@Tatti I don't really have an awful lot to add as @MaccieD has it covered. My girl was diagnosed when she was 6 months old with ED. I've cried many tears, yes it does change things BUT there are absolutely loads of things you can still do. My advice take one day at a time, follow your gut instinct and get a second opinion if you are unsure. In my experience no two dogs are the same with ED, mine happens to be severe with 3 monthly hospital visits and talk of further surgery. That's not to say this will happen to your Charlie. We have had a lovely morning today, we went out walking with my friend who has Mabel's sister then coffee and cake. It was such fun, no one would guess my girl has problems with her joints. Tomorrow she will be rested, that's the way it goes. Good luck, and remember the forum is full of lovely kind people who will offer a friendly ear if it's needed.
So, tatti is still limping a bit after 4 days on anti inflammatories and reduced exercise. I also found out that after her pregnancy her mum had a knee op and her brother (also 8 months) has just had one. So it is looking ever likely that we are dealibg with ED. Now we just have to hope it's not too serious because this girl loves to play. Our first challenge is how on earth we deal with the day a week I work in London as until now she had been going to doggy day care and even if they cut out her walks- that's still a lot of play time :-/ no friends or family close by and she is a daytime dog so leaving her alone during the day is not an option for the moment. We need to gradually work on this I think. Any ideas?
Hello there, don't jump to any conclusions until you have a proper diagnosis. It isn't at all logical to conclude that because your dog's mother had an operation on her knee, your dog has elbow dysplasia. There is unlikely to be any connection between the two things (elbow dysplasia is specific to the elbow joint, it doesn't appear in a knee joint). The most common operation to be performed on a knee is for a ruptured ligament, nothing to do with ED. Go back to your vet, ask for x-rays etc. get a diagnosis and take it from there. When my dog was on restricted exercise and I needed to work, I had a dog walker take him out on lead. It worked out a bit expensive, but it was the only safe thing I could do for him.
@Tatti Really sorry to hear about Tatti's mum and littermate. It doesn't sound too hopeful with her limp. I think I would've going back to the vet for x-rays/scans now rather than later, just to have a definite answer rather than worry about it. If the diagnosis is ED it is not the end of the world and dogs can have a full and active life, exercise and diet just has to be managed. If you had seen Juno yesterday leaping into the lake and out up the bank retrieving her dummy you would not have even considered that she had ED. For your days working in London could you look into a dog walker to come in once or twice. Uninterrupted play with other dogs won't be good for her elbow, a lot depends upon the day care, their facilities and how they manage the dogs during the day. I'm away at the moment but if you want a chat about ED please feel free to start a 'conversation' with me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can
Just to cheer up in case it is ED, I know of a Lab who had ED, had the elbows operated on and became a Field Trial Champion and lived a good, long and happy life without pain.
@Tatti sorry to hear things haven't improved, if you can I'd get X-Ray's etc sorted out with the vet before you take the next step. If you can get a dog walker to walk Tatti, that would be more beneficial for her at the moment. My offer also goes out to a private conversation if you wish. These early days of diagnosis can be so challenging, you'll want to do the right thing although of course that's a given but it seems so daunting. You'll get there you just need time.
Thank you so so much, it's hrd not to jump to conclusions and we have an X-ray booked in in a couple of weeks to find out more. I may well need to take you up on the offer @MaccieD and @Pilatelover She has been almost limpless since yesterday so at least she's recovering from this episode now. The problem with getting in a walker is that she'll be alone for most of the day still. Our girl tends to be very active during the day and I don't think she'd cope well with this at all. Something to work on I think. I've started keeping a sleep diary for her so we can think about how we might manage it (and arrange visits for her wakeful periods). Maybe pay someone to visit twice and walk once. That or get another dog to keep her company but I'm not sure the heart could take it- that's twice the worry. At this point, I don't care about money- just want her to be happy
@Tatti So sorry to hear of your worries. Re stiffness on waking/rising: it might not be stiffness; it might be pain that causes your dog to not want to move. When we described similar in our Snowie, this is what the orthopaedic vet told us. I hope this all resolves quickly and that your worries can be over!
