UPDATE....Elbow Dysplasia....

Thank you guy all SO MUCH!!!

calliecritters--thank you for all the suggestions--I am taking them!

Pit_Pointer_Aussie--Jack wanted me to thank Luna for her toy offer, but Mommy is letting him bring his "throwie" down to Purdue to carry around. []

All good thoughts and vibes for a wonderful outcome from this trip - that they figure out what is troubling Jack and it's easily treatable!!

Good luck, Jack!

Sorry to hear about Jack. Hope things went well today and the problem is easily solved! 

Any news?

I will pray for your dog.  I put a need prayer thread on here for the last couple of days and everyone has been so nice and supportive.  My dog has made it and is coming home tomorrow.  I will now focus my prayers for your day.  I will be hoping for the best and please update this thread

I hope that everything went well today!

Well, we just got back from Purdue.  Jack has elbow dysplasia of the left elbow.  I am gratefull that it is not worse case senario, but wish it was something that they could cure completely rather then just manage.  What's weird is that the resident assigned to us caught a hint of it on his first x-rays, something that the orthapedic specialist that we sent those x-rays to (he was my own vet's instructor in vet school) completely missed.  The second round of x-rays told the tail much more clearly though.  I asked about the possibility of surgery, and she said that he was not a canidate because there was really nothing that she could actually remove (like a lesion) at this point.  Basically, the name of the game now is getting what's already occured under control and managing it.  As of right now, the plan is the following:

-start him on Tramadol and Rimadyl--she said that we are going to start out with kind of a high dose and then move downward from there, depending on how he does on it--she said he may even be off meds completely at some point save for days where he is very active, at least until he becomes much older

-switch him to Hill's Prescription j/d--we are going to give him three days to start the meds and then begin slowly switching the food

-slowly get him back into an active life.  Starting with limited periods out of the crate, short walks, and eventually short play periods with Sally, gradually increasing them as he gets in better shape.  She thinks that he could pretty much lead the normal life of a young dog, complete with exercise, playing with thoer dogs, etc--that gave me a lot of hope, his quality of life is of the greatest importance to me.

This is not as good as I had hoped, but it is not as bad as it could have been either.  If anyone knows of dogs that have lived happy lives with elbow dysplasia, any tips would be great.  We are also going to invest in an orthapedic bed for him.

I cannot tell you how gratefull I am for the support I have gotten on this board--you guys have helped me through a very difficult time of uncertainty.....[]

Border Collies from certain lines are somewhat prone to OCD, which I'm not sure whether this is the same thing? Anyway, the kind BCs get is the result of (primarily) repetitive activities, which creates lesions on the elbow joint. I've known several young dogs that have surgery done and go on to live completely normal lives, including working and training at a pretty high level.

I'm guessing that if this is the same thing, that Jack is too old for the surgery. It does sound like you do have the prospect of many active years ahead of you. I'd highly recommend water therapy if you have it available near you. If not, then just lots of swimming if possible. []

Good luck!

I'm so glad you're home.  It's not great news but i's not the worst news.  It can be managed.  Dr. Annie prescribes daily kisses to the affected area.  Repeat if necessary.

Is there anyone around there that does acupuncture? I know it's not the same thing, but Emma has been diagnosed with severe arthritis in her back, as well as a pinched nerve. She does not have to take any NSAIDs, or eat a special diet. She lives a totally normal life. I do give her MSM, glucosamine, and fish oil. She gets boswellia on her bad days. Most of the time, she's normal. She runs, jumps, wrestles, swims, whatever. She's a little sensitive to the cold (more than she was when she was younger), so she wears a sweatshirt when it's chilly out. Acupuncture is what manages her pain. She went through months of crate rest, too, and couldn't walk for some time, after the injury that caused the arthritis.

I hope that Jack's new regimine, combined with whatever else you decide, helps him live a normal, goofy, Labby life[] One day soon, he'll be out and about, driving you batty again[sm=proud.gif]

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

Is there anyone around there that does acupuncture? I know it's not the same thing, but Emma has been diagnosed with severe arthritis in her back, as well as a pinched nerve. She does not have to take any NSAIDs, or eat a special diet. She lives a totally normal life. I do give her MSM, glucosamine, and fish oil. She gets boswellia on her bad days. Most of the time, she's normal. She runs, jumps, wrestles, swims, whatever. She's a little sensitive to the cold (more than she was when she was younger), so she wears a sweatshirt when it's chilly out. Acupuncture is what manages her pain. She went through months of crate rest, too, and couldn't walk for some time, after the injury that caused the arthritis.

