Lots of little things...
Anyways, are these all just 'normal' parts of him getting older, or is it a bad sign that he's getting so many things? Do they signal something else, or signal that maybe he won't live as long as other sheepies? |
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| How old is he? Depending on his age, sounds pretty normal. Only the random nugget dropping would concern me a bit. Yes, it's (usually) an old age thing, and it tends to tie in with increasing mobility issues. Which doesn't meant there's a predictable progression. And if he's already up there (12 + ?) welcome to the Old Farts Club  This seems to be a cyst prone breed. Belle has had a single LARGE cyst since she was maybe 8. The first couple of years I had the vet draws cells to look at it. Nothing. Never changes. Vet told me we should leave it alone unless it bothered her in some way. She's 14 now. It's never bothered her. She also has a small, weird one behind one of her ears that she's had for maybe a year now. It doesn't bother her, but my rescue dog would not leave it along for the longest time. I was tempted to put a cone on her (the rescue dog, not Belle) I'm not going to get worked up about it. She also has some kind of tiny growth on one of her eye lids. Vet told me what it was and not to mess with it if it doesn't bother her. She's had that for maybe 4 years now? In other words, yeah, stuff happens. But there are really young dogs who have chronic weird cysts and other weird stuff, so I wouldn't use that as a measure of old age. Kristine |
| Thanks! He's not THAT old, although he's not getting any younger. He'll be 8 in Sept. I'm pretty sure the nugget dropping has to do with his hip dysplasia or the vet also said he has some spinal weakness (sometimes he can't stand up--goes through phases where he'll be fine for months and then for a random day or two he just can barely stand up on his own). And I was out walking with him a few years ago and he collapsed and peed/ppoped all over himself and DH had to carry him home... It was the eye thing that's new and that just sort of made me wonder if they were all somehow connected to a bigger thing (like a precursor to something else) or were all just little things that older dogs get... |
| Are you sure of his age? Granted any spinal impingment would cause the nugget dropping, no matter the age. The eye thing, was that cherry eye; prolapse of the gland of the third eyelid? This can lead to conjununctivitis due to the gland's pushing outward. Treatment involves suturing the gland back into place. Tumors sometimes, but are easily removed or sometimes require taking the third eyelid. Glacier had some strange things under her eyelids. Vet had them biopsied and laughing said, "Something extremely weird, rare and not a problem but of course Glacier would get them." |
| pretty sure of his age, and he was smaller when we got him, so he definitely was a puppy. I could argue maybe a few months older than he was claimed to be, but the previous owners had his birth certificate that said Sept 5 2004. I don't 'mind' all the little things, I just am hoping they don't lead to anything bigger or anything like that. But man, he's starting to look pathetic! (like an old dog  ) |
i dont have an answer for you...but big hugs to barns!! it is so hard to watch them ''fall'' apart...hopefully, he will be just fine  |
| Hi Steph- We had a wonderful pooch named Blarney who was a year older than your Barney. He had some abnormal signs and symptoms which, in retrospect, all pointed to the main problem of a spinal tumor. He had an anal tumor- which was removed and did not reoccur at the external site. A year plus later, he started having bouts of constipation and diarrhea. Dingleberries started making an appearance. Sometimes his belly would twitch. He lost his zest and wouldn't play with the neighborhood dogs. He'd fall behind on our walks. Then he became afraid of descending stairs. He stopped lifting a leg to urinate. He fell back on his heels when eating. And then he lost control of his hind leg motor control. New food sensitivities, Lyme disease, arthritis and a compressed spinal disc were possible diagnoses before the severe mobility problem occurred. An MRI made the diagnosis all too clear. In the world of medicine, docs aren't expecting the rare disease. They make differential diagnoses with the most likely problems being assumed or tested first. I'm sharing- because I wish I had had the knowledge to suspect a spinal tumor when my dog started to show some odd behaviors. An earlier diagnosis may- or may not- have aided us in saving Blarney. I hope that all the trouble Barney is going through will be something very minor and treatable. A slipped disc is likely-and correctable! Thinking of you and wishing you a very good tomorrow! Kathleen |
| Hi, Kathleen. I'm so sorry about your boy.  In this breed spondylosis/spinal arthritis is the biggest suspect. It can start fairly young, though it's usually not symptomatic for years, just a quiet progression, and you don't normally realize it unless you happen to x-ray looking for something else. Over time the arthritis on the spine starts to affect the spinal cord itself (narrowing of) and there can be some neurological deficiencies, including some loss of control over rear. Fecal incontinence is also possible. Almost any OES Barney's age would show some evidence of it and in his case it may be worsened by compensating for his CHD. Translation: though a spinal tumor is possible, never say never, the more likely culprit is the one common in the breed, it gets worse with age, and the bigger the dog, the more & younger you may see the effects. It can also remain relatively stable for years. My 14 year old has it for sure. But if I x-rayed any of her almost 6 year old great-nieces or nephews who are very active agility etc dogs, I would almost certainly see some evidence of it in them as well, even though they are completely asymptomatic at this time - it's wear and tear and it affects different dogs differently and at different rates. Kristine |
| Kristine- Excellent information. Thank you for taking the time to describe spinal arthritis. I could assume then that flair ups in inflammation could cause intermittent symptomatology. That could help explain Barney's collapse when walking- years ago. Perhaps Barney's vet could check for spondylosis. Thanks again. |
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