examination. He woke up at around 14:00 this afternoon and i was phoned by the Vets assistant. Now she did not give much information other than he was coming around from the general and that the vet had recommended a course of Laser treatment.

I was pretty happy to discover that Laser treatment was being used as i understood this to mean the damage was pretty light.

I was wrong however

The wife picked him up at half five and was then informed that he had Hip Dysplasia and the onset of arthritis in his left leg. Vet thinks he has had this since birth. Looks like he could be on Glucosimine and potentially other meds for the rest of his life. Though it was not mentioned specifically by the Vet, i am aware that this may lead to surgery in later life

He is only 5 in March. Still a puppy.

Honestly, i am gutted. I know that this does not signal the end of him being active, but i am really worried that he will soon start to be in a lot more pain more often. Dont get me wrong he is one tough little bugger and it takes a hell of a lot to stop him.

He is the most active dog i know of and the thought of having to reign him in is quite upsetting if i am being honest.

Can i ask if any of you guys have experience of Dysplasia in dogs, particularly in active working type breeds?

Hes sat at my feet at the moment feeling sorry form himself post anesthetic and i am pretty devastated too. If anyone can let me know that i am being melodramatic and that this aint that bad, can you let me know please?

Failing that does anyone have any tips that were successful in managing this?

Thanks

 

[JT77]

No experience of this sorry, but hope he feels better after the treatment.

 

[xcore]

My dog I grew up with (staff cross lab) had hip dysplacia, and you are correct it won't go away, my parents took her to hydro therapy (basically take the dog swimming around an indoor pool) and it seemed to help. It wasn't nice seeing her hopping about after a long walk or when it's particularly cold. She would still be out running about the fields chasing the wildlife, you just have to keep an eye out for the early signs of discomfort when out.

Metacam is a decent and effective anti inflammatory when it got bad. She was a cracking dog and lived to a ripe old age of 14.

 

[CliveW]

Does the dog suffer after a normal walk, or only after you have taken it for a 'big' walk as you did the other day? If there isn't a problem after the normal walk then I would keep to the normal walk and see how it goes. Probably just a strain. Vets seem to have to find something to justify their fees as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Doh]

If you find he is in pain after walks then I would be giving him the anti inflammatory medication sometime before he goes. Hydro therapy as mentioned is good and as you said Glucosimine.

 

[Maninblack4612]

We been using Devil's Claw with Glocousamine on our 1 year old arthritic Rottweiler cross & it seems to have made a difference. Recommended by a dog walkers we met, he swore by it.

 

[Wilson]

Not Hip Dysplasia as much, but one of my King Charles had a similar issue, where sometimes he struggled to walk etc. It turned out he had a growth on his spine, which was blocking the nerves to his legs, we opted for surgery which was risky based on the location, but thankfully it all went ok. (He was 5 too).

We've had to make some changes since the Op, he can no longer do long walks with his little brother, no jumping up/down from the sofa & into the car, (we have steps for the sofa, but he wont always use them!), and I always give him a few minutes to warm up before letting him off for a run. He still sometimes looks a bit stiff, but that's normally when he's just woken up, or when it's a bit cold, he doesn't seem to have any pain anymore, which is the biggest thing for me.

In the same way you are, I was devastated when they told me what was wrong, and that he needed surgery, I thought he'd always be in pain, and I'd have to make the difficult decision that brings me to tears just thinking about - however, with the proper management, you wouldn't know there is anything wrong with him! We've been for a nice walk this morning in the cold, he was running about like a loon with his Brother, and is now downstairs sleeping, (he'd be up with me but his snoring is very loud, and I spend 50% of my day on conference calls!).

Fingers crossed your boy will be ok, and you can give him a good quality of life for a number of years to come.

 

[Foxholer]

Not Hip Dysplasia as much, but one of my King Charles had a similar issue, where sometimes he struggled to walk etc....

I thought that was just the way all KCSs were! 2 of the 3 I knew were completely daft - both used to waddle/shuffle into the middle of intersections, as if to stake a claim of ownership, stopping traffic, including buses!! The other hardly left its owner's arms, so it could well have had the same tendency if allowed!

