Hi, Patti. My puppy (now 9 months) was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia at about 7
months...she started limping at about 4 months. The surgeon/specialist who evaluated
her also said she was not a candidate for surgery. He said she had cartilage changes
as the result of diffuse elbow dysplasia (which may be what was described to you as
"joint incongruity"...sounds a bit vague compared to some of the exact descriptions
I've learned...ununited anconeal process, etc.) She will be on glucosamine/chondroitin
supplements for the rest of her life (1500/1200 mg./day to start, tapering down after
an initial load for 6-8 weeks). She can have an aspirin (Ascripton) when she is
particularly achy, and Rimadyl down the road when necessary.She should stay on the
thin side and have plenty of exercise.
I have a couple of additional questions to the list...what forms of exercise should be
encouraged/avoided when living with elbow dysplasia? For example, we're starting back
to school with obedience classes tonight...should we avoid too many "downs"? I'm
trying to figure what sorts of repetitive exercise might be painful...Maddie runs and
plays in our fenced yard or park with my other dog, but I avoid long walks because of
her bad elbows...is this the right approach?
And last...I can't help but wonder about the usefulness of xrays. She had two sets of
xrays, one at 4 months and one when spayed at 6 months. Both were read by radiology
specialists; shoulder OCD was a possible concern, but elbows were declared clear. It
took a physical exam by a specialist and CT scans to rule out OCD and diagnose elbow
dysplasia. So I have to ask, just how accurate are the OFA elbow certifications if
x-rays often don't catch dysplasia??? Or would these changes be obvious if films were
done at 2 years?
Anne
Cranford, NJ
with Maddie and Titan