@Tatti , bless you. I know what you mean about the money I spend so much on Mabel that there is no doubt I would never have spent if she hadn't got ED. Things like extra petrol as I'll drive to take her on beautiful peaceful walks when she needs time away from other dogs etc. I see what you mean about getting a walker that's not going to help with the being alone in the house. Keeping a diary is a really good idea. If Tatti could have short training sessions that would help tire her out as well as kongs. I'll have a little think and I'll also write Mabel's timetable a little later today to see if that gives you any ideas. Regarding getting another dog to keep her company the only thing is you won't be able to monitor them while you are away from home in case things get a little boisterous. I used to borrow my friends 8 year old Labrador for an hour so Mabel had some contact with other dogs, he is incredibly gentle and placid. It helped her enormously.
@Tatti I know both Claire and I are here whenever you should feel the need, limps are so worrying. I'm not convinced it's any easier when they stop as you then start worrying as to whether it hurts but they're being stoic and not showing it . Keeping a diary is a good idea so that you can perhaps see how a dog walker would work to best advantage. One thing to check with your vet prior to x-rays is whether he is sending them to a specialist for review. Our lovely vet couldn't see anything on Juno's x-rays but we quickly got a caller from her that the specialist was unhappy and wanted to see her. It was a scan that fully showed her elbow problems and confirmed the need for surgery. When Juno was little I did think about perhaps getting another puppy, and even now the urge to have another puppy, or take on a rescue, is very strong at times but I have come to the conclusion that with her ED I just don't feel it would be right for her, or fair on a puppy/dog as I feel I just don't have enough of "me" to go round. My focus is keeping her fit and healthy and limp free for as long as I can.
Apologies for the lack of communication, I forgot to turn on notifications for this thread so I've missed all these posts. I hope the dogs mentioned in this thread get better! As for Charlie's limp, it appears to have gone. After a week off his usual walking routine his limp has disappeared. This week I've started walking him properly again and he's playing fetch and running about with no problem. Hopefully, it was just a strain and nothing serious that will come back.
Hi @markclaxton Good to hear that Charlie is fine and the limp has gone , these pups worry us so much sometimes
@markclaxton so glad to read Charlie's limp has disappeared. Fingers crossed it may never return. @Tatti I was just wondering how things were today? Rosemary made a really good point that had slipped my mind, definitely get the X-Ray's sent to a specialist for review. Out local orthopaedic vet didn't pick up on the severity of Mabel's ED. As promised here is Mabel's timetable when she has to take things a little quieter. 8.00 am - time to get up, little breakfast and outside in the garden for the toilet 9.00-9.45 - drive somewhere so she can have a short walk often the walk would be as short as 5 mins. When we arrive home she is left to relax or sleep. 11.00-11.30 training. Anything you can think of that doesn't get her racing round. I did things like getting her to place her chin on my hand. @JulieT has a thread about activities to do with a dog on restricted exercise. It will give you loads of ideas. I found it invaluable. 12.00 short walk from the house. 13.00 -13.30 grooming, cleaning teeth, generally paying attention to eyes, ears and paws. Even if they don't need cleaning. Any activity that will help relax your dog that you may need to use during vet examinations. 14.30 - 15.00 driving to another short walk. 15.00 frozen Kong filled with something like sardines or banana and peanut butter. 17.00 food. I had 6 different kongs and used to mix kibble and water and freeze over night. 18.00 more training and maybe a box with a treat for her to find and rip up, or plastic bottle. 20.00 sleep. Luckily for me she loves to sleep. 21.00 I used to wake Mabel up to go into the garden for the toilet. Her routine uses a lot of food and she did put a little too much weight on. To combat this I weigh her food out first thing in the morning which is her allocation for the day, and use only that. I also buy Ziwipeak for her treats along with Hollings sprats I'm very mindful these days of her calorie intake. I'm really lucky as we have an extremely good specialist who has advised me not only on exercise but nutrition as well. Sorry if it's a bit long winded. Hope it helps you.
