What's wrong with my dog? (warning: long post)

Factual Questions
1

First, I want to assure you all (including the mods) that I will not take any Doper advice before seeking the advice of a licensed practicing veterinarian. I just want some idea of what the problem might be before I hear it from a vet.

I have a black lab/border collie mix who is around 6.5 years old who is having a little trouble getting herself lifted back up from sitting or laying down. She’s my baby. About a year into her life, she was hit by a car, and broke her hip (the circular “socket” of the hip) which required surgery to repair on the order of metal plates and screws and a heckuva lot of money, but we spared no expense (as you dog lovers know it’s worth every penny). We were notified by the orthopedic vet that surgery went very well, but that the chances of arthritis and hip dysplasia had increased for her significantly due to the trauma and the reconstruction.
Ever since her recovery, she’s behaved like nothing ever happened, just like any normal dog that has never been seriously injured. She has been very active since the surgery, and loves to bounce around in the back of my truck barking at cars and whatnot, and generally acting like a puppy would. That is up until about a week ago, I took her on 150-mile ride in my SUV and she acted just like she normally would on the way there, barking and hopping around when cars would pass, but as we neared home on the way back I noticed her just sitting idly in the back seat, which was completely out of character for her. Since then, she’s had trouble getting up from a seated position, and often needing a bit of help for the initial couple inches up from seated. Now when she’s been sitting for a while, or sleeping through the night, once she gets up she seems awfully stiff which you can see in the way she walks. I take her for walks in the morning before I go to work and in the evenings once I get off work and she seems to loosen up and then is ready to play and chase squirrels and stuff, just like normal.

It seems to me that no serious damage has been done since she seems to “loosen up” after a bit of walking, and it kind of seems like the arthritis has set in, albeit quite suddenly. Does this seem like an arthritic condition or might it be something serious that needs urgent veterinarian attention? Are there any veterinary Dopers here that might have some advice or opinions?

Thanks for any replies and for taking the time to read such a long post :smiley:

LiQUiDBuD

2

It does sound like arthritis - as for the sudden onset, animals are very good at hiding it when they don’t feel well - she may have been moving a bit more slowly but it just became painful enough for her for you to notice it. Don’t know where you are located, but if it is getting colder there that may also have an effect - I know it does on my arthritis!

Get her to a vet as soon as possible - they have medications now that can relieve a lot of her pain.

3

I have an 11 year old Airedale Terrier who got hit by a car when she was 1.5 years old. She dislocated her hip and tore a ligament and had a concussion requiring extensive surgery(artificial ligament, no metal bits, fortunately). After recovery she was completely normal, but would get tired a little easier than before. No limping, no symptoms whatsoever (just a surgery scar).

About a year ago she, pretty suddenly, developed trouble getting up after sleeping or lying down for prolonged periods of time. Her right rear leg(the one that got injured in the accident almost a decade ago) was very stiff. We took her to the vet, and after a few X-Rays and blood tests the vet concluded that it was arthritis and put her on some anti-inflammatory pain medication (I believe Deramaxx) and ever since she’s been taking it every day and it’s as if there’s no problem. She runs around, gets up immediately - it’s like we got our puppy back. The medication does have some side effects, so liver tests are needed periodically to check for liver damage.

The parallels to your story are amazing. Best wishes to you and your dog!

  • Groman
4

Thanks for the replies. I forgot to mention in the OP that we did call the vet and he prescribed Deramaxx for her. And we’ve been giving it to her wrapped in peanut butter, which is the only way to trick her into eating those big pill wafers :smiley: It does seem to help a bit. And it’s great to know about the possible liver damage, because I don’t recall him mentioning that. I live in North Carolina, so the weather is turning a lot colder, which seems to have coincided with the apparent worsening of her condition.

Thanks again Snakescatlady and groman for a little more peace of mind :smiley:

LiQUiDBuD