@the OP. Sad to hear your Springer's activity may be restricted! Another (wonderfully) daft breed - Cockers are the same - that looks at is happiest charging around! I'm sure it would benefit from 'hydro-therapy', especially if entailed weeds and mud too!

 

[GeneralStore]

I have a German Shepherd and the breed itself tends to often suffer from Hip Dysplasia, my opinion on the best way to MANAGE it is:
1) Lots of fats including omegas + glucosamine
2) Avoiding situations that aggravate the problem e.g. jumping and hard excessive running

I would personally walk him on the lead for a while and then start letting him off towards the end of the walk initally for 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, etc build it up until you see where he is comfortable and where the pain and discomfort kicks in. He will still be a happy dog and an important part of the family, do dont stress too much.

I wouldnt say you are being melodramatic...however...my dog had a swelling on his nose about 2 months ago, took him to the vet to get checked out and it would appear he is riddled with cancer and has 2 to 4 weeks to live, he is only 7.5 years. Not trying to compare or look for sympathy, but trying to illustrate that it wont necessarily affect the quality of his life and he will still be a happy dog with every chance to live to a ripe old age.

Enjoy them while you can

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

We've owned Golden Retrievers for over 40 years and most have had HD to some degree, about 20 years ago one had the ball joint completely removed and effectively had a floating leg held together by the muscles, he had about 6 or 7 years after the op and you would never of known anything had been done. A couple of others have been on Rimadyl and have been fine.

Don't get too stressed I suspect yours will be fine.

Arnold my Old Tyme Bulldog had bi-lateral ACL op's, whilst the recover took around 6 months he was fit as a fiddle after. He tore his ACL in the snow when he was 18 months, he also survived Lymphoma but the side effects of Chemo got him eventually as he developed an enlarged heart at 9 and further treatment wouldn't have been fair to him, still miss the old boy even tho he died 35 months ago.

 

[Qwerty]

I'm sorry to hear that mate. I can't offer any advice but I really do hope you find something that helps.

 

[tugglesf239]

Thanks every one

He looks much better today, in fact you would not know there was anything wrong with him.

Strict management of it and hopefully there will not be to much more pain. He can still be all action is suppose, will just have to have shorter the duration of them.

I'm still gutted for him though

 

[Bunkermagnet]

My Staffy ( a rescue at age 4) has a floating knee cap in his left hind leg, which used to slide out of place and cause him pain and to limp. I started him on glucasamine(human type) and his knee issues went away. Now at 12.5 yrs, he's starting to suffer with his front left shoulder. Arthritis I suspect, the same as the previous one had. I will not take him to the vets for it, just manage it and massage it for him when needed. I know I will have to make that horrible choice sometime in the not too distant future, but for now he's ok.

 

[Andy808]

My Staffy ( a rescue at age 4) has a floating knee cap in his left hind leg, which used to slide out of place and cause him pain and to limp. I started him on glucasamine(human type) and his knee issues went away. Now at 12.5 yrs, he's starting to suffer with his front left shoulder. Arthritis I suspect, the same as the previous one had. I will not take him to the vets for it, just manage it and massage it for him when needed. I know I will have to make that horrible choice sometime in the not too distant future, but for now he's ok.

I know how you feel.
2 weeks before Christmas our Westie started bloating up really badly. She had a cyst on a mammary gland after her season earlier in the year so we thought it was something to do with that. Took her to the vets where they checked her over to find she had fluid on her lungs, her abdomen was full of clear fluid and blood. They did explain that they could hospitalise her, drain the fluid and try to find the problem but there were a couple of "odd" shadows on her lung as well.
We had to take the heart breaking decision to have her put to sleep. I took her back in after my wife had taken her for a little walk around the car park and had a cuddle with her before I took her back in.
I stood holding her and looking into her eyes while the vet did what they had to do. She didn't wriggle, get nervous or look away from me the whole time.
She was an amazing dog and I still well up thinking about her even though she drove me mad at times!