@Tatti and @Pilatelover lover I forgot about the food! My vet mentioned that she thought Juno was a little plumper than normal at our check up at week 4 post-op and I realised that she was getting the same amount of food and treats as normal but without the exercise I cut back the treats she was getting in her brain teaser toys in the evening and used more of her kibble and we were back on track two weeks later.
Thanks for this, we cut back tatti's excersice to 2 or 3 20 min lead walks a day and after a week the limp had gone. The vet had said to go back to normal after this but keep it short so we just had a 15 minute free play in the park. She seemed fine the whole time but just before we left someone was throwing a ball for thier dog and she decided to join in- just one chase and she came back limping. Perhaps it was too soon. I guess we won't know anything until her X-ray so we'd best keep her exercise down until then. We do lots of training and hiding treats but I do worry she's getting a little restless in the house- she doesn't know why we're not going on interesting walks any more. Poor thing. It's weird that I'm hoping for an injury rather than ED as she can at least recover from an injury.
Do try to suspend the worry until you have a diagnosis - I know that's almost impossible, but there are an incredible amount of variables and different things it could be. Even with ED the outlook is not the same for all dogs and there are different versions of it. It is true that a sprain etc can take some weeks to heal, and so you never know.... Why don't you go back to the vet for x-rays etc early? That would speed things up at least. I'm never a fan of waiting too long if there is something wrong with my dog. I think you are always better off with a firm diagnosis so you know what you are dealing with.
We're booked in in just over a week so not too long to wait. She's in to be spayed anyway so I figured it saved her a separate visit and meant fewer drugs. I do hope you are right and it's just a strain or sprain or something benign. Just so long as she will be able to play properly again and go on long and lovely walks (when she's fully grown). It wouldn't seem right to leave her at home while we go for our walks (we love our coastal walks, it's one of the reasons we got a dog) and then just take her out round the block....again
I know, it's really tough. I'm glad you don't have long to wait until you find out what's what. I too hope that it turns out to be a sprain or something like that. If it isn't, and you have to cope with something more serious, you will cope, and it will be ok. My own experience is that you can work things out so you and your dog are happy. You get into a routine that works well for your dog, and you adjust to whatever it is that you have to adjust for, and you get used to it. There are a few things Charlie doesn't get to do now, he doesn't get to play for hours with other dogs, and right now he isn't get to do any retrieving (which we both love). It can seem really hard to give up something you and your dog enjoy, but he doesn't need to play with other dogs for ages, and we are loving our sniffer dog training as much as we ever did retrieving. You've just got to look on the bright side, and enjoy what you can do, not hanker after what you can't do.
@Tatti having the x-rays at the same time as her spay seems a sensible approach and certainly less anaesthesia. Really hoping that the x-rays show nothing serious. Are the x-rays being reviewed by an orthopaedic specialist? Try not to worry too much, impossible I know, but ED isn't the end of the world. There are many forms of ED and various levels of severity but they are all manageable. Juno had her operation some 13 months ago to remove a bone fragment from her elbow but she also has underlying malformation of the elbow which most likely causes her permanent discomfort which we live with. Her x-rays at 8 months old showed some osteo-arthritis but her x-rays 8 weeks after her operation were clear, much to the satisfaction of our vet and the orthopaedic specialist, and we work to keep her limp free through diet, supplements and managed exercise. That doesn't mean that she doesn't play with other dogs or enjoy running and retrieving balls or jumping in and out of lakes to retrieve her dummy, or lovely walks. We've just had a week in the Lake District and if you had seen her scampering up rocky paths, jumping up and over obstructions and enjoying all our daily walks and swims you would not have believed that she has ED. To make walks more interesting can you pop her in the car and visit somewhere different, perhaps even for a walk around town with a stop for a coffee. I know it can seem a pain to go for a 20 minute drive or whatever for a 15 - 20 minute but the change of scene can make a lot of difference. I also invested in a couple of Nina Ottosson mind game toys.
