Post by horseyrider on Oct 28, 2019 23:23:18 GMT
Early in the summer, my big GSD came up lame in his right hind. I thought it might pass, since he leads a very vigorous outdoor life; but it didn't. It got a little worse. I have a veterinary chiropractor come once a month for my horses, and although he no longer does dogs, he agreed to examine mine. We go back a long time, back to when he was a baby vet just starting the chiropractic part of his practice.
After an adjustment and laser treatment, chiropractic vet first felt it was likely an issue with the iliopsoas muscle, and suggested no forced exercise. That means no throwing the ball, which is the delight of this dog's life. I told him that this dog wouldn't slow down much; he's highly active and has a huge ball drive/prey drive and moves most of the time. When the vet returned again the following month and treated him again, he was dismayed; my dog wasn't better. He was a little worse. He said LEASH ONLY. 24/7.
I followed the chiropractic vet's instructions exactly. By the time he came again, he examined my dog and said it's gone on too long; get his hips x-rayed.
I made an appointment with my regular vet's office and got the x-rays. Chiropractic vet had requested that they not stretch his right hind out completely, as he feared that it might cause a small problem to become a large one, if it was indeed the iliopsoas that was problematic. A strain can easily become a tear. Regular vet followed his request, and showed me the x-rays.
He felt that the one joint was likely displastic and underneath a storm of arthritic changes on the femoral head, there appeared to be a fracture.
Regular vet offered something called an FHO; a surgery that removes the head of the femur and also the pain, but leaves them with a funky gait. Muscles and connective tissue hold the joint in place. He does not do hip replacements. We discussed different kinds of pain management, and arrived at a relatively new drug called Galliprant, because it's safer for stomach, kidneys, and liver than most others.
Next time the chiropractic vet came, he chided me a little for considering an FHO. He says it's considered a "salvage surgery," and his opinion mirrored some of the info I'd gotten about how that surgery does not always remove all pain. Studies at Ohio State reveal it's more usual to hurt than not. I respect chiropractic vet's experience; he's worked with many agility dogs. He urged total hip replacement. Besides, I worried about how my now-active dog would become a not-so-active dog as he ages, and perhaps the muscles and connective tissue would do a less effective job of holding things in place.
So then I had to find a surgeon.
I called the big state university where both hometown vet and chiropractic vet got their education. Nope; they don't do THRs. They suggested University of Missouri, Perdue, or University of Wisconsin/Madison. They also suggested a big small animal hospital in the Chicago suburbs. This was one that my chiropractic vet recommended, so we braved the harrowing morning rush hour traffic and met with a very nice surgeon. We brought the x-rays my vet had taken, and surgeon examined my dog, took his history, and left with the x-rays to confer with their radiologist.
In the meantime, I'm thinking about how my research revealed a prolonged recovery period (Three MONTHS! My high drive dog will lose his mind!) after total hip replacement, and was hoping this guy has some great tricks in his bag.
Surgeon comes back and says that radiologist felt that there was no fracture; it was only a shadowy blip on the x-ray. And then he blew my mind: he said that he felt that it was possibly the result of trauma.
My crazy, running, playing, ball drilling dog likely just hurt himself. And it hit me; his favorite game is when I throw a ball on the roof of the shed, and he runs like a nut to where he figures it'll appear, and then he leaps like a frisbee dog in the air to catch it, and then lands with all hundred pounds on his outstretched right hind leg. Boom.
Surgeon suggested swim therapy and cold laser, and see if my dog could do some healing.
But finding someone with that kind of equipment? My regular vet doesn't have anything so exotic. And I couldn't bear the thought of driving a couple of hours each way to the surgeon's clinic for a few months. What's to do?
My friend the canine behaviorist mentioned a trainer she'd mentored, someone I knew, who worked at a shiny new facility about 40 minutes from me. She said he has all that sort of stuff, including CT and an owner who used to come out for my horses way back in the '80s when he was a baby vet. Now he's exclusively small animal, but I wasn't a current client. He could easily reject my request for physical therapy.
I called, and would you believe it??? The guy's record keeping is so good, he still had me in his files!!! I asked for help, and asked also if he'd design a rehab program for my big dumb dog. Well, that guy spent an hour and a half with big dumb dog and me. Before I left, I signed up my dog for PT for the following two months.
Our last appointment was a week ago, and I'll be darned if there isn't a ton of improvement! Hip replacement has moved to the Unlikely column, and while he still needs his pain meds, his quality of life is terrific. No big surgery. No loooong rehab. Just a happy dog.
I'm going to make an appointment with regular vet for a follow-up. I respect his judgment and skill, and want him in the loop as we move forward. I'll also check back with chiropractic vet in December (he can't come in November) and see if he feels the dog needs a second run through PT. But this is a very different autumn than I thought I was going to have! My good buddies are asleep at my feet, after being out with me as I vacuumed leaves off the lawn. There are things out there that need sniffing, and cats that need chasing.
