So long as I can afford it, I will always have a Labrador's elbows and hips x-rayed around a year old or slightly after. This is particularly so since I go Gundog training and so training is high impact. I maybe wouldn't bother if my pet didn't do a dog sport. Because I know the state of all of Charlie's joints, we have been able to modify his exercise so he stays pretty much limp free, surgery free and active (you wouldn't believe how active, really) even though he has mild elbow dysplasia. If I hadn't known, I could have made things much, much worse for him. X-rays and CT showed this problem up long before he had any symptoms that alerted me to a problem. Betsy is having her hips and elbows x-rayed tomorrow. The cost does come into the risk, of course. If you are able to afford a facility with a specialist anaesthetist then the risk is very low. There is some risk, of course. With my experience, I'd say much less risk than treating a dog with unknown problems inappropriately (if that dog is going to be doing high impact training). But yes, there's a risk. A lot of people who run agility dogs have them x-rayed top to bottom every year. I think that's sensible for agility.
Fortunately, the vets at our practice are very cautious. Because we had absolutely no idea of what Harley's genetic loading for joint issues is we used the opportunity because she was under anyway to have the xrays. And like you say @JulieT, for us to do as much for her as possible. Right now the instruction is to be reasonable, not over strain her but most importantly watch her weight. So we are following the guidelines for age and exercise and we will keep an eye on her weight.
Thanks! Had it done yesterday and she has been a star. She came home a bit tired and went to sleep for a few hours, then woke up searching for food. I hand fed her a bit of kibble to make sure she'd eat slowly, then we went for a gentle stroll around the garden and back to bed before being licked awake this morning . Breakfast was wolfed down, and she's very put out that I won't play fetch with her. Clearly the vet forgot to tell her that she is supposed to be sore and resting!
Just to clarify - I said I wouldnt have them RE-XRAYED (as they have already been done once). I completely agree that it is worth having them done if at all possible. And good luck to Betsy - hope the results come back excellent!
I know that's what you said. I was saying that I think not only is it worth RE-XRAYING when the dog is older - since in lots of changes early and subtle signs of problems can't even be seen on x-rays at all - it wouldn't be unreasonable, in some circumstances, to repeat x-rays several times.
Harley had her stitches out today and it was her first time back at the vet practice since the spaying. I was nervous that she would have a negative association or be fearful but Harley was good old Harley. She was SO excited to be there, and met some dogs in the waiting area. It was lovely to see how respectful she is of other dogs. She still pulled and lunged, hoping to greet every person but she was excellent about getting on the scale - she weighs 26kgs now and I thought she was going to wiggle and wag herself into a pretzel when she saw the vet who operated on her. I can honestly say it is like she never even had a procedure. She had her stitches out and had nice treats. Then she made eyes at the vet and got some more. I can't express how incredibly grateful we are that this went smoothly and that the vet is still a carefree, happy place for her. When we walked her to the vets consulting room she tried to pull/head off to the cages at the back where the dogs and cats are kept. It is not the nicest thing to say but sometimes I don't think she is the absolutely sharpest tool in the shed because she really has very little sense of concern about things - everyone is her friend, every dog is possibly her friend although she is respectful and every new event is a chance to play. We definitely are not the sharpest tools in the dog training shed so I think it is a good match up
When Jenny was spayed, she came thru everything just fine. Took her back to vet two weeks after to have stitches removed and vet said cone could come off also just watch her closely for two weeks or so. She never bothered her incision at all, but at the end of the second week, someone rang the doorbell and before John or myself could grab Jenny she scaled the gate we had up and broke open her incision. Back to the vet, she developed a massive infection in that short timespan so back with cone and antibiotics. She came out of it fine, but they are just too quick sometimes. The pix I included with this message is her about a month ago, 10 months old, She is so energetic, I wish I could bottle her energy!
...and us....good to know we are not the only ones Glad both girls came through well and are now recovered, or well on the road to recovery
Well this will be is after today. Vanilla in for her spay and we decided to get x-rays done at the same time for both hip and elbow. Vet was surprised we wanted them, but when we explained why she was supportive. Hopefully all food. Now just have to think how to keep her calm for the next few weeks....
