Chris
Premium Member
No fair! Your own vet!!!
Annie Laurie presented with a limp two days ago -- elbow, too. Yesterday she was back to normal after a day of rest. Hope it goes the same for you.
Confining an injured ball of ZOOM
- Thread starter rhythmandmelody
- Start date
No fair! Your own vet!!!
Annie Laurie presented with a limp two days ago -- elbow, too. Yesterday she was back to normal after a day of rest. Hope it goes the same for you.
rhythmandmelody
Forums Regular
Update:
Thanks for all of your hints guys, it made confinement better for everyone.
Unfortunately the news isn't good - the X-rays showed that her front left elbow isn't formed properly, and although the pictures are with a specialist now there probably isn't much we can do about it. In short it means she will always limp, and will develop arthritis very early.
The good part is
a) she probably would have been euthanised if she wasn't with us.
b) that no amount of rest is going to cure it so we've been able to get on with letting her be a puppy.
We have her on meloxocam so she can go for walks and supplements and injections to try and maintain the cartilage. Later we might look into fusing the elbow or the big A, but only if her quality of life becomes bad.
Off to hunt the forums on how to live with a disabled dog. A smart, funny affectionate and adored disabled dog.
Thanks for all of your hints guys, it made confinement better for everyone.
Unfortunately the news isn't good - the X-rays showed that her front left elbow isn't formed properly, and although the pictures are with a specialist now there probably isn't much we can do about it. In short it means she will always limp, and will develop arthritis very early.
The good part is
a) she probably would have been euthanised if she wasn't with us.
b) that no amount of rest is going to cure it so we've been able to get on with letting her be a puppy.
We have her on meloxocam so she can go for walks and supplements and injections to try and maintain the cartilage. Later we might look into fusing the elbow or the big A, but only if her quality of life becomes bad.
Off to hunt the forums on how to live with a disabled dog. A smart, funny affectionate and adored disabled dog.
Caro
Moderator
Sorry to hear your sheltie has elbow issues - I'm starting to worry about the number of Australian shelties that are cropping up with elbow problems. I have a 5yr old sheltie with elbow dysplasia & arthritis.
It's good to see you have sent the xrays to a specialist - I would seriously consider taking your pup to see an orthopedic specialist yourself. While a pup is still growing they can work miracles to reset the bones to grow properly and limit getting arthritis, so it's good in a way that you caught it so early. There are also new surgeries and treatments coming out now that could make a difference. When your pup has stopped growing you may want to consider stem cells. I was advised that a fusion and amputation is really a final treatment option in the front legs because dogs actually put a lot of weight on the front.
Just with the supplements. I would be very, very careful about adding MSM and Glucosamine to your pup's diet. The first specialist I saw (a lecturer in vet orthopedic surgery) said a lot of problems are caused by adding these to a diet while the pup is growing and they are seeing damage being done because of it. You would be better off with more natural supplements like fish oils and green lipped mussel.
It's good to see you have sent the xrays to a specialist - I would seriously consider taking your pup to see an orthopedic specialist yourself. While a pup is still growing they can work miracles to reset the bones to grow properly and limit getting arthritis, so it's good in a way that you caught it so early. There are also new surgeries and treatments coming out now that could make a difference. When your pup has stopped growing you may want to consider stem cells. I was advised that a fusion and amputation is really a final treatment option in the front legs because dogs actually put a lot of weight on the front.
Just with the supplements. I would be very, very careful about adding MSM and Glucosamine to your pup's diet. The first specialist I saw (a lecturer in vet orthopedic surgery) said a lot of problems are caused by adding these to a diet while the pup is growing and they are seeing damage being done because of it. You would be better off with more natural supplements like fish oils and green lipped mussel.
Emmasmom
Forums Sage
Sorry to hear of your pup's problems. Just watch the meloxicam. It is a very useful drug but does have serious side effects, such as gastrointestinal bleeding. Your vet will need to monitor the usage as will you.
I had my Noah on it for a week and lost him 10 days later, from a suspected GI bleed.
Hope the treatments continue to work for your puppy. Nothing is harder than to see your little one suffering, knowing they can't tell you where it hurts, and not being able to fix it for them.
I had my Noah on it for a week and lost him 10 days later, from a suspected GI bleed.
Hope the treatments continue to work for your puppy. Nothing is harder than to see your little one suffering, knowing they can't tell you where it hurts, and not being able to fix it for them.
SheltieChe
Forums Sage
If you teach your dog body awareness tricks, your pup will learn to weight shift to the rear a lot and it will help with front. It is like with hip dysplasia, if dog has well developed muscles, it does not have to be a problem... I know few people whose dogs have HD and they compete in agility with some significant titles with no problems.
rhythmandmelody
Forums Regular
Thanks for the advice - I'll do some more reading about the glucosamine etc.
