Arthritis

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littlen

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Hi guys,

I am worried about my GSD and would love some advice.

He has OCD as a puppy. Then has been fine since. Now, at the age of 8 he started to get stiff which progressed to a limp/stiffness.
He is on metacam (not cheap as he is 55kg!!) but this past few days he is very stiff and is limping again.
Can metacam just stop working?

I am a vn and vet says the next step is XRays, although I am reluctant to anesthetise an old dog especially as he is very nervous of strangers and would not have an easy recovery?

Any ideas of things to try? He is already in glucosamine.
Do they generally have bad and good days?

I really don't want to sign him off yet as he is young at heart and still tries to run! Is 8 really that old for a shepherd :(
 
No 8 isn't old for a shepherd, and bearing that in mind I would get the x rays done so you know what you are dealing with. Our vets use a mild sedative for x rays, they are only out for the length of time it takes to x ray, so he shouldn't have a problem recovering. At 55kg he is quite heavy, unless he is huge, probably wouldn't do any harm to try and slim him down a bit so there is not so much weight on his joints.
 
No he really is huge :) very tall and broad, he comes to work quite often and all the vets say he is not fat.

I think I will think about x raying him then, just really didn't want to have to stress him out that much. In a way I suppose I am scared of what they find!!

He can be stranger aggressive and so would need a full anaesthetic, couldn't sedate him for hip XRays as we tie the legs together for a good hip x ray.
 
By sedate, I do mean totally knock out, but it isn't as long lasting and harmful as a general but you can pull the legs about for x raying etc. Is it his hips he is lame on then, I thought it was his front leg as you mentioned OCD. I have to admit I have never heard of hind legs being tied together for a hip x ray, are you sure they do that.:confused:
 
Yeah we tie the legs outstretched and bandage in the knees, as if for a hip dysplasia X-ray. Helps give a better picture of the hips.

Can't remember where the OCD was as it was 8 years ago, but he is lame in the hips now. Hence why insurance wouldn't touch him with a barge pole so I will have to pay for treatment myself.
 
OCD is usually (though not always) in the shoulder or elbow I think. I honestly have never heard of a vet tying the legs together for hip x rays, and have been involved with many many being done, I think I will stick with the way my vets do it.
 
my labx was first diagnosed with early arthritic changes and mild hip displaysia at 7, she was put on house arrest! previcox tablets then after 6-5 weeks she started hydroptherapy, also used a magnetic wrap around her waist. She eventually came good again once all the tissue around the arthritic changes had settled etc, she then had over 2 years of running and being her normal self, she recently started screaming again after being asleep, it was heartbreaking to watch and I was on the point of having her euthanased, she had x-rays which confirmed new arthritic changes in her neck, she was put eventually on tramadol (high level pain killers) and steroids (as nsai's weren't working) after a few weeks we got a referral, took her off all tablets so vet could see her at her worst, (meanwhile I'd put her on gluccossamine and chondroitin, and got a magnetic collar) well 48hrs of no tablets and no screaming or anything, she's now back to her normal self once again! So in our experience I'd say yes they have good times and bad, all depending on whether there is new changes occuring... Good luck hun, my dogs now 10 and so far back to normal for now! although she's only a 25Kg dog so half the size and weight of yours!
 
Echo the others, it sounds like x-rays are the way to go, of hips and stifles assuming it is a hindlimb lameness. If his OCD was diagnosed in the hindlimbs then it is quite likely that this is OA secondary to this, in which case I would suggest stifles, however given his breed then he may well have hip OA. Did he have hip xrays taken as a young dog?

As for the GA/sedation thing - if you are worried about a GA, then as a VN perhaps you could just take him in yourself and you get the xrays under sedation with assistance of a vet if needed. I have seen plenty of dogs have hip xrays taken under just dom/torb sedaton, however if he is going to be fear agressive then a GA may well be easier. 8 isn't at all old for a GSD, and unless he has been diagnosed with other health problems then I would have absolutely no problem anaesthetising an 8 yo (if you wanted to be sure then you could always get pre-op bloods).

MM - you have never seen the legs tied because they never GA the dogs, and tying a sedated dog to the xray table is an absolute no-no. The desired position is obtained with the use of sandbags and/or an assistant holding the legs extended! If the dog is under full GA then it saves unneccessary radiation for nurses/vets if they just tie the dog to the table with hips extended.
 
MM - you have never seen the legs tied because they never GA the dogs, and tying a sedated dog to the xray table is an absolute no-no. The desired position is obtained with the use of sandbags and/or an assistant holding the legs extended! If the dog is under full GA then it saves unneccessary radiation for nurses/vets if they just tie the dog to the table with hips extended.[/QUOTE]

Ah that explains it , thank you. Yep its always been sandbags and someone holding the legs when E has done them. Glad your education hasn't been wasted! :D
 
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