April 2016

Daze has been carrying on pretty much as usual, until recently when she started to float about in the hydro pool when she should have been swimming! I popped her to the chiropractor yesterday and it seems her pelvis was crooked, so she has been adjusted in a big way – it really surprised her, and she is vey stiff today. Hopefully with a bit of massage around the hips she will loosen up soon, and be back to her usual self. We’ve to go back in 3 months to check that her pelvis is still in position.

Toes!

Daisy has not been right on her walks for a little while – lagging behind and pacing, particularly on hard or stony surfaces – it looked to me as though her feet were hurting her. I took her to the vet and yes – she has arthritis in her toes 😦   She is trying a course of cartrophen injections again, to see if that helps her. If she is still uncomfortable I shall try turmeric before going to long-term anti-inflammatories. Second injection tomorrow.

April 25 2014 – Chiropractor visit

Daisy had a seizure a couple of weeks ago. No apparent reason  for it – she went to the vet straight afterwards and they did various blood tests which were all OK. Beforehand she’s had a sensitive spot on her back, so just to be on the safe side she went for a checkup with the chiropractor today. Part of her spine was out, and her pelvis was out of alignment so she had a few adjustments done.  On the whole though her back end is looking very good, which is brilliant news!

Swimming a bit wonky?

Daisy was swimming a bit crooked recently, so we popped her back to the chiropractor, and her pelvis was out. No idea how that happened – probable playing with Beamish our 2 year old doodle!

 

A few quick manipulations and she was right as rain!

Been off the Trocoxil

Daisy has been on a rabbit only diet, in an effort to sort out her ear (possible food allergy), and as a result she has lost weight. She had crept up to 30kg, and is now down to her pre-spay weight of 26.4kg – she feels very thin to me, but the vet reckons she is spot on. Since she has been lighter she has also been more lively on her walks, so when she had to have her month off the Trocoxil I thought I’d see how she got on without it. She seemed fine, but having recently had to give her paracetamol for her ear I can tell that she still has some discomfort, so when we go back to the vets this week I shall ask if she can go back on it.

Another x-ray

Daisy was having another ear flush today, and I asked them to x-ray her hips while she was under the GA. Good news – there is still no signs of arthritis!!!! I guess the fish oil and Flexadin supplements are doing their stuff!

Four years!

It’s four years now since found out that Daisy has Hip Dysplasia! She is still doing well with minimal disruption to her life.Thankfully she has had no more episodes like that when we found out about it, and with just a few minor adjustments to her lifestyle she is fine. She is beginning to spend more time in her bed, but that is more to do with her maturing than hurting I think, plus of course she has the anti-inflammatory tablets which will be making her more comfortable. Today – like most days – she had 2 walks of an hour each – the first was a plodding walk, but the second involved a few doodle dashes, some jumping on her back legs to pick pine cones and some rough-housing with other dogs, so she deserves a snooze afterwards I think!

Having said all that, Daisy meets up with one of her littermates most days, and it is easy to see the difference between them – although Daisy enjoys herself and loves her walks, she isn’t quite as agile or energetic as her sister.

Trocoxil Update

Well Daze had some blood tests to make sure there was no other reason for her not wanting to get up and about, and all was well, so she’s been having hte Trocoxil for about 5 months now. I discussed my concerns with her having it at such a young age and the vet was able to put my mind at rest. She’s doing OK – not dashing around like a mad thing, but not staying in her bed either. In a couple of months she will have to have a month off and it will be interesting to see if there is a noticable difference.

 

There is one down side though, apparently if they are taking NSAIDS, then they can’t be given steroids – a slight annoyance when Daisy’s ear problem flared up recently.

She is still going to her hydrotherapy once a fortnight, and I was interested to see the other day that in a flat out run, Daisy  at 6 years old with dodgy hip can outrun both Poppy (5 years old agility doodle – small and light and regularly swims), and Beamish (18 month old large male doodle)!

June 2012

Well the accupuncture wasn’t a great success – she just shook the needles out, so we’ve decided that it isn’t for her.

Daze has been a bit quiet lately – not rushing to greet me when she used to and so on. he’s had vet check – heart OK, blood tests don’t show anything untoward, so we think her hips must be bothering her. After a lot of thought about anti-inflammatories upsetting her tum, we’ve decided to give Trocoxil a go. It is an anti-inflammatory that lasts a month, so if she is going to get an upset tum, it will only be for a couple of days and for the rest of the month she should get the benfits. She’s had the first one, and the next will be after 2 weeks.  I think she’s a bit young to have constant medication though, so am reserving judgement until I see what effect these tablets have.

She is still occasionally holding a front leg up. I examine it – nothing in her pads, she tries again but still can’t put weight on it, I look again, still nothing , then she’s right as rain! It seems to happen most on uneven ground so I wonder if she has a sprained wrist (or the doggy equivalent). I don’t think it’s related to her hips though, whatever it is!

Accupuncture!

Daze has been limping intermittantly on her front legs – sometimes I know it is because I have told her off, and she has learnt that when she limps I get all sympathetic, but other times it is a genuine limp! She’s been to the vets, and we are going to try some accupuncture for pain relief. She is probably letting her front legs take the strain away from her back end, and is beginning to show the results!

 

She’s had her first session, and we go back next week for another go. It’s hard to tell if it is doing any good though, as she isn’t limping all the time!