As far as surgeries go, we'd be delighted if there was something that could be done, but there are major parts of her elbow that just aren't there. Instead of the 'ball and socket' kind of set up, there really isn't a socket. Still, we'll wait to see what he has to say. From what I understand it will be virtually impossible to keep the cartilage intact with the kind of grinding going on in there. We won't be looking at drastic action until we absolutely have to of course, but I'm not going to allow her to be in agony for years on end just for my benefit, I couldn't stand it.
rhythmandmelody
Forums Regular
Wow, really? Could you possibly point me in the right direction regarding this?
Caro
Moderator
It's amazing the breeder didn't pick up such a big deformity. You are really lucky to have a vet in the family. Sadly the specialist said there are no elbow joints being made in Australia for small dogs but your Dad will probably be able to find out the latest advances overseas.
Is there a dog rehab or animal physiotherapist near you? I found the physio invaluable. One of the interesting things the physio said was that you really need to strengthen the muscle in the front legs so it will take some weight off the joint. So rest is definately not the way to go. Some of the things I was told was it's better to walk on soft ground, uphill is good for strengthening muscles without putting undue pressure on the front, also its good to teach your dog to walk backward and to beg (strengthens the back). Plus one of the static exercises is to lift a back leg and put a bit of weight on the opposite front leg and hold it.
Also, Deska started getting stomach upsets from Meloxicam so the specialist switched him to Previcox (half the acute dose) as apparently it is much kinder on the stomach for long term use (he is on it every day).
I'll take a picture of the neoprene elbow supports that I made Deska - they are really easy to make and great for keeping the joint warm (I must admit I saw a pic of something similar on the net).
Btw - what state are you in?
Is there a dog rehab or animal physiotherapist near you? I found the physio invaluable. One of the interesting things the physio said was that you really need to strengthen the muscle in the front legs so it will take some weight off the joint. So rest is definately not the way to go. Some of the things I was told was it's better to walk on soft ground, uphill is good for strengthening muscles without putting undue pressure on the front, also its good to teach your dog to walk backward and to beg (strengthens the back). Plus one of the static exercises is to lift a back leg and put a bit of weight on the opposite front leg and hold it.
Also, Deska started getting stomach upsets from Meloxicam so the specialist switched him to Previcox (half the acute dose) as apparently it is much kinder on the stomach for long term use (he is on it every day).
I'll take a picture of the neoprene elbow supports that I made Deska - they are really easy to make and great for keeping the joint warm (I must admit I saw a pic of something similar on the net).
Btw - what state are you in?
rhythmandmelody
Forums Regular
Hi Caro,
We're in the ACT (Canberra). Dad spoke with the specialist today. Things are pretty much as they seemed. Elbow replacement isn't really an option because there isn't enough 'there' to attach the hardware to anyway. In a way it's a good thing because we couldn't afford it anyway, and I don't have to feel guilty about not being able to give her a treatment that could help.
The specialist said the same as you re: exercise, vital to keep up regular, short and low impact. At the moment that's two 10 minute walks a day, but as she gets older and her muscle mass increases we might be able to push it out further. She get's pretty limpy when she's had enough, and they're the days we have to break out the Meloxicam. He also said that surprisingly all of the long bones are in the right position, and that we should X-ray every 8-10 weeks while she's growing to make sure that remains the case (that's where Dad the vet will be handy!).
I think I will swap over to fish oil etc. from the glucosamine (although that to is a shellfish derivative), plus she'll have some cartrophen starting in a month or so. That cartilage will have maximum support!
We're in the ACT (Canberra). Dad spoke with the specialist today. Things are pretty much as they seemed. Elbow replacement isn't really an option because there isn't enough 'there' to attach the hardware to anyway. In a way it's a good thing because we couldn't afford it anyway, and I don't have to feel guilty about not being able to give her a treatment that could help.
The specialist said the same as you re: exercise, vital to keep up regular, short and low impact. At the moment that's two 10 minute walks a day, but as she gets older and her muscle mass increases we might be able to push it out further. She get's pretty limpy when she's had enough, and they're the days we have to break out the Meloxicam. He also said that surprisingly all of the long bones are in the right position, and that we should X-ray every 8-10 weeks while she's growing to make sure that remains the case (that's where Dad the vet will be handy!).
I think I will swap over to fish oil etc. from the glucosamine (although that to is a shellfish derivative), plus she'll have some cartrophen starting in a month or so. That cartilage will have maximum support!