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For those who dont know, I have two seven year old rotts. My male, Rab, has been limping around and tiring out easily… walking slow, etc etc. He still runs and plays, but his limp is getting worse. I took him to the vet on Thurs and the vet examined him. He said it was not a torn ligament, but could be trauma. If it was (Which I doubt because nothing has happened to him) then the pills he gave would fix it up in a day or two. The other two things it could be are bone cancer and arthritis caused by hip displaysia. 🙁 Well, the pills are not helping so the next step is X-rays. I am thinking displaysia. 🙁 $5000 will buy him a new hip, but I am not one who has that kind of money laying around. Vet said if worse comes to worse, he can always just limp. He does not seem to be in pain, but it is sad to see him starting to fail. Makes me realize I only have a few more years with them, max.
What did your vet put him on?
Also, did he suggest a glucosamine supplement, and if so, which one?
I have a few suggestions to add, once I know what your vet already said.
Also, are your dogs overweight at all?
Kyrin
I don’t know if this will help but I used to have a dog hip displaysia and some suggest feeding him boiled potato skins. We tried it and it worked really well but we had to eat a lot of potatos because of it. My dad usued to make extra gravy to but on the skins for the dog. Just a thought.
Kyrin wrote:What did your vet put him on?
Also, did he suggest a glucosamine supplement, and if so, which one?
I have a few suggestions to add, once I know what your vet already said.
Also, are your dogs overweight at all?
KyrinThe vet put him on Rimadyl. I have also started giving them 500mg of glucosomine sulfate and MSM along with their food. They are on Nutro-something for seniors and it also has glucosamine added. He is not overweight. They look about 4 years younger than they are. They are a great looking pair. Rab was 114… which IS about 5 lbs heavier than he was the last time he was there, but still not fat at all. Vet even said he was very strong.
Ski, as you know, I recently lost my 14 year old Lab. If it’s any consolation, she had a touch of arthritis for 4 or 5 years. When it seemed painful, we gave her medication, but it really didn’t slow her down that much. In the end, it was her diabetes and plain old age that ended things, not the arthritis. 🙂
Also, I have a 9 year old Pug with artritis in one leg and it doesn’t slow her down much at all. She still manages to get to any piece of food that hits the floor ten times faster than her younger sister. 😆
Ski, I really hate to say this but if the rimadyl isn’t working and he is tiring quickly I would try to get XRays as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Rotties are really, really prone to cancer (up to
20%) and osteosarcoma is really common in the breed. It always seems that the best, nicest Rotties are the ones to get cancer. 😥 Is he coughing at all? Or breathing heavy? If so, when his leg is XRayed you might want to ask the vet to also XRay his chest – bone cancer tends to spread there. I sincerely hope that it is just hip dysplasia/arthritis – if it is and the rimadyl doesn’t work some dogs respond better to deramaxx or prevocid.Good luck, Ski. *sends mental margarita*
Boiled potatoe skins? Never heard of that one. What does it do for them?
I will get the X-rays ASAP. Unfortunately, our vet does not have one and the machine in Heidelberg is broken. I may try the economy, but the language barrier is always scary when it comes to technical terms 😕 He does seem to breath a little heavy, but its not constant or anything. Besides the limp, he really seems fine. Just quiet. I really hope its something he can live with. I do not want to face putting him down.
I can’t fully remember what the boiled potato skins do, just that there are some vitimains and such just in the skin and just under the skin that are really good for that kind of thing… I could always call my dad and ask. Also if you decide to maybe give it a try peel the potato with a knife not a peeler so that you get a little more potato and don’t have to do 10 potatos to get enough.
I have an 11 year old border collie and she limps sometimes, but its usually gone in a few days, we asked our vet and he said it may just be because she is getting old.
hmmm……my sister’s rott had something like that..torn ACL is what it ended up being….and she had an Akita that had arthritis…..
I seriously doubt cancer…..it usually doesn’t come on that fast…
but I’m not a vet….good luck I’m sure things should be ok…
skigod377 wrote:Boiled potatoe skins? Never heard of that one. What does it do for them?
I will get the X-rays ASAP. Unfortunately, our vet does not have one and the machine in Heidelberg is broken. I may try the economy, but the language barrier is always scary when it comes to technical terms 😕 He does seem to breath a little heavy, but its not constant or anything. Besides the limp, he really seems fine. Just quiet. I really hope its something he can live with. I do not want to face putting him down.
Good luck Ski. ddvm has the best advice by far, especially if the Rimadyl isn’t working. Adequan injections are also another arthritic stopgap measure, and I desperately hope that’s all that’s wrong with your baby.
My shepherd will be 11 this September, and she’s slowed down just a very little bit, but I’m dreading the aging.
Once again, good luck and well wishes to your baby.
I’m really sorry to hear that Rab is having problems. I hope you’re able to get the X-rays soon and that its nothing serious.
By the way, last year brother found out that his dog had a problem that sounds similar to Rab’s, even though his dog is only a few years old. She was limping and it was painful for her to walk up stairs. But he took her to his vet, and found that she had some kind of chronic joint inflammation and prescribed some pills for her. She has to take the pills everyday, but she’s been fine ever since.
Has your vet considered yet the possibility of joint problems that can be treated by medication? I’m not sure, but I think that condition is different from arthritis.
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