Abby had a long day at the vet. She's home, wobbling like a drunken sailor from the sedation. Her surgeon and our vet thoroughly examined her and discovered Abby has two bad hips. Maybe I can blame that on her Shepard relatives.
They played with her in the yard to watch her movements and were surprised to discover she pulled up her right leg as well as her left. Me too! When they sedated her they also were able to do a wide range of movements and both hips click. They opted not to do the cortisone shots.
So now Abby will be taking glucosamine/chondroitin as well as fish oil capsules. He'll use an anti-inflammatory when necessary. She may have her daily walks, use stairs, and have gentle play. No aggressive play.
Prognosis -- the possibility of future stem cell therapy. Abby is only 3.
Tomorrow I'll be shopping for vitamins and a new therapeutic foam mattress for her. She already has her new toy.
Thank you to everyone who has asked about Abby.
~Piecefully, Stephanie
33 comments:
Oh, poor baby! At 3 they still want to be frisky. Hopefully she's not around young kids often.
Aww poor Abby. That is so tough. Our dog is 5 and is somewhat debilitated due to an autoimmune disease which causes her nails to fall out. There's no cure but we give her megadoses of fish oil in hopes that her new nails will stay (so far they are not) and if needed, pain meds. It's so hard when they can't tell you what is wrong and when you can't explain to them that they need to slow down. Abby is lucky to have someone who is willing to take such good care of her.
What a beautiful picture of Abby in her pink collar. It can be tough trying to rein in an energetic dog. At least she can still go for walks and play somewhat. When our dog started having problems we took her swimming a lot. Maybe that would help too.
Poor Abby. With pets, you just never know, do you? They complain so little. She sure photographs well. That's a darling picture of her looking through the railing! ~karen
Oh bless her heart! Poor baby! We recently heard that coconut oil is very good for their joints...Zack has 2 surgically repaired knees and has some arthritis settling in...we do fish oil and alternate with coconut oil, glucosomine, we did Rimydyl for a few weeks and he's walking so much better...in June he was limping terribly, now he's back to our morning walk and no limp. Sending all of you lots of good thoughts.
Poor Abby, give her a hug and kiss for me. I hope her new treatment has her feeling better soon.
Poor Abby!
So young and not well!
My Raja is on cortisonepills everyday, but she is an old lady 11½ years so the vet figures that it´s ok to do so.
Give your baby a big hug, will you?
Goodness, the girl is just a spring chicken. So very, very sorry Abby. I do hope the vitamins help.
blessings, jill
That's so young still to be having those problems, I hope the medications help a lot, She's such a sweet girl.
Abby is a lucky dog to have you and your willingness and ability to take such great care of her.
Abby is worth her weight in gold, beautiful girl. I have 2 German Shepherds (6 & 7) and 1 Newfoundland (3 yrs). All 3 are on fish oil caps and Glycoflex II. One shepherd is also on the generic form of Rimadyl, called Novox---much less expensive, but still pricey. I buy the fish oil and GlycoFlex II thru Amazon.com, as it is *much* less expensive than at the vet or Sam's Club. Flax seed oil--usually found at health food stores--is also beneficial as it's high in the omega fatty acids. I concur with the commenter above regarding swimming. If it's feasible, you'll find it to be immensely therapeutic. Abby is such a sweet and soulful presence for so many of us---she has an awesome bunch of quilters pulling for her. Take care---this is a setback, but Abby will soldier on under your loving care. (hugs)
God Bless You for giving her the care she needs. Not all pet owners would go so far, but I can see that Abby is very special and worth it. Our golden retriever, Chester had a bulged disk in his lower back that had to be removed, and recovery from it has been slow. He's now receiving laser therapy which really helps with his mobility. Something you might want to think about in the future. We wish you and Abby all the best, and prayers are going up for her healing and recovery.
I just want to jump into the screen and give Ms. Abby a hug she is just so adorable - I smile every time I see her sweet puppy face. She's blessed to be apart of a family where she will get all of the nuturing and care that she will need to deal with what's going on.
Prayers for Abby! She is so precious. We have been through hip problems so many times with our German Shepards. The glucosamine and chondroitin have always helped. Hope they work well for Abby too! Keep her hiney warm. My mom's dog got to where she wanted a blanket at night to cover her hips. I say, if it works, it's good!
I'm sure the glucosamine will help her like it helps me! Gentle play suits a lady dog just fine.
{{{Abby}}}
Bless her little heart. xxx
Look at that face. She's a keeper :)
Genetics! Trips you up every time :) Your girl is getting the best care you can give her, and of course, all your love. She's a lucky girl despite her clicky hips.
So sorry to hear about Abby- she is so young to be having such news. Glucosamine is good stuff. It really helped my oldies. On bad days there is rimadyl which is very good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carprofen
Poor Abby, here's hoping the vitamins work for her.
Oh, poor thing. At least she has people who care about her.
I was so afraid that was the news that was coming. I'm so sorry! But Abby will be fine with a momma like you. She couldn't be in a better place.
Oh sweet baby, but she will thrive being with you and all the love you give her. Thanks for the up-date.
Sweet sweet Abby. Glad she's still allowed to have her walks. I hope the glucosamine does its work. It did help Bibi from her stiffness.
Have fun with your new toy, Abby.
Fingers crossed the vitamins and oil will help a little... Luckily she is in good and capable hands and I'm sure she will do well.
Ohhh poor Abby, two bad hips!
I send lots of hugs and hope the fish oil and glucosamine will help, so she and you will be able to enjoy her walks.
The photocollage of Abby is beautiful, she’s so photogenic!!
Wow... poor Abby! She is far from having her playtime taken away. She is such a young girl and would love to be frolicking all day, I am sure. I hope the vitamin therapy goes well and her spirits are on the upswing!
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I'm sending healing vibes to Abby! She is goreous and such a sweetie pie.
Bonnie Doon had bad bad hips. Penn Hip wouldn't even give me a nip umber rating for them! That's bad!
I kept her well muscled, that holds in the joints. She pack hiked for 9of her 11 years carrying weight in her back pack.
And I Gave her Turmeric for the anti inflammatory part. Better than the drugs, and kills cancer cells too, we take it daily as well for aches and pains and anti cancer.
Hydrotherapy is another good way to keep her muscled. If you can bring her to somewhere she can swim it is perfect. Bonnie Doon would not get herself wet, she was, after all, queen of everything!
glen
Dog gone spell checker, that should have been Penn Hip wouldn't even give me a number rating for her hips!
glen
My border collie sleeps on a memory foam bed and it has helped tremendously. He's outside during the day and I have strategically placed 2 beds (not memory, just outdoor ones) for him and he seems to stay on them quite a bit, so I know it helps. Good luck. It's so difficult to see them in pain.
Oh Stephanie, I am so sorry about poor Abby and her bum hips.
My neighbors shephard had that hip displasia and did very well for many years on the fish oil and also shark cartiledge (not sure what form that was in).
I know Abby has the best of care and will soon get used to her more laid back activities.
That means you have to leave the bunny chasing to the other dogs, Abby! :)
Kimberly
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