Re: [pyrnet] New member of list has a health question...

We went with the conservative approach. I remember how unsettling it was to hear our vet say surgery was 'necessary'. Rudy would put very little weight on his bad leg on the bad days, but would stand w/ all 4 feet down on the ground...the severity of the limp seemed directly correlated to how hard he was bouncing around.

Our Rudy (malnourished and abused rescue pup) had the same diagnosis. It was a huge deal, consulted 2 regular vets and a specialist. All agreed Rudy must have surgery immediately(not arthroscopic)! We decided to just chill for a month, cuz it would be major surgery. We didn't crate him (poor guy needed to shift about a little he was growing) but did keep him in smaller areas and keep play gentle and controlled. Lots of T-touch and massage. We did 1/2 dose of Rimadyl (nights only) on the bad days and 1/2 dose glycoflex every morning. The limp was greatly reduced in a couple weeks, and there was steady progress, then no limp, then no limp even after exercise and now he can run w/ the big doggies and he's fine.

Woofs,

Barb H

I would follow the more conservative approach first and the most conservative approach is rest. The addition of the Adequan may be warranted. Genetics and diet seem to be the acknowledged most likely causes, but it is not really understood. The good news is if you can limit the activity completely except for absolutely necessary movement and there is not joint damage already, it will most likely pass and the dog will be normal.

...The supplementation of the food can either cause or make worse things like OCD and that was felt to be the case 25 years ago when we had to deal with it. So just use a good brand of food that agrees with you pet. Don't really supplement with a bunch of stuff as you may be upsetting the balance and causing problems. Diets like the BARF are probably fine, but supplementing with calcium, etc., is bad. This breed evolved very naturally over about 5 thousand years and worked very hard the whole time. It probably got fed rather poorly along the way that mostly consisted of milk, grain, and maybe the occasional meat from a dead sheep or goat.

Joe