# Dilemma of arthritis in young dog



## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

Daisy is 5 years old and has arthritis in her elbow. On the shelter surrender form her first owner noted that as a puppy her leg had been broken and surgically repaired. We've taken her to an vet orthopedist and his x-rays show that the break was in the lower end of the humerus, involving the joint surface. He said that arthritis almost always develops in such a situation.

Her first course of treatment is a series of 3 injections of polyglycan directly into the joint. It's hoped that this will promote regeneration of the cartilage - sort of a high powered version of glucosamine / chondroitin. (Or maybe it just supplements the joint fluid.) And, of course, "avoid high impact activity"!

Avoiding impact stress is a tough order for a V! Swimming is very good: no impact and it strengthens muscles. Since Daisy loves "fetch", we can have her do water retrieves of tennis balls all day long. Charlie and I get bored with it long before she does. And what of the 7 months, or more, that it is too cold?

The other low-impact exercise is long on-leash walks. No running, no chasing Charlie. Really boring!

So you see the dilemma: do we let her run and play and be a Vizsla, with the associated worsening of the arthritis, or do we "treat" the arthritis by keeping her activity low and taking all the fun away? And of course we have no measures of any of it: how much pain will she have, and how soon, if we allow her to do something. We know that she already has some pain because she limps. More so with more activity, so it does make a difference. But it doesn't slow her down and we know how stoic they are, so maybe she doesn't care. How are we to know?

I'd be interested to hear if anybody else has had to deal with this sort of thing.

Bob


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Your going to have to look at quality of life for Daisy.
How happy is she only doing low impact exercise, and how much improvement are you getting by limiting her to it. The limp will let you know.
Its warmer weather right now, so you have sometime to figure it out.
This winter her arthritis may worsen with the cold.
Sweaters and heating pads should help some, along with supplements.
When figuring out what is best for Daisy, your going to have to take thinking of Charlie out of the equation.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Also, even though technically, Daisy isn't a "senior", you might consider switching her to a high quality senior dog food. Those usually have added glucosamine/chondroitin already in there. 

Willie is starting to show the early stages of arthritis. I just ordered an orthopedic pet bed for him from Costco. It has a thick layer of memory foam on the bottom, and a cushion-y pillow on the top. Have not received it yet, though. 

TexasRed gave you some solid advice, as usual. Best wishes to you, and Daisy and Charlie!


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

*Re: Dilemma of arthritis in young dog - UPDATE*

Well, the polyglycan injections didn't help. A big waste of time and money, although we really felt that we needed to try.

Daisy is currently on 75 mg of Rimadyl daily. And a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement. The Rimadyl definitely helps, but of course there is the risk with strong NSAID's of liver & kidney damage. Her lab tests are normal after the 3 week trial and she will be tested every 6 months.

We are also limiting her daily runs to a 1/2 hour and with her off-leash activity in the yard, she is content with that. There is no way that we will condemn her to a life on a leash. I think of that as being like putting a teen age boy in a wheelchair for life. If off-leash means strong NSAID's which, worse case, shorten her life, that would be better than a longer life lived on a leash.

While she was getting the polyglycan treatment, she was on a virtual leash and most of her exercise was swimming. She liked that, but is much more enthusiastic about running and exploring. As you would expect from a V. She is happy and we are happy.

Bob


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

You might consider supplementing with milk thistle. It's widely used in the holistic communities and to a lesser degree in conventional veterinary medicine to protect the liver when NSAIDS, among other drugs, are prescribed. I've started giving it to Scout for the week following her monthly heart worm pill and will give it to my arthritic senior dog now that she needs her NSAID more frequently. 

I was also reading a brochure my vet sent me about stem cell therapy for arthritis. http://sundogcatmoon.com/services/western/ Scroll down to the STEM CELL heading for a video and description of the procedure. I have no idea how much it costs though.


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

i wonder if you and your vet could rig up some sort of elbow brace for when daisy's playing hard off leash. it wouldn't be magic, but it might help support joint health for a bit longer than otherwise.


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

yeah, eins has got a good idea on the stem cell therapy. I don't know much about it either, but my vet uses it and has had success with a fair number of her patients.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Knowing these dogs love to live life to the fullest, 
I'm sure you will do what's right for Daisy.
She's one lucky dog to have you.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

I was hoping the injections would help, but since they haven't here's a long-term project for you to _consider_. 

The border collie next door to us also has arthritis. She used to run and jump and romp all around our street. Drugs have helped some, but not enough, so the family started watching specifically what activities caused either immediate issues or delayed issues. Mocha is now not allowed to jump...at all. She is allowed to fetch _occasionally_, but only with balls thrown along the ground and up-hill so she doesn't jump and doesn't come to an immediate or abrupt stop. She is restricted to the number of times she is allowed to go up and down the stairs in the house. She can run off leash, but they direct her into the grass and other soft surfaces. Pavement means leashed walking. You get the idea.

This kind of activity sorting may (or may not) help Daisy, but you would have to watch each kind of activity knowing that some of them will cause her pain. Some days, the pain hit her so fast that Mocha would need to be carried up the two steps to her house. You will have to decide if the risks and her pain are worth exploring the limits of low-impact activity. 

The other idea that might help for off-leash times is to let her catch a mouse or something. Once she does that, anytime she starts chasing Charlie, you should be able to say 'mouse' or 'find it' or something similar and immediately turn her attention to searching. I would keep it to something that lives on the ground though. She may not do well trying to climb a tree after a squirrel or jumping to catch a bird. 

I hope you find a good balance for her and your family.


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