UPDATE....Elbow Dysplasia....

Christina,

I don't know if this page will help, but since we as humans use braces for an injury or weakness, maybe they can help Jack.  Wishing you and Jack all the best!

http://www.k-9orthotics.com/index.html

Amy

Massage

Fox, Michael, The Healing Touch for Dogs: The Proven Massage Program for Dogs, Revised Edition, 4/2004
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/725p4[/link]>http://tinyurl.com/725p4]http://tinyurl.com/725p4[/link]
 
Hourdebaigt, Jean-Pierre[font=verdana], Canine Massage: A Complete Reference Manual, 2nd ed, 2/2003
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/3ddymx[/link]>http://tinyurl.com/3ddymx]http://tinyurl.com/3ddymx[/link]
 [/font]
Tellington-Jones, Linda
[font=verdana]Getting in Touch with Your Dog: How to Understand and Influence Behaviour, Personality and Health, 6/2001
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/avm2y[/link][/font]>http://tinyurl.com/avm2y]http://tinyurl.com/avm2y[/link][/font]
[font=verdana]Getting in TTouch With Your Dog: A Gentle Approach to Influencing Behavior, Health, and Performance, 7/2001
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/7r5rw[/link]>http://tinyurl.com/7r5rw]http://tinyurl.com/7r5rw[/link]
[/font]The Tellington TTouch for Happier, Healthier Dogs, 1/1992, VHS
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/ahwng[/link]>http://tinyurl.com/ahwng]http://tinyurl.com/ahwng[/link]
 
Vaughn, Lynn, Bodywork for Dogs, 2000, DVD
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/2yd62s[/link]>http://tinyurl.com/2yd62s]http://tinyurl.com/2yd62s[/link]
 
Whalen-Shaw, Patricia & Whalen-Shaw, Jennifer, Canine Massage, 10/1999, VHS
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/35zky5[/link]>http://tinyurl.com/35zky5]http://tinyurl.com/35zky5[/link]
 
Whalen-Shaw, Patricia & Young, Mickey, Canine Massage: The Workbook, 2/2000
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/2vwr4k[/link]>http://tinyurl.com/2vwr4k]http://tinyurl.com/2vwr4k[/link]
 
Chiropractic; Acupressure

Kamen, Daniel R.[font=verdana], The Well Adjusted Dog: Canine Chiropractic Methods You Can Do, 4/1997
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/2csm7d[/link]>http://tinyurl.com/2csm7d]http://tinyurl.com/2csm7d[/link]
 [/font]
Snow, Amy[font=verdana], The Well-Connected Dog: A Guide to Canine Acupressure, 10/1999
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/24vtg2[/link][/font]>http://tinyurl.com/24vtg2]http://tinyurl.com/24vtg2[/link][/font]

Canine Hip and Elbow Dysplasia
[linkhttp://geocities.com/marysjojosmum/links3.html]http://geocities.com/marysjojosmum/links3.html[/link]
 
OFA Elbow Dysplasia
[linkhttp://www.offa.org/elbowinfo.html]http://www.offa.org/elbowinfo.html[/link]
 
Handicapped Pet Care - Products/Services/Support  
[linkhttp://www.handicappedpets.com/]www.handicappedpets.com[/link]

[size=3]Canine Braces
[/size][linkhttp://www.caninebrace.com/caninebrace.html]www.caninebrace.com/caninebrace.html[/link]
[linkhttp://www.animalrehab.on.ca]www.animalrehab.on.ca[/link]
 
Particularly good arthritis/pain sites are:
[size=1][link>http://www.dogaware.com/arthritis.html]www.dogaware.com/arthritis.html[/link][/size]
[link >http://www.dogaware.com/misc.html#opcare]www.dogaware.com/misc.html#opcare[/link][/size] (surgery)
[/size]
Yahoo groups:
[linkhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9-Arthritis]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9-Arthritis[/link]
[linkhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodogs]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodogs[/link]

Elbow Dysplasia is sort of an umbrella term for one of 3 different things: FCP, OCD and ??UAP,maybe?  Which one does he have? 
 
I have a dog with FCP.  Rather than do surgery, I decided to manage him medically.  I did anti-inflamatories and some crate rest until he was sound.  That was when he was about 9 months old.  He's almost 5 now and hasn't been lame since.  I made a decision not to do agility with him which I'm sure has helped keep him sound. 
 
