Anyone with experience with hip pain and doggie daycare?
When we went to pick him up yesterday I if he was a good boy and they said yes, but they had a note for me. The note said that starting Friday he had what looked like hip or back pain and was having trouble standing up on his own, so they gave him extra rest time and extra cushioning in his bed. Barney's 7-month Xrays showed that he has bad hips, but nothing besides clicking and some other milder things have been seen so far. Does anyone think this is the start of something about to get worse or that maybe he just had too much fun at doggie daycare and wore himself out? He doesn't get as much exercise as he does when he's at daycare and he hadn't been for a while. Anyone with hip pain and daycare experience with thoughts on this would be appreciated! |
|
|
| We had hip problems with our boy puppy at 4 months, the clicking at least. At 7 months they, Madison and Bailey, were Xrayed and they both have horrible hip Xrays.
We freaked out a little, scheduled an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon and took him our X rays. He checked out the dogs and they both already had some arthritis in each hip. Since they were not dragging their legs or in pain when walking, he made the following suggestions. Keep them healthy and trim. NO table food! Feed a high quality dog food for large breed dogs. We feed Nutro Lamb and rice for large breeds. They were on that same puppy food until eighteen months. We feed Lite Nutro dog treats, 5-6 a day. The added benefit of no human food is they are very well mannered around the table. If they begged like my last dog, Sara the 10 lb poodle, we would be in big trouble. Exercise them, but not too much. This was confusing, but we take them on many short walks. 5 or 6 eighth mile walks a day. He said no long walks. He did say it was okay for them to beat the stuffing out of each other when they play in the house or yard, which they still do. He said to give them Cosequin DS at the initial dose. We have done that for two years now. He suggested Cosequin because tests have shown that it consistently has the stated dose of Glucosimine in it. Some brands have little to no Glucosimine. Maybe he owns stock in Cosequin, I have no idea. He said not to consider surgery until the dogs were in pain or having trouble getting up, walking, etc... He did explain to us that some dogs have horrible hip Xrays and never show signs of HD. Also, some dogs have great Xrays and have terrible HD. So far, so good. Watching our kids play, you could never tell anything is wrong with them. They are not in pain and we have not heard any more hip clicking. They were spayed and neutured at 7 months, that is when we Xrayed them. We can only keep our fingers crossed that all continues to go well. They are big dogs. Bailey weighs 95lbs and Madison weighs 70. There is no fat on either of them. We do ocassionally get a sore leg or something. Sometimes when they are playing, I think they just slip and strain a muscle or something. s long as they are better in a day or so, we don't worry about it. I always watch them when walking and never get a nice relaxed feeling that all is well, but so far, so good. Let me know if you have any questions. I know it is a stressful time, but there is a lot of support on this board. I see you are in Va. Where did you get your puppy? Have a nice night, Eric |
| The way the dogs jump on each other in play may have irritated the hips. |
| I have to agree with guest, also there is a possbility that he maybe turned quickly and pulled something or even put his back out with play with other dogs.
I can't see it possible for such a quick deteriation of the hips in such a short time. It might be well worth it for a vet check up and get them to manipulate his legs and look for pain points along the spine.All that might be needed is rest and some anti-inflam drugs to help. |
| My Ollie began to suffer from hip socket degeneration at about 5 years old. I studied Rimadyl and other pain relief offered as standard treatment and chose not to give them to Ollie as the potential side effects were too great. He was too young to start pumping medication that would make his hips feel good while destroying his kidneys and liver.
I'm a great believer in eastern medicine and sought advice from CSU (Colorado State Univ) on Veterinarians that provided holistic treatment (chiropractic, acupuncture, herbs). I began working with a vet that proposed a course of treatment, acupuncture once a week for a month, then every two weeks, for a month, then once a month, then bi-monthly. During the first month she did a chiropractic adjustment along with the treatment (Ollie was playing with a Pyr that would broadside him every chance). At the third treatment the difference was remarkable, he was jumping in the back of the jeep again! We stayed on the bi-monthly treatment ($50, cheaper than med's) until being transferred to Virginia. Ollie never had to take a single pain killer. Once we hit VA. Beach, we had trouble finding a holistic vet. Ollie was 7 months without treatment and it showed! He was over 7 by this time and his hips were getting older too. We finally located a holistic vet and began treatments again. He was gaining ground until just after his 8th b-day. The treatments still kept him very mobile, but he would have an occasional day where the cold or damp would bother him. The vet treated the pain with herbs, Great Corydalis and Solitary Hermit (no, not kidding). Between the acupuncture and the herbs, he was a happy, mobile boy and still less expensive than the meds. I kept him on a regiment of Glucosimine and Condrotain (sp?) the entire time. When I transferred to Utah, which is a wasteland when it comes to forward thinking Vets, I had no choice but to put him on Rimadyl. I know in my heart that was part of what compromised his system and allowed a cancer to start in his liver, sending him to the bridge far too early. (not founded, strictly a personal observation). 
Malcolm Elliott, the Sheepie boy that owned me before Oliver Wendell had chronic hip issues from poor back yard breeding. I was lucky as Glucosimine and a horse vet that gave him chiropractic treatments kept him on his paws to the ripe old age of 13.5. If you are interested in a holistic vet, you can find them here; http://ahvma.org/ |
lisaoes wrote: I have to agree with guest, also there is a possbility that he maybe turned quickly and pulled something or even put his back out with play with other dogs.
