'Allo,

At about 1 year I discovered that my Brittany Spaniel had hip
dysplasia.
I have the X-ray he the condition looks drastic in the image.

She is now 9 1/2 years. Thankfully, she has been unaffected for
about 8 years. Dawg has been perfectly healthy: no evidence of
dysplasia.

She came up limping (right hind) in the last week. I can find no
bleeding, no
swelling. Did find some irritation between paw pads, cleaned it up,
applied antibiotic ointment.

She is a very active pooch. I normally walk her a lot, weather and
my funny back permitting. Now I'm not so sure this is a good idea.

I'd take her to the vet, but I doubt he'd find anything I haven't
observed. That was the case 8 years ago (until the X-rays were
taken).

What do you do with such a pooch? Continue but moderate exercise
(ie walking)? Or stay in the house or even crate her so as to
avoid putting unnecessary load on her leg/foot?

Any/all advice/info much appreciated.

Cheers,
Puddin'

"A truly good birddawg, even if you never hunt her,
is a Precious, Precious Thing! Mayhap ruin ya for
homo sapiens ..."

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
I'd take her to the vet, but I doubt he'd find anything I haven't
observed. That was the case 8 years ago (until the X-rays were
taken).

What do you do with such a pooch? Continue but moderate exercise
(ie walking)? Or stay in the house or even crate her so as to
avoid putting unnecessary load on her leg/foot?



Take her for a thorough geriatric exam and a prescription for some pain
medication that will drastically enhance her quality of life for her
remaining years. There are some truly miraculous drugs available for this
type of thing, but she ill need monitoring while on them.

--
Toni
http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...

'Allo,

At about 1 year I discovered that my Brittany Spaniel had hip
dysplasia.
I have the X-ray he the condition looks drastic in the image.

She is now 9 1/2 years. Thankfully, she has been unaffected for
about 8 years. Dawg has been perfectly healthy: no evidence of
dysplasia.

No *outward* evidence of dysplasia. Dogs are incredible at masking chronic
pain, even when its progressing steadily.

She came up limping (right hind) in the last week. I can find no
bleeding, no
swelling. Did find some irritation between paw pads, cleaned it up,
applied antibiotic ointment.

She is a very active pooch. I normally walk her a lot, weather and
my funny back permitting. Now I'm not so sure this is a good idea.

I'd take her to the vet, but I doubt he'd find anything I haven't
observed. That was the case 8 years ago (until the X-rays were
taken).

This is not 8 years ago. You are assuming that the vet won't find anything
you haven't observed based on a control group of *one* from 8 years ago. You
have a dog with severe hip dysplasia.

What do you do with such a pooch?

I would absolutely take her to the vet for follow up Xrays to see what level
damage she's at.

Continue but moderate exercise
(ie walking)? Or stay in the house or even crate her so as to
avoid putting unnecessary load on her leg/foot?

Until you get X-rays, you have no idea which approach to take. If its a
worsening of the dysplasia, you may need surgery or a change in the *type*
of exercise she's getting. If the dysplasia is the same, but the arthritic
damage has worsened, she may need meds coupled with constant, but different,
exercise. If the laxity has increased suddenly and her hip has shifted into
near dislocation (which happened to my dysplastic dog), then you might need
to do something else altogether.

Or, she may have torn her ACL. Or she may have popped her knee. Or....

In other words, you don't know. She has an existing medical condition that
is painful and (by your post) severe enough to warrant concern...and that
was 8 years ago. A set of X-rays wouldn't do any harm, and could certainly
do a lot of good in terms of adjusting the treatment to her needs.

Tara

On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 16:51:54 GMT, "TaraG"
wrote:


"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
.. .

'Allo,

At about 1 year I discovered that my Brittany Spaniel had hip
dysplasia.
I have the X-ray he the condition looks drastic in the image.

She is now 9 1/2 years. Thankfully, she has been unaffected for
about 8 years. Dawg has been perfectly healthy: no evidence of
dysplasia.

No *outward* evidence of dysplasia. Dogs are incredible at masking chronic
pain, even when its progressing steadily.

I know. But Brits are energy dawgs, born to run, jump,
point, etc. That's what she's been doing for the last 8
years ...

She came up limping (right hind) in the last week. I can find no
bleeding, no
swelling. Did find some irritation between paw pads, cleaned it up,
applied antibiotic ointment.