I would caution against long-term anti-inflamatories if you can help it, especially Rimadyl.  You also want to think about starting him on a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement.  Why is the Hill's food recommended?  Is it somehow supposed to be good for joints?  If so, if I were you'd I'd investigate a high quality kibble and a joint supplement that you give him. 
 
Also, I'd recommend joining the yahoo group orthodogs.  There are a lot of really knowledgeable, experienced people there.  It's a very high volume list but the archives will give you lots of information. 

Ahhh, poor Jack!  Sorry the news wasn't the best but glad this is a manageable problem. 
 
Give him hugs and kisses and tell him we hope he feels better soon. 

let me suggest that you DON'T feed him that Hill's joint food. It's a really low-quality food with joint supplements added in it. Instead, I would suggest feeding him a high-quality food and adding your own joint supplements-- he will be much healthier that way. My favorite for dogs is Hylasport. It costs around $60 for a huge bucket of it (it's marketed for horses) that should last you almost an entire year. You might want to look into feeding him a grain-free diet, possibly a raw diet, and supplement with fish body oil. Many dogs with creaky sore joints get a lot better simply by getting them off grain (which promotes an inflammatory state) and increasing their intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
Did they suggest some kind of physical therapy program?  I know dogs with hip dysplasia tend to do much better if they are well-exercised to keep the muscles around the joint strong to support it instead of limiting their exercise as many folks (and vets)  still suggest. Swimming is always good for dogs.

I couldn't agree more with mudpuppy.  Get him on a high quality diet, and give him Glucosamine/Chondroiting and MSM supplements separately.  I had a dog who had a TPLO at just over a year old and she did AWESOME on this - and I did notice that she got stiff if I ran out of supplements for a few days if I couldn't make it to the store.

If memory serves, the dosage for dogs on G/C is 25 mg Glucosamine/16mg Chondroitin  and 45 mg MSM for each POUND of body weight.  Therefore, a 70-lb dog should get 1750 mg's per day of G, 1129 of C, and 3,150 mg of MSM.  If you shop at CostCo, they have the Kirkland brand of G/C tabs that are 1500 mg G/500 mg C (so you give the dog basically 2 pills per day of that) and they sell MSM also - I can't remember what the dosage is on a pill of the MSM (I bought the Schiff brand) but I think I gave her 2 pills of that per day too.  Much more affordable than Cosamin/Cosequin - like nearly 1/3 the cost.

I know this isn't optimal news, but I'm so glad it is a diagnosis and a condition that can be managed and that Jack was lucky enough to land with you - someone who knows it is worth the effort to provide him with the high quality of life he deserves!

Christina:
Here is a clinic in Mishawaka that has an acupuncturist.
[linkhttp://www.magranepmc.com/#Veterinary%20Acupuncture]http://www.magranepmc.com/#Veterinary%20Acupuncture[/link]

I'm just happy that you know what you are dealing with now and can move forward.

I agree that Science Diet is crap food and you would probably be better off feeding him high quality stuff with your own joint supplement.  And yes, a high grain food can encourage inflamation. 

The most important thing now is to find the best way to protect is elbow from wear and tear.  I'm a big fan of  MSM, glucosamine and condroitin (Arthrix Plus),  but the supplement the Mudpuppy mentioned sounds like a good one.  Hyaluric acid  has done wonders for many horses with joint related problems. 

Good luck with your boy.

Hylasport has everything in it- HA, MSM, glucosamine, chondroitins.

Grain-free dog food:
[linkwww.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=grain_free[/link]>http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=grain_free]www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=grain_free[/link]

Question:  He has had 2 doses of the meds--one last night and on this morning, but he is still limping a bit.  Is that to be expected?  Does anyone know how long they will take to have their effect?

Hylasport has everything in it- HA, MSM, glucosamine, chondroitins

Sounds good.  Whee do you get it?  How do you figure out the dosage? 

Well, the vet does not think that Jack is reponding to the meds the way he should for what she saw in the x-rays, so she is going to up him to 3 tablets of Tramadol a day and if he is not much better then he has to go in for further tests....


*Sigh*[]


It's weird, the vet said that he does not have a specific *kind* of ED that she can see.  Just dysplastic changes that fall under the general term elbow dysplasia.

Has he been tested for tick borne diseases?  Lyme, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma?  I'm only asking because for any lameness that's the first thing I check.  (sorry if this has already been covered and I missed it, I don't look at these boards all that often anymore)  It seems strange to me that they would diagnose dysplastic changes which is sort of vague and the fact that an orthopedic specialist wouldn't see something that a resident would see. 
 
Did you check out the yahoo group orthodogs?  They are really, really helpful.