Lameness

[googol]

So, as if I'm not paranoid enough with horse lameness, I think my dog is showing signs of arthritis!
She's 7 in January, jack russelxbeaglexvarious other breeds. We have had her since she was 12 was and she is an active dog in that she's well exercised every night. Her fav thing is chasing her balls, she's very fit agile and fast. Nothing has changed exercise wise, she's as keen and willing and I think she's as fast (hard to see in the dark) but when she comes home at night she loves to lie up on the sofa snoozing. Over the last week or so I've noticed that after she gets up from lying down for a while she is lame in the back right. She walks out of it quite quickly but she's def about 5/6/10ths. She doesn't show any other signs of lameness / pain. Should we go to the vet? Maybe she's just pulled something, is there a doggy bute?I'm sad to think she's getting old

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Vet for a firm diagnosis, although they're not experts, you might want to be referred to a specialist.

If you haven't heard about turmeric, join the user group on Facebook, it's great for lameness, pain and not as insidious as an NSAID. If it is arthritis, there are management strategies, such as getting an orthapaedic bed off the floor (look at Kuranda), exercises designed to build muscle to support the joint, walk uphill, through sand, swim-dry the legs after swimming for warmth. Have a look at dog massage techniques on the Internet.

If it's her ACL, then there are surgical options eg the TPLO, expensive but worth it for the excellent recovery possibilities. Ball chasing is bad for arthritis/joints because of the quick turns/returns, but exercise is crucial. Don't let her jump up and down on the sofa or run up stairs, that's a huge impact, especially on a short legged dog.

 

[planete]

Same problem here with 7.5 kg mongrel. X-rays showed nothing. He had two weeks of anti-inflammatories and we have stopped all ball chasing and are putting him through a strict recovery programme of several weeks of lead walking followed by exercise on a 10m line and the lameness has not recurred so far. We hope to progress to free exercise away from any incentives to overdo it in a few more weeks. I do not think I will allow him to race after the lurchers again though. My vet advised us to do this as the dog is small and natural recovery is more likely than with heavier dogs apparently.