Arthritis in dogs

[murphyrules]

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Murphy went severely lame on Sunday which resulted in a trip to the vets on Monday for x-rays (suspected Cruciate tear/rupture) turns out he has severe arthritis in his left stifle, hip dysplasia and arthritic changes in his left hip, and they cant rule out a partial cruciate tear as the cause of the acute pain. Needless to say I am gutted, his racing days are over, stuck in a cage for a while with no bunny chasing walks to enjoy. He has started on a course of Cartrophen injections, Metacam and Seraquin supplement. I just wondered if anyone had experience and / or success/failure with this treatment and on return to fitness and comfort levels in dogs with hip dysplasia and arthritis? My vets have been brilliant a great source of knowledge and experience, but I just wanted to ask you guys about the day to day management of any of your dogd with the same conditions?

Thanks

 

[lurcherman]

let me say im sorry for whats happend but my black dog has always done a lot of jinking moves left and right chasing hares when younger so i thought one day he might get some sort ofarthritis so when he got to bout 8 he started getting lame on more than a few accasions so after a checkup and some drugs i deciding 3 yrs ago to stop him running with dogs, rabbits and controlling what he does and he now 11 and still walks fine 3 or 4 miles a day so in general all might not be bad as you thing. i hope this helps you. how how is murphy?

 

[murphyrules]

He will be 9 in July, Im hoping I can get him to the point I can let him chase bunnies again just not for his normal 2 hours per day, husband has him at home today and he is not a happy beagle on cage rest!!!!

 

[Oreo]

I hope he gets better soon and can find some comfort.

Poor thing!

 

[lurcherman]

look if he cant chase bunnies its not the end of the world. would you.like him to run bunnies then be laid up for a week? no so see what you csn do and still enjoy some walks. in the 8 yrs until mine slowed up i know what we have done together amf how much so for me it was time to stop.the mad runs and settle for the dog having another routine of which he fell into quite easily.

 

[Andrea s]

one of our girls has OCD in her front leg joints even in her toes, she was first seen at 10 months as being lame and given x rays, OCD is the precursor to arthritis where the cartilage flakes off and bits float in the joint space causing pain, we had her on a course of cartrophen injections with a top up once a month for a few months, she improved greatly quite quickly and now at 6 she just gets a jab as and when needed.

I don't envy you if it is cruciate though as our INCA had that done christmas time, she is fine now though and is running about like a loon.

Fingers crossed he recovers quickly.

 

[hanneroon]

oh i missed this! Poor old murphy! Hope he's feeling a bit better now, cage rest is awful, must be very hard with two. Hopefully its not a complete rupture or anything and he gets back on his feet soon.

Poor chap, poor you, x

 

[murphyrules]

Thanks its been a pants 2 weeks, walk Rufus then come home and get Murphy out for 10 mins, he is thoroughly depressed being in the cage (I can fit in it with him and he has a bed and a duvet!!) He is off Metacam and taking his Seraquin daily and he is due 4th Cartrophen injection and check up on tuesday when I was hoping we could start walking him a little further again and get him out the cage a little as he is doing well so far.

BUT when I came in from work last night he is on 3 legs again and dragging his toes on the ground so I'm starting to think that the cruciate is a bigger problem at the moment as Arthritis should not flare up this badly without him doing anything. So Metacam again last night and back in cage! will ring vets tomorrow if he is no better.

Andrea thank you for letting me know your dog had Cartrophen and that it worked for her I've never had any dealings with it so glad to know its doing him some good :flowers:

 

[hanneroon]

oh crikey that does sound bad, poor murphy dog good luck at the vets, x

 

[murphyrules]

It is not good news, his Cruciate has ruptured, being referred to a specialist probably for surgery, so its cage rest again for the forseeable future!!!! In a way tho at least I know exactly what is going on now, just have to wait for appointment and see what they say.

Thanks for your kind thoughts xxxxxxx

 

[hanneroon]

oh no poor old murphy dog. Sending good vibes your way, xx

 

[lurcherman]

so sorry for u and ur dog. hope things go well.for the opp and pyshio.

 

[banana]

Oh no - I hope everything goes well xx

 

[murphyrules]

Thanks everyone, He has appointment at referral centre on the 11th so in cage until then, already he is doing my head in whining and barking but however bad it is for me it must be worse for him so lots of extra cuddles, will update you all as things progress :thumbsup:

 

[lurcherman]

plz do keep us in the loop. im hoping for a good result for you both.

 

[murphyrules]

Thanks, have been investigating at work and most probable thing they will do is a TPLO surgery, which involves cutting and re-positioning the bone and plating it in new position permanently, sounds horrific to me but best option for him, with very good prognosis so will wait and see what they say on the 11th. :'(

 

[murphyrules]

Today is the day of TPLO operation, I dropped him off yesterday and all being well I should get him home tomorrow, I feel physically sick, will be so glad when today is over and I know he is okay, :x

I am glad in a way though as at least the end is in sight and the specialist says that providing everything goes well Murphy should be back to normal bunny chasing duties in 4 months.

 

[murphyrules]

Spoke to the vet last night, surgery went well, bit of a glitch with him being sick during surgery but on meds to prevent ulcers, sooooooooooo relieved he is ok, I pick him up late this afternoon and then the hard work starts!!!! (w00t)

 

[hanneroon]

oh thats good news

poor little murphy, pat pat and you, hug hug, x

 

[murphyrules]

So tomorrow is 7 weeks post op for Murphy, he is doing brilliantly, fully weight bearing on the leg, and allowed out on the lead for 20 mins 2-3 times a day and in the cage the rest of the time, he is bored in cage as he feels fine now, so got him snuggled up on the sofa as much as I can with me. another 4 weeks to go then its back to the vets for x-rays and check up, fingers crossed they are happy with the leg and Murphy can start getting back to normal walks again :teehee: