Your Dog — November 2017

30 Your Dog November 2017 http://www.yourdog.co.uk

I

keep looking at my dogs when they are

running in the park, and thanking my lucky

stars that they are mobile and happy, and

don’t have any musculoskeletal problems. My

previous dog, Sid, was diagnosed with hip

and elbow dysplasia at an early age, and by

the time he was six or seven, he was already

starting to have mobility problems.

When I chose Molly as a pup, it took ages

to fi nd the right breeder, the right litter, and

eventually, the right puppy for us. Her parents

had been hip and elbow tested, and had

also been tested for other genetic diseases,

and I was pleased to choose a pup who had

a chance of having good mobility. It’s great

that that’s been the case, as even pups with

good genetic heritage can have hereditary

musculoskeletal problems; it’s just that the

odds for a healthy life are better. The other

factors that have helped Molly to remain fi t

and healthy at age nine are that I’ve always

been careful to feed her a healthy diet, and to

avoid her becoming overweight.

My other dog, Susie, came to me as an

adult, and I know nothing about her breeding,

so all I can do for her is to feed her a healthy

diet, keep her fi t, and hope for the best.

I was thinking about this as a spate of lame

dogs came through the door recently.

Casing

the

joint

Roberta Baxter handles several musculoskeletal

complaints in the surgery this month.

A weighty problem

The fi rst was a four-year-old

Labrador Retriever, Ted, with recent

front-leg lameness, which had

suddenly occurred on a walk. He is

very overweight — a predisposing

factor for developing lameness

— and originally came from

a disreputable breeder, who had

not tested the parent dogs. Ted

had been sound until this recent

problem, but when I examined

him, I was concerned because his

elbow joints were both thickened

and stiff. This suggested his elbow

joint function was already poor, and

the injury which had caused the

lameness was superimposed on

a more long-term problem of poor

joint function.

Had the joints felt OK, I might

have just thought he had a muscle

or joint sprain, but the thickening

in the joint prompted me to recommend

an X-ray, which sadly showed signifi cant

bony changes in both elbows, consistent

with osteoarthritis secondary to elbow

dysplasia. He needs to rest and lose weight,

and I have prescribed both non-steroidal

anti-infl ammatory pain-relieving medication

and a nutritional supplement which aids

joint function. Hopefully he will be back to

normal soon and, with careful management

and weight control, his mobility problems

shouldn’t fl are up again for a long time.

Roberta Baxter MA,

Vet MB, MRCVS

qualifi ed from

Cambridge University

Veterinary School in

1993. She works for
      Aquarius Veterinary
      Centre in Mildenhall,
      Suffolk, and also has
      a pain referral clinic
      for animals: http://www.
      paintherapy4animals.
      co.uk

ABOUT ROBERTA

Excess weight

can put extra

strain on joints.

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