After an adjustment and laser treatment, chiropractic vet first felt it was likely an issue with the iliopsoas muscle, and suggested no forced exercise. That means no throwing the ball, which is the delight of this dog's life. I told him that this dog wouldn't slow down much; he's highly active and has a huge ball drive/prey drive and moves most of the time. When the vet returned again the following month and treated him again, he was dismayed; my dog wasn't better. He was a little worse. He said LEASH ONLY. 24/7.
I followed the chiropractic vet's instructions exactly. By the time he came again, he examined my dog and said it's gone on too long; get his hips x-rayed.
I made an appointment with my regular vet's office and got the x-rays. Chiropractic vet had requested that they not stretch his right hind out completely, as he feared that it might cause a small problem to become a large one, if it was indeed the iliopsoas that was problematic. A strain can easily become a tear. Regular vet followed his request, and showed me the x-rays.
He felt that the one joint was likely displastic and underneath a storm of arthritic changes on the femoral head, there appeared to be a fracture.
Regular vet offered something called an FHO; a surgery that removes the head of the femur and also the pain, but leaves them with a funky gait. Muscles and connective tissue hold the joint in place. He does not do hip replacements. We discussed different kinds of pain management, and arrived at a relatively new drug called Galliprant, because it's safer for stomach, kidneys, and liver than most others.
Next time the chiropractic vet came, he chided me a little for considering an FHO. He says it's considered a "salvage surgery," and his opinion mirrored some of the info I'd gotten about how that surgery does not always remove all pain. Studies at Ohio State reveal it's more usual to hurt than not. I respect chiropractic vet's experience; he's worked with many agility dogs. He urged total hip replacement. Besides, I worried about how my now-active dog would become a not-so-active dog as he ages, and perhaps the muscles and connective tissue would do a less effective job of holding things in place.
So then I had to find a surgeon.
I called the big state university where both hometown vet and chiropractic vet got their education. Nope; they don't do THRs. They suggested University of Missouri, Perdue, or University of Wisconsin/Madison. They also suggested a big small animal hospital in the Chicago suburbs. This was one that my chiropractic vet recommended, so we braved the harrowing morning rush hour traffic and met with a very nice surgeon. We brought the x-rays my vet had taken, and surgeon examined my dog, took his history, and left with the x-rays to confer with their radiologist.
In the meantime, I'm thinking about how my research revealed a prolonged recovery period (Three MONTHS! My high drive dog will lose his mind!) after total hip replacement, and was hoping this guy has some great tricks in his bag.
Surgeon comes back and says that radiologist felt that there was no fracture; it was only a shadowy blip on the x-ray. And then he blew my mind: he said that he felt that it was possibly the result of trauma.
My crazy, running, playing, ball drilling dog likely just hurt himself. And it hit me; his favorite game is when I throw a ball on the roof of the shed, and he runs like a nut to where he figures it'll appear, and then he leaps like a frisbee dog in the air to catch it, and then lands with all hundred pounds on his outstretched right hind leg. Boom.
Surgeon suggested swim therapy and cold laser, and see if my dog could do some healing.
But finding someone with that kind of equipment? My regular vet doesn't have anything so exotic. And I couldn't bear the thought of driving a couple of hours each way to the surgeon's clinic for a few months. What's to do?
My friend the canine behaviorist mentioned a trainer she'd mentored, someone I knew, who worked at a shiny new facility about 40 minutes from me. She said he has all that sort of stuff, including CT and an owner who used to come out for my horses way back in the '80s when he was a baby vet. Now he's exclusively small animal, but I wasn't a current client. He could easily reject my request for physical therapy.
I called, and would you believe it??? The guy's record keeping is so good, he still had me in his files!!! I asked for help, and asked also if he'd design a rehab program for my big dumb dog. Well, that guy spent an hour and a half with big dumb dog and me. Before I left, I signed up my dog for PT for the following two months.
Our last appointment was a week ago, and I'll be darned if there isn't a ton of improvement! Hip replacement has moved to the Unlikely column, and while he still needs his pain meds, his quality of life is terrific. No big surgery. No loooong rehab. Just a happy dog.
I'm going to make an appointment with regular vet for a follow-up. I respect his judgment and skill, and want him in the loop as we move forward. I'll also check back with chiropractic vet in December (he can't come in November) and see if he feels the dog needs a second run through PT. But this is a very different autumn than I thought I was going to have! My good buddies are asleep at my feet, after being out with me as I vacuumed leaves off the lawn. There are things out there that need sniffing, and cats that need chasing.