She is a very active pooch. I normally walk her a lot, weather and
my funny back permitting. Now I'm not so sure this is a good idea.

I'd take her to the vet, but I doubt he'd find anything I haven't
observed. That was the case 8 years ago (until the X-rays were
taken).

This is not 8 years ago. You are assuming that the vet won't find anything
you haven't observed based on a control group of *one* from 8 years ago. You
have a dog with severe hip dysplasia.

I've been all over the dawg. Several times. Other than some irritation
between paw-pads, there's nothing to note.

What do you do with such a pooch?

I would absolutely take her to the vet for follow up Xrays to see what level
damage she's at.

Probably good advice, but ...

I should've mentioned she had her annual exam 1 month ago, passed with
flying colors. Vet's target weight was 29-30 lbs, she's now about 28.
Also should've mentioned she still gets up/down the stairs when
needed. 8 years ago I had to carry her.

Continue but moderate exercise
(ie walking)? Or stay in the house or even crate her so as to
avoid putting unnecessary load on her leg/foot?

Until you get X-rays, you have no idea which approach to take. If its a
worsening of the dysplasia, you may need surgery or a change in the *type*
of exercise she's getting. If the dysplasia is the same, but the arthritic
damage has worsened, she may need meds coupled with constant, but different,
exercise. If the laxity has increased suddenly and her hip has shifted into
near dislocation (which happened to my dysplastic dog),

Sorry to hear ...

then you might need
to do something else altogether.

I sit down, point the pooch away from me, very, very carefully run
my hands all up/down hind legs, looking for -any- swelling,
asymmetry, etc. Nothing.

Since I posted, I saw her scratch her right ear vigorously
(she's got skin allergy) with her right hind (bad) paw. I
doubt she would do this if dysplasia were causing material
pain.

Or, she may have torn her ACL. Or she may have popped her knee. Or....

In other words, you don't know. She has an existing medical condition that
is painful and (by your post) severe enough to warrant concern...and that
was 8 years ago. A set of X-rays wouldn't do any harm, and could certainly
do a lot of good in terms of adjusting the treatment to her needs.

I appreciate your response.

I'll watch like a hawk: any material evidence of dysplasia etc related
trouble and she'll get whisked off to the vet muy pronto.

Hopefully I "Cried Wolf".

Thanks,
P

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 16:51:54 GMT, "TaraG"
wrote:


"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
. ..

'Allo,

At about 1 year I discovered that my Brittany Spaniel had hip
dysplasia.
I have the X-ray he the condition looks drastic in the image.

She is now 9 1/2 years. Thankfully, she has been unaffected for
about 8 years. Dawg has been perfectly healthy: no evidence of
dysplasia.

No *outward* evidence of dysplasia. Dogs are incredible at masking chronic
pain, even when its progressing steadily.

I know. But Brits are energy dawgs, born to run, jump,
point, etc. That's what she's been doing for the last 8
years ...

There is no "I know, but...". That was, in fact, my point. The higher the
energy and drive in the dog, the higher the ability to learn to live with
increasing pain and the higher their ability to mask that pain.

You clearly love your dog, care for your dog, and check your dog thoroughly.
You are also clearly hell bent on not having X-rays done to see what level
the damage is at now. I truly don't understand this, but its your dog. What
I am puzzled at is why you asked for advice when the one thing that would
need to be done *before* anyone could reasonably give you any advice (that
wouldn't end up harming your dog) is the one thing you won't do. But then,
as I said, this is your dog and therefore your choice.

Good luck, in any case.

Tara

I agree with Toni a vet visit is in order and possibly some doggy arthritis
medication.

If the vet does suggest pain medication MAKE SURE you get labs drawn prior
to starting to check her kidney and liver functions and again about 3 weeks
later to be sure the medication isn't causing any problems. Also be sure
and discuss with your vet any possible side effects of the medication. The
arthritis medication out there for dogs works wonders but you have to be
vigilent to be sure they don't develop complications.


Celeste

"Toni" wrote in message
.. .

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
I'd take her to the vet, but I doubt he'd find anything I haven't
observed. That was the case 8 years ago (until the X-rays were
taken).

