Hi everyone We have a /yellow/ white male lab who will be 7 this November so still a 'young' dog He was one out of a totally brown litter of 8 and my understanding is that the Brown gene pool has a weakness more with the front rather than back legs? He developed a pronounced limp within the last year and previous vet treatments having included a short series of cartilage boosting injections but not eased matters so the week before last he had what I assume is a dog version of cortisone injection into the joint This has improved matters I believe but the main issue is how to best manage the condition longer term I would like to see if there are effective alternative / natural treatments available rather than just normal pain relief medication? Would surgery help? I am due to see the vet early next week when we will review the most recent x Rays Like of all us he is a VERY important family pet and I want him to have the best care! Any advice would be great - thanks for reading this
Hello and welcome to the forum. I'm afraid I don't have any experience of arthritis in dogs and the potential options; hopefully others will be along with their experiences soon. The fact he's from a predominantly chocolate litter will have nothing to do with these issues. Dysplasia of hips and elbows doesn't appear linked to colour. It is possible that you could get higher incidents of dysplasia in certain colours/shades, but simply due to people breeding for colour rather than health. Just like black and yellows Labradors, you can lessen the possibility of having a dog with dysplastic joints by ensuring you choose a breeder who only breeds from dogs who have been tested to have healthy joints, and then ensure that the dog's exercise is appropriate, especially during the crucial growing phase. However, even with the best breeding and the best of care, it is still possible that you will end up with a dysplastic dog, either through trauma or simple (bad) luck of the dice. The genetics governing dysplastic joints aren't yet fully understood. Elbow dysplasia is certainly a problem in Labradors as a whole breed, and, if not caught and treated very early, can cause significant problems with arthritis in later life. We have quite a few people on here whose dogs have either hip or elbow dysplasia and hopefully they'll be able to pass on some knowledge.
Hi there @Topman1 My boy has bilateral elbow and hip dysplasia. We use a wide range of both traditional and complementary therapy including acupuncture, treadmill hydrotherapy, laser therapy, cartrophen injections, omega 3, joint supplements, daily rheumocam (meloxicam is active ingredient) exercises, and limited running. I can give you much more info about what I think has and hasn't worked for monty, however I am out for the day now so i will reply again later or tomorrow. Natalie
Hi there, welcome to the forum. Obvious advice would be keeping weight off your boy - he needs to be slim, not just "average" - as well as regular and consistent exercise - be that walking, swimming/hydrotherapy or otherwise. Making sure that exercise is kept consistent and you don't have quiet weekdays then catch up at the weekend is important. I think that is called "weekend cowboys"? Sudden increase in exercise causes increased risk of injury and pain. My orthopaedic vet felt there was good evidence for omega-3 supplements, but unconvinced about the additional hyaluronic acid, but I think their have been some studies to suggest they can be useful. Exercise and building good muscles is crucial though. jac (Lilly is now 7 and was diagnosed with severe bilateral HD at just under a year old.)
I had my Lab (he broke his elbow aged 16 weeks) on Synoquin, but at 11 years of age he began to get very bad arthritis in his left paw (very swollen) due to elbow being screwed and pinned in not quite the right position. He also has spondylitis of the spine. The vet prescribe some medication which I felt reluctant to give him but I did! He is changed dog, swelling almost disappeared, limp virtually gone and he is so much happier. However, it isn't natural but very effective if your natural remedies do not give any relief.
I have a girl with elbow dysplasia duagnosed at 8 months of age and operated on. Her x-rays showed early signs of some osteo arthritis around the joint but this had cleared on her final set of x-rays following rehab. On my osteo surgeon's advice we give a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement daily which I also now supplement with salmon oil. We keep a close eye on body shape and work at staying slim. Exercise is kept moderate - no long, challenging walks but 2 consistent length walks on a daily basis. Also no jumping on or over furniture/agility type exercise.
I have not heard that the gene for chocolate has any negative expression on elbow development. I haven't though, researched that aspect mind. We have a dog with arthritis, and with the vets support have taken a multi modal approach...keep him under his cruising weight to reduce stress on joints. Supplementation with Yumove advance, an exercise plan to strengthen muscles in his back and thighs, again to support affected joints. We are now about to start a course of physio as although he is doing well, his muscles have got a bit stiff.
Tilly at 11 seems to have some arthritis, and moves stiffly some times. If she does not walk it off, we will give her 25 or 50 mg of Deramax. It works so well for her that I would be tempted to take it, but my vet says no.
