Quills Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Hello I have a Bullmastiff which is about to turn 2 in a couple of weeks, I think she may be suffering from arthritis or maybe starting to get hip problems. For the last week she has had trouble walking after sitting down for awhile and she limps on one of her legs. Once she walks around a bit she is alright. I have checked her legs and they seem fine which makes me think it is internal. Is it possible for a dog to get arthritis so young? Has anyone had similar problems or a dog with arthritis around this age or do you think it could be something else? I will take her to the vet soon if it doesn't get better and will keep an eye on her but find it strange as she is young and she also had an excellent hip score from her breeder. Cheers Quills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Hello! I would take your lovely girl to a vet as soon as possible. We were also of the opinion that our girl (then 6) was suffering from mild arthritis. She would have good days, and bad days... but mostly good. On her very bad days we would take her to our vet but they did not think it was anything serious. A year and a half later of our girl being in pain (and on pain killers for bad days), it was discovered that she had ruptured her cruciate ligament in her right knee, and the pressure from this had caused the other leg to follow suit. At the time, I knew nothing about this type of problem or that it could even occur. She has now just had her second operation (and hopefully the last) and recovery has been slow and stressful, and the ops expensive. However, by the time we were referred to a specialist surgeon and were aware of her problem, the damage was quite severe. I hate to think that she had been in such discomfort for so long... but our initial vet did not seem concerned at all at first and we thought we were doing everything we possibly could for her at the time (Cartrophen injections, anti inflams, Sasha's Blend, weight management etc). There could be many explanations for your girls limping, but even though it's only been occuring for a week, my advice is to get her to her vet to rule out anything serious for your peace of mind and for your girls comfort. It's something that I will never be relaxed about again after what my girls been through and the serious nature of the problem, as she too didn't seem too bad at the time and would only limp on and off occasionally. But it soon became progressively worse and the symptoms more severe and unmanageable. Good luck and hoping that it's nothing serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 I will take her to the vet soon if it doesn't get better and will keep an eye on her but find it strange as she is young and she also had an excellent hip score from her breeder. What a PRETTY girl! Quills, your comment above, do you mean that your girl has been x-rayed and received an excellent score, or that the breeder has excellent scores for her parents, grandparents, etc? Unfortunately there is no guarantee with HD, we can do our best to reduce the chances, but it can still crop up even when we do all the testing in the world and only use dogs with excellent scores. You're best bet is to take your darling girl for a visit to the vet, anything else is just going to be guesswork. Hope she's feeling better very soon! Trace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quills Posted May 16, 2006 Author Share Posted May 16, 2006 Thanks girls. I meant that her parents had excellent hip scores trace, unfortunately I think I will have to get her x-rayed but wanted to avoid it if I could cause it is just so expensive. Cause she's such a big girl if there is ever a problem with her she has to be knocked out to have a look! I know there are these types of problems with large breeds but didn't expect it to happen before she is too! Cheers Quills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 (edited) Haha, love the latest pic... she's a real cutie!!! Tell me about expensive... the last 2 years have seen me spend well over $10,000 on Chloe's legs alone. If her prob had been detected sooner I may not have had to spend so much to repair the damage (may have got away with only one leg operation and maybe even been able to control without operations), and avoided alot of unnecessary wasted vet visits and xrays... So while all vets = expensive, earlier detection may = NOT AS expensive and a happier pooch!!! ;) PS. My girl is a littlie compared to yours, but seeing she's a nutter she usually has to be knocked out too... (and while she's under, trim the nails she won't let us touch, check up on this or that... ) Edited May 16, 2006 by Kelly_Louise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Arthritis can occur at any age just like humans,a previous injury can contribute to arthritis . Personally i would have been at the vet sooner than later but we also use a chiro or bowen on our dogs. You may find the dog has a sore spot & due to the size it makes it harder for her to get up. My large breeds have bowen every month plus i use Glucomosine etc & ensure they keep active. What you need to remeber is in giant breeds getting up with an injury etc causes stress on the other limbs so its important to sort out any issues sooner plus with winter coming on it may only get worse. Expense is part of owning a dog but if you want your dog for the next 8 yrs to be as healthy as possible then you need to sort the problem out now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quills Posted May 16, 2006 Author Share Posted May 16, 2006 My large breeds have bowen every month plus i use Glucomosine etc & ensure they keep active. What is Bowen? I have never heard of it, it is used for treating arthritis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazz Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Bowen therapy - sort of a massage/exercises done to strengthen the body Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malleerr Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Hi Quills, Yes arthritis can rear its ugly head at early ages, our Rhodesian Ridgeback was diagonised with severe arthritis and elbow dysplasia at 4 months old!!!!!! Sucessfully operated on and then diagonised with HD at 5.5 months poor little thing! Which has since been operated on 3 times, and she is just now getting back to somewhat of a normal life after 6 mths recovery!!! And i agree with Kelly_Louise about the $$$$ as we also have spent $10K plus on our girl also. The initial x-rays to confirm HD - if it is that - it could possibly be a number of things and hopefully nothing at all - were around i think the $250.00 mark. Not that much really to find out exactly what you are dealing with and the options you then have. I would also suggest that if you don't already i would get your georgous girl onto Glucosamine. Hope she is feeling better soon and it is not a serious problem. Keep us posted and more piccys please she is just devine!! Antoinette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Yes poor little Mallee has had a rough trot in life so far, being only a baby... lucky she has such a loving mum like Antoinette!!! I would hate to think of the strife she would be in had Mallee's problems not been picked up so quickly. Hopefully Quills you will not have to go through the same problems though, but still better to get an early diagnosis. Just a side note, Antoinette what sort/brand of joint supplement are you giving Mallee? Do you find it helps her? Yes more pics please... I'm a sucker for the big 'uns... