Cavalier With Elbow Dysplasia?!

[Lindainfa]

Ever since Arnie was about 6 months old we noticed he had a particular gait, like he was limping, but we thought it was just the way he walked. Some days it was there, majority of time he walked normal. He has always been the kind of dog that if we went for a long walk, he would sit down when he had enough and I had to carry him home. I thought he was just lazy, now I think it may be part of the bigger picture.

Now as a one year old, recently his limp has become worse, after he does a lot of running, he limps badly. Needs to rest for a good day or two before it goes back to normal.

I took him to the vet this morning and after feeling him over and watching him walk, he said its the front left leg. First of he said it could be something with his bicep, then he said it could be elbow dysplasia. Or something else thats not as common.

He is going in for xrays tomorrow so we can work out what it is for certain. I thought elbow/hip dysplasia were common things in larger breeds.

Has anyone had any smaller dogs with these problems?

He is probably a kilo and half over weight. He weighs 11.5kgs and his ideal weight would probably be 10/9 kilos as he is a larger sized cavalier.

I'm so worried for my baby. Should I get pet insurance now?!!! LOL

[poodlefan]

It could be a range of conditions, either muscular or skeletal.

Pet insurance won't help you with a condition he already has.

[CavsRcute]

I have a Cavalier with exactly the same problem but girl is now 7 years old and started all this when she was about 9 months old and she is one of the bigger Cavaliers. She is 55cms from neck to tail

After many vet visits and lots of $'s, I can give you the shortened version I won't go through everything that she has been tested for

She has HD, which causes her to walk in a rolling fashion. She therefore gets trigger points in various joints, particularly the left front leg.

Also recently she has had biceps tendonitis, which causes her to limp etc.We fixed that by going to see a canine physio and exercises etc.

We also go to acupuncture every month and trigger point therapy every 2-3 months.

It can be a long frustrating time trying to find out the problem.

Good luck.

You can PM me if you want to ask any questions