I can't see it possible for such a quick deteriation of the hips in such a short time. It might be well worth it for a vet check up and get them to manipulate his legs and look for pain points along the spine.All that might be needed is rest and some anti-inflam drugs to help. No doubt it could just be sore from playing or a new minor injury. I didn't mean to jump ahead or cause unneccessary stress. Just was giving my story of what we have been through. I truly hope it is only a tired puppy. Eric |
| Thanks for all the replies. You mostly made me feel a little better. I am a worry wart when it comes to Barney. My husband thinks I'm being silly--just wait til we have kids! Since I know he will probably have trouble with his hips (the xrays, according to the vet, were pretty bad) I guess I am just overly sensitive and looking for signs...
Eric--I got Barney from California. He came from a pet store in So Cal where a lady bought him around Christmastime because he was so cute. She said she had had sheepdogs as a child, but I guess selective amnesia had set in because she didn't realize how big they got (and Barney by that point was only 5 months old!). So she wanted to sell him (she also was backyard breeding small dogs in her house, which was part of the reason she didn't want Barney--he was too big and bumbling around her delicate little puppies. I've grown up with sheepdogs and was a little obsessed with getting one. My parents' sheepdog Maggie is the most awesome dog ever and since moving to VA I miss her terribly. So when my brother told me a woman he worked with had a friend who had a friend with a sheepdog for sale, I had to check it out and happened to be visiting CA at the time. She initially wanted the $1500 she had paid for Barney, but there was no way I could do that. I eventually got him for free. That has to tell you something! So I put him on a plane and he's been a Virginian ever since. I do know that his lineage is not good. Based on his 'papers' that came with him, he came from a puppy mill in Missouri and I'm pretty sure Kaye (Shug) has been there and said it was a little like the movie Deliverance. But, he's happy and healthy right now and we're doing all the things we can to help prevent or to delay any problems. We don't feed him any people food (well, the occasional banana slice) and we feed him good food and try to keep his weight down...he's a stocky boy though (last check, 100 pounds). We give him glucosamine and we actually had run out about a week before he went to stay at daycare, so maybe that had something to do with it too...plus it was so cold this weekend! Holy moly, sorry that was so long!  |
barney1 wrote: and said it was a little like the movie Deliverance.
Barney plays the banjo? Wow, he's talented!!  Sorry, couldn't resist!
I don't know if you saw some earlier posts but when Norman was around he was on a glucosamine med called Flexicose. It's a glucosamine mixture that did wonders for him. Chris has Drezzie on it too and has pretty good success. Actually, they make a human product too and my husband has been using it and he says it helps him quite a lot too. The animal version is only slightly different than the human grade formula too. They shipped us all human doses one time and when we called them, they said that Norman wouldn't have a problem taking Bob's meds until they could get us the correct stuff; it was just taste and one other dumb thing that was really different. Having a hard time remebering what it was. But since Norman's been gone, Bob has finished up his meds with no ill effects. (His hair does seem to be turning grey faster but I don't think that has anything to do with it!! )
Anyway, one more thing to consider for the banjo player. |
| Steph -how's Barney doing since you got him home? Still limping & having trouble getting up? or was it just over the weekend at day care? |
Panda says that if you want, she'll come out to help nurse Barney back to bouncing health...or if he prefers, just to snuggle next to him and whisper sweet tender nothings in his ear........  |
Maxmm wrote: barney1 wrote: and said it was a little like the movie Deliverance. Barney plays the banjo? Wow, he's talented!! Sorry, couldn't resist!Yes, he's very talented. The only problem is that the cats aren't as musically inclined, so he's having a hard time finding someone to 'duel' with, and dueling banjos are not as impressive as a solo. Tammy, Barney's doing better. He was still pretty tired until last night so he wasn't moving much anyways (just snoring!). But last night when I got home from work I had groceries in the back of my car and opened the trunk and he came out and put his front paws on the bumper thinking we were going somewhere, so I think he's okay. I'm just hoping it was mostly from crazy exercise. The daycare lady said he ran around A LOT!  |
| I hope he's doing better. Dogs certainly use a lot of different muscles and more of their reflexes when they play together - he could have just overexerted!! |
| Glad to hear Barney's doing better!:D I just wish I knew when Drez was younger that she had hip problems to watch out for.
As Mandy said, I have Drezzie on Flexicose and I really do think it has helped a lot. It's in a liquid form and you just pour it on their night meal so there's no hassle about getting them to take a pill. I also turned a friend who as a St. Bernard on to Flexicose and she also has seen a big difference in HER Barney. If you're interested, just go to www.flexicose.com for more info. Give that big boy a big hug from me and a big sloppy kiss from Drez!!  |
Darcy wrote: Panda says that if you want, she'll come out to help nurse Barney back to bouncing health...or if he prefers, just to snuggle next to him and whisper sweet tender nothings in his ear........
 Barney says he thinks that option #2 is better!
I'll check out the flexicose. |
| Glad to hear he is doing better.
When our kids come home from the kennel for a couple days, they are pooped and just lie around a lot for a day or two. It is kind of enjoyable. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|