I hope that Jack's new regimine, combined with whatever else you decide, helps him live a normal, goofy, Labby life[] One day soon, he'll be out and about, driving you batty again[sm=proud.gif]

If it were up to him he'd have been out and about this whole time.  You should have seen him when we got the Purdue--he was FULL of it.  In the waiting room there was an obese, trembling beagle who looked horrified, a half bald chi being carried by its owner, and a very sickly looking elderly GSP--then there was Jack, who was so excited he was beside himself, was going into full body wag whenever someone so much as *looked* at him--it was all we could do to contain him.  Even after he had been through all the exams, the sedation, the prodding and bending of his leg (which he was pretty sore from--the most sore I've seen him in a long time) he was angling for pettings from old women in the waiting room as we checked out[8D].

I could tell he was not comfortable in the car--he was hungry for one as he had to fast the night before--but his leg hurt him too.  We went ahead and fed and medicated him when we got home and he is in his crate sleeping off the day's activities and the sedation.

I will have to investigate acupuncturists--it's definately something worth looking into.  I'm all for whatever is going to make him a happy dog.

If you email me I will send you my arthritis article -- not exactly the same but part of the manangement is the same. 
 
You have to get the inflammation down with an nsaid at this point -- however, there ARE things you can do to minimize the need for the nsaid -- like using a muscle relaxant like valerian along *with* the nsaid and you should be able to get him off the pain killers and off the nsaids faster by far.
 
Massage will be one of the best things you can do yourself for him -- and using a good massage oil that will provide some heat (and thereby reduce inflammation) will help.  Again, email me and I'll show you what I use (for me and the dogs I've had to use it on).
 
ANY of Dr. Fox's books on massage are great.  The guy I use as a massage therapist for the dogs I found on [linkhttp://www.petmassage.com]http://www.petmassage.com[/link].
 
Also, Jennie is right about the acupuncture. It would help minimize the time needed to heal and restore the mobility to the joint as much as possible.  The U of Fl actually teaches acupuncture at this point -- it's very accepted now.  If you go to the Chi Institute website at [linkhttp://www.tcvm.com]http://www.tcvm.com[/link] there is a locator on the left hand side that will show you who is closest to you.
 
The alternative stuff can be super helpful -- used **with** the traditional stuff.  I know the money I spent on massage for Foxy and Muffin and Polly I more than made up for in what I did NOT have to spend on nsaids.
 
The other thing -- while you are having to use the big guns nsaids you might want to give milk thistle -- it's great to help detox the body and protect the liver and kidneys from the harsh nsaids.
 
 If you have never dealt with arthritis first hand (and again this is NOT arthritis, but it's very similar in how it is managed) you have to understand that once something has gotten irritated enough that it causes limping and a visible problem, then part of the healing process has to be use of some sort of anti-inflammatory and there is "time" it takes to reduce that inflammation.
 
THEN you "maintain".  You learn to watch for advanced signs that he's had "enough".  You teach him to submit to other methods -- so you can go and 'do' the things you enjoy but he doesn't stress.
 
One of the things I use is a kids 2-step wagon.  I make a false 'bottom' for it so it's level for the dog to sit/lie in.Then I teach the dogs with arthritis to ride in it while we pull them.  It's an wasy tiny step down to the ground and I let them walk as much as they can and not cause pain ... then they 'ride' home.  But that way you don't get too far from home and uh oh ... he's lame!! 
 
The cardinal rule with this is don't let him 'over do'.  You can't wait until you SEE pain.  It's too late then -- they are stoic -- they don't want you to see they're in pain.  So you have to learn other ways to gauge when he's hurting.  Sometimes all you'l get is a bit of tension in the fur around the neck (you can't 'see' it -- but you'll feel it) -- he'll tense up and get 'firm' when he starts to hurt.  Sometimes you'll see it in their face.  SOMETIMES you'll just feel it "better stop".
 
3 short walks at a tiny distance done successfully without pain is worth many times what one walk done 'too long' resulting in pain.
 
At least now you can go from here.  And it's not a horrible bad diagnosis.  He can live with this and live well!!

I'm glad you finally got the answers to what has been causing the pain and problems for Ben. I know it's still not the greatest news, but at least it far better from being the worst. Give him love and kisses from me I know he is going to be one happy pup to be able to do more stuff then to be in the crate.

I will have to investigate acupuncturists--it's definately something worth looking into. I'm all for whatever is going to make him a happy dog.

It's definitely worth it. I pay $50 per session. At first, when Em was recovering from her injury, we had one session per week (ouch! beans and rice, anyone?). We slowly spread them out, and now she has one every few months. She'll still limp, occasionally, if she's had a very long day, or a hard playtime after several days of no good playing, but a night's sleep and a boswellia is enough to fix that right up.

Give that silly boy some extra kisses, from me. Don't tell him, though, that I told you my secret sleepy bath. I don't know how often you bathe your dogs, but I'll bathe a sore dog in any lavendarry natural shampoo, then add 30 drops of lavendar oil to an inch of warm water in the tub, after the dog is rinsed. I pour the lavendar water over the dog, over and over, til they're saturated in it, and the water is beginning to cool, then I towel dry them, and crate them in a warm room, with a space heater. Works every time. It seems like it relaxes every muscle in their bodies (the same thing works for me, LOL).