Dogs

Murphy's Story - arthritis in dogs is a problem for older dogs

Murphy came to our family for more than fourteen years by a rescue Springer. It did not take long for us to understand why Springer Spaniel got their name. The dog, the fence was four feet high to run an obstacle for him and he enjoyed the prospect of the court.

But after his escapades he has often had a tear in his gallop. We discovered that Murphy hip dysplasia, which we had been learning is not unusual in a jumper. After consulting with our veterinarian and a veterinarian (who knew that there is such a specialty?), Decided we crossed three times for surgery and pelvic Murphy or TPO on both hips.

After a rest break was for a few weeks hips Murphy as good as new and returning to his old self. One of the things we did during his rehab was to ensure that it had beds for dogs at home in all parts of the house.

For the next ten years or so Murphy was his usual self-active, running and jumping. We provide special attention to your diet, they get to keep a good weight, from the stress of the hips. From time to time he would hop to greet the lack of full mobility in the hips, but otherwise it has no problems.

As a puppy a year of eleven years (we still think of him as a puppy), Murphy began to limp more pronounced and obvious distress hip. The vet gave us from the start of arthritis.

Canine arthritis affects dogs with great pain. One of our biggest disappointments is that Murphy could not tell us on the pain but the pain could be seen through his movements. It moves much more slowly, has difficulty climbing stairs and into the car. Murphy suffers from arthritis dog into silence.

Canine arthritis can be alleviated, in some cases for the dog that suffers. The problem is similar to the condition of man, in some respects. Canine arthritis is an inflammation of the joints of the dog. There are two main types of arthritis in dogs. These are degenerative and inflammatory. Degenerative arthritis is also known as osteoarthritis. This dog has arthritis when the cartilage that protects the joints breaks down. This condition occurs because the stress on the bones over the years. Dogs not so long as humans and live dogs arthritis in dogs appears earlier than man.

In Murphy, we used a scheme of Rimadyl and glucosamine to try to alleviate the pain and try as best we can to support healthy joints. But when the vet told us that the pain threshold for dogs is incredibly high. When Murphy got slower and more lame as we struggle to make decisions about his future.

Historically, our measure of how Murphy did, to judge whether he is in pain. "There is to maneuver as their hips and weakened its ability to more inhibited than we are now trying to judgments to make about the quality of life. Are current challenge is to try with the conflicting feelings to do it to keep as long as possible have it is a part of the family for over fourteen years, and decent while maintaining their right to live.