Hi, I thought I'd give a bit of an update on how we and Monty have coped with bilateral HD and ED for the last two years. Monty was diagnosed with HD at just over six months in right hip, a locum vet / nurse thought his elbows might be an issue then but x rays were clear. At just over a year we saw there was clearly something going on with his front end, and we were referred to an excellent physio vet who did a gait analysis and recommended a CT scan to confirm our fears. We were put through the mill a bit with referrals to two different orthoapaedic surgeons - see previous posts here if you can bear it - which seem a bit angst ridden now but were stressful at time. https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/aghh-no-running-for-6-months.10120/ https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/still-no-running-and-six-weeks-to-improve.10316/#post-155988 We embarked on a regime of daily metacam (to be replaced by generic rheumocam, cheaper and less smelly), daily omega 3, regular hydrotherapy on a treadmill to strengthen his hips, acupuncture ( not completely sold on this, hmm, but insurance pays and he puts up with it bi-monthly) and of course keeping him slim. He varies between 28-29 kilos, he's a tall dog and would ideally like him at 27 to be thin not slim, but not sure we are ever going to get there. He know he's on a constant diet and gets every last calorie out of us. In terms of exercise, he manages an hour each day, but that's close to his limit -he can do an hour and a half if there's a pub stop along the way He has flare ups now and again - if its his hips then he may carry his back leg round in a circle slightly, and bunny hop a bit, if it's his elbows he appears to 'bob' slightly from his head and shoulders. In both cases he goes back on the lead for a week or so to let everything calm down. Issues with this mean that he has breaks in using his recall, and although he is excellent off lead, his weakness for other dogs remains and we haven't quite proofed this one yet. (or probably ever will to be honest) Our medium term plan is that we are going to try platelet rich plasma therapy if he has a bad episode to see if this can bring about some improvement.
My Natalie, you and Monty have ben through the mill. Hope everything will turn out right for you both.
That's a very positive message three years on that you're managing Monty's conditions so well. I love your 'every last calorie' comment about his diet - typical lab! By the way, what make is Monty's harness? It looks as if it's a comfortable, front-fastening one.
Hi, Yes it's super comfy, all fleece covered with both a front and back fastening ring and goes through the washing machine every couple of weeks - it's from cosydog, they are made in the UK and pretty reasonable, we are on our second and about to order a third - just for a colour change!
Hello there - Monty is a super lucky dog to have you as an owner. Charlie had cruciate operations at a very young age - he was diagnosed at just 8 months. Later, we discovered (also via a CT scan) that his elbows weren't quite ok most probably because of a shift in weight to his front legs from a very young age. Whatever the reason, this is a form of elbow dysplasia. It's very mild and really only causes problems if he retrieves - he is an obsessive retriever and crashes onto marked retrieves very hard - otherwise he can exercise freely and does up to 3 hours a day. Obviously, he doesn't do marked retrieves anymore. I would encourage you to bite the bullet and get the last kg or so off Monty. I know this is hard, it really is hard to get a dog that is not naturally inclined to be thin not just slim but thin, but do it if you can - it really makes a difference to Charlie. If Charlie's weight creeps up by even 1 or 2 kgs, I can see it in the way he moves.
@JulieT you are spot on about that final kilo. Have been very slightly reducing his morning / evening 'meals' - the majority of his food comes in kongs, treat balls, rewards, etc. Although i'm not hung up on his actual weight - the last four hydro sessions we have been slowly increasing his speed / elevation/ length as he seems able to cope with a bit more and is increasing his stamina just a little - so I'm looking at his shape as much as his weight. But honestly he's still only pretty slim not thin
