Here's a guest post from Lea going through a pet health moment in her household.
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About 3 weeks ago we noticed that our dog, Lyger, an 8 year old Lab mix was favoring his left foreleg, and appeared to be limiting his shoulder movement. The initial vet visit wrote it off as a strain, prescribing aspirin, but there was no improvement.
A week later, we returned to see another veterinarian more adept in canine orthopedics and after a series of radio graphs, it was found that Lyger had a slight lesion on his neck, caused by a bulging disc.
After just 7 days on Rimadyl (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory), he is doing much better! The vet was pleasantly surprised as he admitted to me today during the recheck that he was anticipating this requiring steroids and possibly surgery, but that it appears to be minor.
So, it's temporarily painful, but the good news is that it looks like we'll be avoiding surgery.
When I asked the veterinarian what may have caused this, or what can we do to prevent further injury he responded with two points that I'll summarize:
Point one:
This type of disk degeneration is hereditary (I found web documentation that it's most common in Labs, Dobermans and Shepherds) but the condition is compounded by small injuries over time-typically jumping off of something, like furniture.
"So like him jumping down past 3 steps off of a porch to chase a squirrel?" I ask.
"Exactly!"
Point two:
It's ideal if a harness can be used instead of a collar, that can cause sudden stopping injuries or strain from pulling.
Good to know, as Lyger is a notorious puller.
Lyger now has a standing prescription for Rimadyl at his veterinarian's office, because he is more likely to have issues with this again now. Like people, dogs with "bad necks" or "bad backs" typically have chronic issues. The things I should be careful to look for are any sort of lameness, dragging of limbs, or walking on his 'knuckles'. These are signs of serious neurological problems, and indication that Lyger should see a vet immediately.
So this weekend, we'll be installing a few rails on the porch to keep Lyger from making any more flying leaps, and hope that this remains the extent of this condition.
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