Thank you everyone for your very quick and helpful replies! Much appreciated Will be seeing the vet again tomorrow as a follow up re the latest X rays and will ask him about all the information you have kindly provided With regard to my comment regarding the brown gene pool being possibly more likely to have problems with front legs rather than rear this was advised to me by a local vet
Just goes to show what funny ideas some vets have . I would love to know where he got this information from though
May not have been such a funny idea, in context, your vet may have been referring to the gene pool for chocolate labradors vs black labradors or yellow labradors for example. Chocolate labradors have only become popular really since the 1970's (on the show bench) and only more recently ( notably the last 5 years or so...) have we seen chocolate labradors in the working field (UK). Breeding coefficients can be quite high if not bred very, very carefully. A high breeding coefficient simply refers to the risk due to the higher probability of sharing similar genes for diseases of closely related dogs. We know there are inherited factors for HD for example, so in a smaller gene pool, yes the risk would be higher.
@Topman1, Just to add some more detail on my experience of complementary therapies - I think I would only go for some of these long term if your insurance pays, unless you can see a definite improvement and then they would be worth the outlay, certainly. First thing - find yourself a good vet who specialises in rehab and physiotherapy, they are worth their weight in gold. - Acupuncture - we started this every month, then moved to 6 weeks, and then now every 2-3 months. I understand it can have a really miraculous effect on some dogs - I do think it helps Monty a bit, he puts up with it not exactly enjoying it but once the needles are in he relaxes a lot. - Laser - I'm not sure this works for us as an ongoing preventative treatment, but I would give it a go again if Monty has surgery as part of a course of rehab - Supplements - Omega 3 (1700mg daily) and a vets own mix of glucosamine, chondroitin, boswellia extract and a few other ingredients. These will (hopefully)have some sort of long term preventative effect, can;t say I've seem much difference - Hydrotherapy - this is the best thing we have done to build up Monty's muscle mass around his hips and shoulders to support his dodgy joints - low impact, lots of fun and helps to keep muscles fairly symmetrical too. - Cartrophen - we have had this regularly from 6-7 months onwards-I think it helps a little - Weight control - I saw 2 different ortho surgeons and they both agreed that this was the most important thing you could do. Skinny dogs are best, I was told - even a spare half a kilo puts extra pressure particularly on elbows - Gait analysis - this is really interesting to get done, we have had it done twice, once before, and once treatment had been going on for 6 months. It shows how much pressure they put on each leg, and how close together their strides are, which makes diagnosing the issues much easier. That said, if anything comes up on the xrays, they are likely to press for a CT scan which is hugely more reliable in getting an accurate diagnosis And finally, we do use anti inflammatories too - we play around with the dose a bit, depending on his stiffness, and will always look to cut back a bit of he seems ok, but then bring back up to full dose if he has a flare up. To be quite honest, I would probably pick this over anything else I've mentioned as I know it's absolutely reliable and definitely reduces any soreness. Good luck at the vets tomorrow
Hello, this is my first time posting. I have had two male labs with elbow dysplasia / arthritis. First it isn't always hugely limiting so there is hope. My first boy lived to 12 and had a productive happy life, his gait was altered and he had an occasional limp but considering the first surgeon I went to said he had train wrecks for elbows and would be a couch potato his whole life I think we managed quite well. Needless to say I didn't use this surgeon. My 2nd boy is now 16 months old and has FCP in both elbows, he was operated on at 13 months and has moderate arthritis in one elbow and mild in the other. 3 months after and you can't tell that he has any issues. Our secret, lots of glucosomine with MSM or Chondrotin (2000 MG per day) and fish oil (two capsules) and consistent managed exercise. Regular walks and swims in the lake. We use the human forms as they are not too expensive, especially if you take advantage of the buy one get one free opportunities. Walgreens runs specials every couple of weeks. Our first lab late in life got an occasional meloxicam and when needed the vet would put him on a short low dose prednisone course. We limited the pred as we weren't huge fans, from 10 on I would estimate that he got pred for two weeks every 6 months. We with the vet made the choice that we were comfortable with quality of life verse the long term effects of pred. My advice, heavy dose of glucosamine / fish oil and consistent exercise. Good to you and your dog.
Thanks for your post. My 4 year old lab has just been diagnosed with arthritis in the hind leg. She had laxating patella and was operated upon that leg. She limps. We have been giving her glucosamine since her surgery which happed 3 years ago. Dont know what else can I do. Dont want to pump medicines in her so early in life.
I have arthritis myself and glucosamine really helps. If I forget a dose I feel it within a couple of hours! Exercise is important too, as is keeping the weight down.
