I went for Emmy's second vet visit today and I asked the vet about a potential elbow concern. She mentioned elbow displaysia, but said to just keep an eye on her. She mentioned she be sure I use Large Breed Puppy food, keep her lean for the first year, and not overdo it with walks, hikes, etc. Sometimes when Emmy is sitting, her arm shakes a bit. I think it's just because she's growing and at that moment resting after playing. She does lay down with her elbows out pretty wide, is this normal? I was concerned it was like "W" sitting for toddlers, which is not ideal for their hips. I tried to google how their elbows should be when they're laying down, but I couldn't find a lot. I don't really know the goal of my post. I guess I just want to see if any other pups experienced arm shakes or if they lay with their elbows out wide. It may be normal and that'd be ideal, but just wanted to see! Thanks for any info!
I've never seen a shake from mine, but both my puppy and my adult boy lay with their elbows wide at times. It's not something to worry about
Thank you! She is my first lab and since my last pup passed away at 3 unexpectedly, I am always worried Just want to make sure she is okay!
I don't know about what you're seeing in Emmy, but my dog Brogan had elbow displaysia and when it showed up it was very, very obvious. He as about 10 months old and showed up as noticeable limping when he was tired and a funny lurching gate at other times. I had him x-rayed (hips and elbows - hips were fine) and was told he'd need an elbow replacement before he was two. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to have any pain with it and the limp seemed to be more of a mechanical issue of the way he was built. I took him to an orthopaedic specialist who told me to wait as long as possible as the surgery at the time didn't have a huge success rate. The limp never did seem to bother him and didn't get worse either, so I just kept up with the routine checks by the orthopedist and never had the surgery. In fact, when Brogan tore his cruciates on his back legs and had two TPLO's in the space of one year, upon recovery he never limped again on the elbow. It was the strangest thing. All that simply to say that try not to worry too much - it's probably not ED and even if it is, there are degrees of ED and the outcome is not always so dramatic. If you can, do try to wait as long as possible to have Emmy spayed (or don't do it at all if you prefer), as it has been proven that early spay/neuter affects bone and joint development.