What do you do with such a pooch? Continue but moderate exercise
(ie walking)? Or stay in the house or even crate her so as to
avoid putting unnecessary load on her leg/foot?



Take her for a thorough geriatric exam and a prescription for some pain
medication that will drastically enhance her quality of life for her
remaining years. There are some truly miraculous drugs available for this
type of thing, but she ill need monitoring while on them.

--
Toni
http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com

I walked her 8 short blocks this morn. Virtually -no- sign
of a limp. I've been treating her for an irritation betwixt
the pads of her right hind paw. Evidence indicates that
was the problem.

My apologies. I got over-anxious/worried and perpetrated
a "Chicken Little".

Thanks,
Puddin'

On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 17:45:29 GMT, "TaraG"
wrote:


"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 16:51:54 GMT, "TaraG"
wrote:


"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...

'Allo,

At about 1 year I discovered that my Brittany Spaniel had hip
dysplasia.
I have the X-ray he the condition looks drastic in the image.

She is now 9 1/2 years. Thankfully, she has been unaffected for
about 8 years. Dawg has been perfectly healthy: no evidence of
dysplasia.

No *outward* evidence of dysplasia. Dogs are incredible at masking chronic
pain, even when its progressing steadily.

I know. But Brits are energy dawgs, born to run, jump,
point, etc. That's what she's been doing for the last 8
years ...

There is no "I know, but...". That was, in fact, my point. The higher the
energy and drive in the dog, the higher the ability to learn to live with
increasing pain and the higher their ability to mask that pain.

You clearly love your dog, care for your dog, and check your dog thoroughly.
You are also clearly hell bent on not having X-rays done to see what level
the damage is at now. I truly don't understand this, but its your dog. What
I am puzzled at is why you asked for advice when the one thing that would
need to be done *before* anyone could reasonably give you any advice (that
wouldn't end up harming your dog) is the one thing you won't do. But then,
as I said, this is your dog and therefore your choice.

Good luck, in any case.

Tara

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...
I walked her 8 short blocks this morn. Virtually -no- sign
of a limp. I've been treating her for an irritation betwixt
the pads of her right hind paw. Evidence indicates that
was the problem.

My apologies. I got over-anxious/worried and perpetrated
a "Chicken Little".



Still- dogs are extraordinarily adept at hiding pain, especially when asked
to do something (like walk) by their leader. It is *entirely possible* that
this dog is in a significant amount of pain and you don't know it.

No matter how carefully you examine her externally, that does nothing to
give you any idea of what is going on on the inside. And no matter how good
we think we are at observing our own dogs (and I am one of the worst for
this), our observations are no substitute for an xray and a good going over
by a veterinarian.

You say the dysplasia appeared "drastic" when it was diagnosed at one year
of age, and she's now 9½. She had her annual exam one month ago- did that
include hip xrays? Have the xrays been repeated recently?

I know you don't want to go running back to the vet so soon, but I would
certainly have the xrays repeated on my next visit. A geriatric dog usually
needs to be seen every six months instead of every year, so in a few months
run her back in for new xrays. You obviously care for this dog very deeply,
and pain control can increase her quality of life tremendously, as well as
extend the amount of time you have with her.

I got an additional 18 months out of a severely arthritic dog specifically
due to finding the right pain meds. It 100% enhanced the last months of her
life.


--
Toni
http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com

That's interesting. Hip dysplasia is a vitamin C deficit:


WRONG= any 10th grade biology student will tell you that primates
(humans) and guinea pigs are the only animals on the face of the earth
that need Vitamin C.

All other animals, including canis familaris (dogs), can make their
own Vitamin C..

"scurvy" is a disease that affects collagen in people who don't have
adeqaute Vit C.
It was discovered that British sailors who never had fresh fruit got
it. They gave them limes and it got better...hence british saliors=
limey's

TJ PALVINO

That's interesting. Hip dysplasia is a vitamin C deficit:


WRONG= any 10th grade biology student will tell you that primates
(humans) and guinea pigs are the only animals on the face of the earth
that need Vitamin C.

All other animals, including canis familaris (dogs), can make their
own Vitamin C..

"scurvy" is a disease that affects collagen in people who don't have
adeqaute Vit C.
It was discovered that British sailors who never had fresh fruit got
it. They gave them limes and it got better...hence british saliors=
limey's

TJ PALVINO