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malleerr Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Hi Kel & Quills I have Mallee on Cosequin and have found it to do its job well, no further signs of arthritis or pain in her front elbows where she previously had arthritis before the arthoscope and Ulna Osteotomy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellybly10 Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Our British Bulldog male showed signs of arthritis at 2 yrs old He is quite short and stocky and weighs 25kg so there is definitely alot of strain on his joints, he was always very stiff after getting up which was worse in the mornings. It was not that bad but we put him on Cosequin to prevent any further damage. It really helped and now he is on JointGuard which is the same but cheaper. I think it is better to put them on something earlier to prevent damage down the track. It only costs me about 40c a day and hopefully this will avoid bigger $$$ later in his life! Good luck I hope it is nothing serious with your girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fungles Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 Take her to the vet ASAP - she sounds exactly the same as our boy. He was only around 19 months when he started limping when he initially got up, hopping on 3 legs for a few steps and then seemed normal. He seemed to improve and we stoppped worrying about it for a few weeks until it started up again. A trip to the vet and a ruptured cruciate ligament was immediately diagnosed. Apparently it is pretty easy to pick if you know what to look for and no x-ray is necessary to check in particular if it is fully ruptured. He had his knee reconstructed, but because we didn't take him to the vet immediately we noticed the lameness he now has mild arthritic changes in his knee as the ruptured ligament couldn't do it's job of suporting the bones of the knee. He had his operation just before Christmas and is s l o w l y getting better. He was going great for a few months until he spent the day chasing a bird that made it inside the house and he seems to have damaged something again. His x ray yesterday revealed the plate and pins are fine so he's on light duties again and Metacam. He is also on a course of cartrophen injections which treat the arthritis and so far seem to be working a charm. So even if she is young arthritis can develop as a result of injury and a large, active dog is a prime candidate for a ruptured cruciate... Does she stand on 3 legs with the toes of the bad leg just touching the ground?? Good luck with it all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quills Posted May 19, 2006 Author Share Posted May 19, 2006 Hi everyone, Thanks for all your comments. Malika seems to be doing a bit better the last couple of days but still limping. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow morning, after posting on here I just think I need to find out what it is to be safe rather than sorry later. Seems the best thing as a few of you seem to have had worse problems from leaving it. It looks like it could be arthritis, HD or a crucial ligament. I'm pretty sure the vet will want to x-ray her though, she's a tough little girl! Hasn't wimped or anything but does seem a bit more clingy lately! I will let u know what the vet says. Cheers Quills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quills Posted May 19, 2006 Author Share Posted May 19, 2006 Hi everyone, Thanks for all your comments. Malika seems to be doing a bit better the last couple of days but still limping. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow morning, after posting on here I just think I need to find out what it is to be safe rather than sorry later. Seems the best thing as a few of you seem to have had worse problems from leaving it. It looks like it could be arthritis, HD or a crucial ligament. I'm pretty sure the vet will want to x-ray her though, she's a tough little girl! Hasn't wimped or anything but does seem a bit more clingy lately! I will let u know what the vet says. Cheers Quills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quills Posted May 24, 2006 Author Share Posted May 24, 2006 I've taken malika to the vet and the vet thinks there could be something wrong with her knee or even possibly her hips but will need to have x-rays to find out. But she has put malika on anti inflamatory medication for the next week or so to see how she goes first as it could even justal be a muscle and she actually seems better already but will have to wait and see how she goes in the next couple of days. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 (edited) Hi Quills!!! I would still go ahead with the xrays regardless. When Chloe was diagnosed with a blown cruciate ligament, the anti inflams covered all the symptoms completely, but did nothing for the underlying cause which was progressively getting worse. The surgeon also suggested that she may have had a mild case of elbow dysplasia as a youngster, but you know what, she never showed a single sign for us to be suspicious, but now of course she does have some arthritis. Some dogs cope with pain better than others and all dogs can present different symptoms. I will surely be hoping that it is just a muscle sprain or similar though, but you can never be too careful with the joints. Malika is such a damn cutie so we'll have fingers crossed for a good result!!! Edited May 25, 2006 by Kelly_Louise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugerfly Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 you poor bugga. x rays are expensive arent they.....you wont rest till you know what it is though. The anti inflams will only mask the pain if it is something serious. Good luck with your big baby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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