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My dobie is battling joint pain

3K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  dobebug 
#1 ·
Hello,

As instructed by my fellow users on DBTalk, I've increased my dobies exercise. He's only one year old; he appears to be struggling with a little bit of pain in his "wrists" and "elbows". I've taken him to the vet and they just said it's growing pains and prescribed him some rimadyl. Which I got extra and give him some whenever he seems to be in great pain. It does appear to mess up his tummy. What would be ideal for me and I believe him as well is maybe some daily supplement or vitamin that I can put in his food to help him. Does anyone have any advice on a product that I can use to help him?

Thanks in advance!

Grant
 
#7 ·
He goes on a daily walk around the neighborhood twice daily. We also have started the smell game where I hide a treat and he tries to sniff it out. We play that probably 4 times a day. Also about once every 3 days, there's a hiking trail in my neighborhood we walk until we get to the river and I let him splash in that a bit. Then come home.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Did your vet diagnose it as Panosteitis? If so, Pano, is self limiting and will eventually go away on its own. Rimadyl is a good anti-inflammatory and should help. About the side effects:

Please read this article carefully. It addresses the possible GI issues with the canine use of Rimadyl. Some of it is pretty harsh. The article also mentions safer alternatives.

Rimadyl: The Controversy | petMD

Hope your pup feels better soon

Edit to say: I am not a vet. However, I have had Rimadyl suggested as a med for my dogs before and I never give them anything without research it. Or, at the very least, discussing it in depth with our vet.

John
Portland OR
 
#12 ·
Hey Grant. What happens that makes you think his wrists and elbows are painful? Does he cry going up/down stairs, for example? Does he lick his wrists a lot?

Do you remember if the vet said it was pano?

Is he oversized? Or do you know if his parents were?

Does he have to do a lot of repetitive activities each day that place stress on his wrists/elbows? For example, do you live in a house with stairs?

I ask because my boy, who is oversized and who has had to go up and down stairs since he was very little (well before his growth plates closed), has pretty severe arthritis in his wrists and shoulders, though not his elbows. He's had arthritis in his wrists at least since he was 2. That repetitive, daily stress on his wrists (the stairs) very likely exacerbated things.

He's been on glucosamine and fish oil capsules since we saw the arthritis in X-rays, when he was 2 — but this was based on the vet's recommendation, after he was diagnosed with osteoarthritis. If you're not sure yet what's causing the pain, I would not recommend throwing supplements at him.

I would recommend reading up on growth plates, and why it's important to avoid repetitive or forced exercise until they are closed. There are some good threads on this forum about growth plates. And I also would recommend reading up on pano, to see whether those symptoms match what's going on with your boy.

I know you're struggling with a very energetic pup. Remember pups are often more tired out by mental challenges than physical challenges. Good work with the find it games. I would focus on games like that with him, much, much, MUCH more than physical exercise, if you have any reason to believe he's in the least bit of pain.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Our Kelly would favor a sore foot or limb, lifting one leg up while standing / started at 9 months old.
- she had no forced exercise, but had fast running spurts (squirrel alert) & could turn on a dime (in back yard)
- or did she twist something, playing frisbee ??
We made a vet visit, paw/wrist X-rayed & looked for a sprain or torn something / no meds or supplements given.

Vet said she had growing pains / no pill supplements needed, just cook chicken breasts for meal time (once per day) until joints improve.
- he said, high quality protein added, is the fix
Vet was correct, Kelly had a few more growing pains over the next several months / cooked boneless chicken worked.
 
#14 ·
Our Kelly would favor a sore foot or limb, lifting one leg up while standing / started at 9 months old.
- she had no forced exercise, but had fast running spurts (squirrel alert) & could turn on a dime (in back yard)
- we made a vet visit, paw/wrist Xray & looked for a sprain or something torn

Vet said she had growing pains / no supplements, just cook chicken breasts for meal time (once per day) until joints improve.
- he said, high quality protein added, is the fix
Vet was correct, Kelly had a few more growing pains over the next several months / cooked chicken worked.
Hey Grant. What happens that makes you think his wrists and elbows are painful? Does he cry going up/down stairs, for example? Does he lick his wrists a lot?

Do you remember if the vet said it was pano?

Is he oversized? Or do you know if his parents were?

Does he have to do a lot of repetitive activities each day that place stress on his wrists/elbows? For example, do you live in a house with stairs?

I ask because my boy, who is oversized and who has had to go up and down stairs since he was very little (well before his growth plates closed), has pretty severe arthritis in his wrists and shoulders, though not his elbows. He's had arthritis in his wrists at least since he was 2. That repetitive, daily stress on his wrists (the stairs) very likely exacerbated things.

He's been on glucosamine and fish oil capsules since we saw the arthritis in X-rays, when he was 2 — but this was based on the vet's recommendation, after he was diagnosed with osteoarthritis. If you're not sure yet what's causing the pain, I would not recommend throwing supplements at him.

I would recommend reading up on growth plates, and why it's important to avoid repetitive or forced exercise until they are closed. There are some good threads on this forum about growth plates. And I also would recommend reading up on pano, to see whether those symptoms match what's going on with your boy.

I know you're struggling with a very energetic pup. Remember pups are often more tired out by mental challenges than physical challenges. Good work with the find it games. I would focus on games like that with him, much, much, MUCH more than physical exercise, if you have any reason to believe he's in the least bit of pain.
Our daily walks aren't very long though. Although it is on pavement. The trail I would definitely say is forced exercise. But he really seems to enjoy the entire thing. He does lick his rear paw. But I believe it's always the same one. When he was pup, he got it caught the crate while I was gone. It was pitiful, I believe that is why he has rear pain. But exactly what beaumont67 said he tends to favor one paw when standing or sitting and there's an occasional limp as well. All on the front paws.
 
#18 ·
If you Google, veterinarian orthopedist you should come up with a list of specialists and there should be at least one list by statest help you find one near you.

If there is a vet school anywhere near you, most have specialists of all sorts and have some sort of a clinic arrangement to have dogs seen.

Or you should be able to get a referral from your vet to a specialist.

Or if you posted where you are one of the members here may be able to tell you where a specialist in your area could be found.
 
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