Mason_Gibbs

Our surgeon was fantastic!! Can't recommend him highly enough. I was not as strict as I should have been during his recovery, he jumped up on to the bed , lounge etc heaps ( still is) but I tried very hard to always lift him off before he jumped off.

Thanks will investigate

I thought I would share our story of our elbow dysplasia ... I brought my beautiful puppy home in September, he was so cute and cuddly, fitted in so well with us and my other lab Mason, we had high hopes for this puppy as I was competing in obedience and wanted to do RATG tests and proper retrieving trials if possible with both dogs. Mason been an easy puppy to raise, we could tell Gibbs would be a bit different as he is high drive compared to angel Mason but we thought dog sports would actually suit Gibbs more as he would let nothing get him down he would just keep trying to do the right thing :) after a few days home we noticed him limping for a few seconds, the we would limp again and it would be gone. Then one day mod October he slipped and was very very sore, took him for acupuncture at the chiro and it didn't improve, our vet gave him anti inflammatories which helped a bit but he would limp again if he even walked around for 5 minutes. And he was always very very lame after laying down and then getting up. Had him xrayed and my vet could see no changes anywhere in his leg/elbow. ( before X-ray they were suspecting it was a toe injury). Christmas came and went and Gibbs was still limping, we were not convinced that it was just a muscle etc. One day after swimming at the beach, we noticed that Gibbs elbow was swollen ( he was wet and it was easier to see), took him into our vet who the pressed on his elbow and he could see how swollen it is. We were then referred to an ortho specialist. By this stage we were very worried, we knew it was OCD or Elbow Dysplasia, our worst nightmares. Specialists confirmed ED based on first set of X-rays and Gibbs was booked on for X-rays and surgery. The surgeon phoned after the X-rays were done and said that a arthroscopy would not be possible he needed to go in and clean out the joint as well as shorten his ulna,we were very worried about this as it would mean is ulna would be cut and basically not stabilized but we trusted the surgeon. We transferred Gibbs to an after hours vet that evenings he was hallucinating and out of it, it was the worst drive I have ever been on with any of my dogs, picked him up the next day, he was on three legs but in good spirits. Confined him for 6 weeks with short on lead walks after about 4 weeks, just across the rd and back to give him a change of scenery, we then could walk him properly after the 6 weeks follow up X-rays. Started with 5 mons walk 3x a day and added 5 mins each way each week until we hit the 12 week post surgery mark. When we went back at 12 weeks our surgeon was shocked that Gibbs was limp free as we had been warned that he would still be limping at this stage. He was given the all clear to go offlead and lead a normal life. We can do whatever sports we want and just treat him like a normal dog. We could not believe and still can't believe how well Gibbs is doing 13,5 weeks after surgery. So never give up hope, miracles do happen :) Day after surgery After bandage removed 5 days post op

There is hydrotherapy at Ocean Reef vets but I just swam him myself at a lake in Lansdale. Walked him through water too at the same spot. Joint Guard is great for sore joints and I'm happy with it. Looked into cartrophen /Zydax shots but not doing them at this stage. Gbbs has made a miraculous recovery even the surgeons did not expect him to be limp free 3 months post op

The containers I got were $18.00 each. A good investment when some food costs up to $100 a bag. Which are those? Yup our food is well over $100 a bag....

I'm looking for a container too but not willing to spend $50

We had to stop the elimination diet due to him getting worse. Vet has him on Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal formula and touch wood , 2 weeks later and he is still doing doing so well, Gibbs problem is currently undiagnosed all we know is something set his stomach off, not sure if it's a certain meat, fat content or what it is. Mason i know with certainty cannot have chicken, beef or wheat. But I am very unlucky with my 2 one has allergies one has elbow dysplasia. ETA your partners labs are they from reg breeders? To me it seems that the 'show' type labs have more issues that I know of. But then I also know a working line litter where 3 of the pups ended up with elbow dysplasia.

I disagree my sis in law has a farm and their cows etc were all pets and I would feel bad about eating steak once I had visited their farm. in Africa us humans are part of the food chain for a variety of big cats, in the ocean we are part of the food chain for sharks. Back in the day hunters hunted what they found to survive. At the end of the day meat is meat. I think spending time in Africa seeing animals hunt reminds us that no matter how beautiful and sweet an animal is another animal has to hunt it to survive. And for the record the topic was elimination diets your comments were in no way helpful to the topic saying I don't know how you can feed horse, but I'm not going to loose any sleep over it tonight ;)

Dont know how you can feed horse to your dog. Well sometimes one has no choice as he has to have a novel protein and I couldn't get any other protein. "Get off your high horse so to speak" and don't judge others. The horse was dead already it's not as if I killed it. My old horse was PTS due to arthritis and I donated his carcass to croc world back home. I had no issues with it

Im sure he wont make it another 2 weeks, we only did 6 weeks rest but even then after 4 weeks we did very short walks. I often wonder if thats why he healed so well coz with people the new research for ortho issues shows that movement aids healing. First time as a kid i hurt my ankle they made me rest totally. In 2007 when i did the same thing they strapped me up real good and made me walk on the ankle... It came good better the second time

It can only get better Ness

Poor Rosie our srgeon also said avoid throwing balls for Gibbs continuously as it won't be good for him to come to an abrupt stop. Won't be doing it for a few months but I have let him retrieve a dummy for retrieving that's been about 2 meters away and it's not far enough for him to get up to any real speed. Won't let him do anything too daring for another 3 months or so

Ortho surgeons are fantastic, my now 11 month old pup had his ulna shortened due to elbow dyplasia, his coronoid process removed and the joint cleaned up. They didn't pin the ulna as it only bears 20% of the weight and they wanted that bone o find its own best fit. 3 months later my dog is limp free nd got the all clear to go off lead from Monday this week, he has made a remarkable recovery! Follow your surgeons instructions and I'm sure all will be good :)

My Gibbs gets a fright when he sees his reflexion in a mirror or glass door lol he barks and gets all weird

No trouble here a few rumbles and heavy rain, wind wasn't even too bad

Sorry Ptolomy iv only got boys but will just ask my friend who had her goldie done recently. Who is getting desexed??

Agree that having horses in winter isn't pleasant :) but then riding in the heat sux too

Yeah I'm in :)

We must have a dol meet up soon now that Gibbs can play :)

I got a bit of a giggle out of something else she said..... *childish snickers* Lol!!!!

That is amazing :) good to hear all is back to normal

Weasels I am trying him on RC Hypoallergenic at the moment and after a week he s looking better :) not sure if it's the kibble or the weather etc guess time will tell

Lol Rosieft :) that's funny whistle and whip....

Well done Lulus brother :)

Big hugs for Daisy...