More Dog Help?

hottiescientist

hottiescientist

Cathlete
So my lovable frenetic Evee is no more. My greyhound/pitbull/lab use to have this awesome frenetic energy. she would run and jump and just go crazy. Once she climbed up into an 8 ft tree to chase a squirrel and jumped back down with no problems. The only problem she had was a luxating patella and it wasn't even an issue if we didn't aggravate it. Then one day in August after some doggie day care, she came back sorta in pain...i mean, she wasn't even limping, but lethargic. She would climb on the sofa and still jump to go cuddle with me on the bed but when she would jump she'd cry out in pain. Took her to the vet and the vet says they don't see anything "wrong" with her...

Well, now its been a while, she's on rimdayl which really does help her, she has her own heated throw, and we try to incorporate some light jogging. She will climb onto the sofa now but she won't jump onto the bed or in the car. I don't mind picking her up (she's about 50 lbs) but I wonder if its more psychological at times. When she does get up from her bed, she looks...I dunno...old and stiff despite that not too long ago people were surprised she wasn't a puppy.

I realize that this is a blessing for some people that my dog has calmed down seriously but I want her to be happy. Some of my friends say I have to deal with the fact that she'll never jump around again but when she's with other dogs she definitely wants to do it. What do I do? PT for dogs? Time? training? It's really getting to me that my pooch may be unhappy!
 
I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I'll tell you what I've done for my dog. I have two actually, but one is older now and has some hip problems. So I have him - Roscoe - on a daily regimen of Rimadyl - AND tramadol. Also, he's nearly 60 lbs, so he's on 125 mg of Rimadyl. He was just over the weight range for just a 100mg pill, and we tried him on just that, but it didn't seem to help enough. The Tramadol I basically add in when he seems to need a bit extra. I've also purchased a ramp for the car and stairs for the bed - these are so he doesn't have to jump. Anything you can do to take pressure off their joints improves their quality of life and their longevity. He's doing much better now - but I don't think he'll ever sprint again. But I do think he's happy.

Another thing I might suggest is getting a second, or third, vet opinion. All vets are not created equal, and just as with Drs, a different vet may pick up on something that another one missed.

I hope you find out something good for Evee - my dogs are my family and I don't know what I'd do without them!

Jeni
 
Since your vet cannot pinpoint the problem, I am not sure how much of what I say will help but here is what we do PT-wise for our dog Maggie (lab/pit mix) that has hip dysplasia as well as disc problems in her lower back. She also takes rimadyl to help with pain.

Everyday, I massage her hips, thighs, and lower back. Next, I flex her knee to straigten her leg. I do this three times very slowly and then hold it straight for a count of 5 each time. Next, I flex her hips extending her leg out behind her again for three times and holding for a count of 5 each time. We were also recommended by the vet to take her on short controlled leash walks--not to the dog park where she can run freely or choose not to run at all.

The vet also recommended having her do what I call doggie squats. We are to have her in a sitting position and then basically get her to stand on her back legs only for a few seconds. This is to help build up her quad muscles.

Another exercise the vet recommended was having her in a standing position and then lifting one back leg off of the ground at a time to force her to balance on the other leg.

Maggie never showed pain as a symptom for her problems. We noticed that when we went on walks, she would sometimes drag her left leg and she seemed to stumble from side to side (almost like she was drunk and couldn't keep her balance). She also would bunny hop her back legs when she ran rather than having the normal doggie gait. These symptoms made us go to the vet who took x-rays and confirmed the hip and disc problems.

Our vet actually wrote up a very detailed list of PT exercises that we could do at home with Maggie given her condition. You may want to see if they have some suggestions or if what we do for Maggie will help Evee.

Good luck!
 
How old is she? They do slow down when they "grow up". I had this shepherd/pit bull that would run all over the woods, leaping like a deer and it was so much fun to watch. He did that when he was 1, then when he was 2... he didn't. He still had energy, but just not the craziness.

Still, if it happened in one day, after doggie daycare and there was some indication of pain, I think you should definitely get a 2nd opinion. My Aussie hurt his knee pretty good at doggie daycare. Nothing that required medical intervention, just patience and rest.
 
hope your doggy start feeling better, maybe getting a second opinion is needed?. Where radiographs taken? range of motions done? most of the time to check out knee tendons ( cruciated ligaments are a big one) some kind of relaxtion meds are needed for proper examination. If everythings clear then all the other suggestions mentioned are great places to start. Alot of people use glucosamine/msm and phycox products in addition to nsaids/tramadol with great results. good luck
 
I agree with several of the other posters. If she was just slowing down, it would be one thing, but what you described sounded more like an actual injury. I think I would consider getting a second opinion too. I think the fact that she appears to want to still do those things and can't makes it sound more like something is hurting her.
 
Liann said:
I agree with several of the other posters. If she was just slowing down, it would be one thing, but what you described sounded more like an actual injury. I think I would consider getting a second opinion too. I think the fact that she appears to want to still do those things and can't makes it sound more like something is hurting her.
Click to expand...
I agree.
I'd think possibly a muscle was pulled or torn during rough play with another dog at day care, or someting of that kind. Get another vet opinion, and make sure you document anything you notice so you can tell the vet about it.
 
Ok, I'm taking her to another vet. Thanks guys! I sorta knew I needed to do that but it really helps me solidify the decision. Also, I'll try to take video of her when she gets up from her bed. Part of the problem is that she doesn't appear to have problems when we're around other dogs because she gets so excited she doesn't care about the pain so she looks normal. Maybe if I can show the vet on the video what she's like, it might help the diagnosis. We did use tramdaol on Evee but stopped it when the rimadyl came in. She has Glucosamine/MSM supplements as well as her food has more of it in there anyway (when I realized how mobile a dog she was I wanted to supplement her food from the beginning). Thanks again! And I reserve the right to frantically ask more questions... :)
 
In addition to glucosamine, my vet also recommended Fish Oil supplements for joint health. Just another item to add to your list of things to ask when you go see your new vet.

I definitely think the video will help the vet especially if she doesn't act that way at the office (kind of like when you take your car to the mechanic!). :confused:

Good luck!
 
Please keep us posted on what the new vet says and my prayers that Evee gets to feeling back to her crazy self in no time. If she has lab in her, they do not slow down until they at least reach the double digits in people years!! :eek:
 
Spinal injuries (strains, slipped disks, etc) frequently occur when one dog lands on the back of another dog during play. It can be hard to pinpoint the pain but I would take her to another vet and have her checked thoroughly. Does she have trouble navigated up and down steps or jumping up into the car or onto the bed now? Dogs with back problems generally have problems with those things as well. The fact that the change happened all at once seem to indicate that it is trauma related rather than normal degenerative wear and tear.

Lisa
 
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