emsie Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Hi all. Our beautiful 2 yr old English staffie has just been diagnosed with elbow dysplasia in both front legs. We are absolutely shattered. She doesn't understand why we aren't playing ball with her anymore and I'm struggling to come with what this will mean for her in the future. Would love to get some feedback from others that are going through this, what treatment you have gone ahead with and what worked well. She starts injections if sinovan (sp) and hills prescription j/d food this week. Also, what backyard play ideas we can do with her? She has been a sprinter/tumbler/ball obsessed little nugget and we are struggling to find alternatives. Obviously walking and swimming, but how can I play with her at home? Never thought we would have such horrible news about our little girl, but not sure if this is a death sentence or quite manageable. Still very new so trying to get my head around it all. Em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) Hi Em, how was the diagnosis made? Were the elbows x-rayed and do you have the opinion of a specialist? how severe is the ED? (was a grading given?). What symptoms is your dog currently displaying? What treatment plan has your vet suggested? (ok just went back and saw what your vet prescribed here....) Really there are a lot if variables that need looking into before any decisions are made. Had the vet advised to stop playing those games, and have they given you an explanation why? Many dogs live long and happy lives with joint issues if managed appropriately and depending on severity and it can also affect different dogs differently. First thing for you to do is to get as much Info about your dogs condition as you can. Then you can approach it from a position of knowledge to do what is best for your dog. Edited February 20, 2013 by espinay2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emsie Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Thank you, yes we def need to have another chat with the vet as our heads were spinning with info overload the day we found out. She had an X-ray yes and was told it is quite severe, but unsure of grading. Will find out on sat when she has first injection. I hope she is one of the lucky ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Always a real worry to get news like this. Unless your vet is an ortho specialist, I would definitely be seeking a specialist opinion - maybe Vic DOLers can help with suggestions of good ortho specialists, especially ones who might be sports medicine oriented and knowledgable about Staffords. When you get more detail, it would be a courtesy to inform your breeder - it may impact on their breeding programs - although the causes are various - environmental as well as genetic in origin. Wishig you luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 with my GSD who was ball obsessed and who had severe HD we adapted our playing style. I still threw the ball for her but she was only released to get it after it stopped. No more chasing a bouncing ball. We only played in our back yard. Also hide and seek games were very popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emsie Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Thanks for sharing rebanne. How old was your dog when you found out about HD? Are you finding it manageable? Yep tassie, it was an ortho specialist and we plan on calling the breeders this weekend. They show their dogs and kept two from her litter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Thanks for sharing rebanne. How old was your dog when you found out about HD? Are you finding it manageable? Yep tassie, it was an ortho specialist and we plan on calling the breeders this weekend. They show their dogs and kept two from her litter. My GSD was 6 when formally diagnosed by xrays. She had been seeing a vet for acupunture and chiro since she was about 2. Zoe had a really good response to acupunture so she had gold beads implanted into the points. She lived another 5 years without too many problems but did require frequent top ups and tweaks. Zoe was titled in obedience and agility before the HD diagnoses and did an ET afterwards. She was kept lean and fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahnazhu Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Hi Emsie! Who did you see? We saw Ray Ferguson at Monash Vets as our Ortho specialist for our Great Dane cross and he was fantastic (she had hip issues). Has also to do with Greyhounds and is excellent with skeletal stuff. I can't recommend him highly enough. We're over 2 hrs away, but will be taking our new large breed there when the time is right to have her hips scored. Good luck with your baby. I know it's devastating to get news like that. I remember when we were told our girl had severe hip dysplasia and would most likely need a hip replacement. She never had an issue unless she over did it. She passed away at 13, and apart from th arthritis, you wouldn't have even known. One day at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brookestar Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Have they recommend seeing an animal physiotherpist or veterniary chiropractor. It is amazing what they can do for such dogs. Melbourne Animal Physiotherapy http://melbourneanimalphysiotherapy.com/ Australian Veterniary Chiropractors http://www.avca.com.au/ Australian Veterniary Accupuncturists http://www.acuvet.com.au/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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