Ninja's Hankerin'
For a new hip.
So, Ninja has been acting really funny lately, like his hind legs aren't working and are hurting him. He's been having a lot of trouble getting onto furniture, getting up stairs, and even getting up off the floor. Several times lately he's tried to hop into bed and got completely denied. And even worse yet, he has to use the stairs for nearly everything - even going to the bathroom. To watch such a young/playful dog have so much trouble has been really rough to watch.
That said, last night I took Ninja to the vet, he didn't feel anything wrong in Ninja's legs, so we x-rayed. The x-rays showed that his left femur is misshaped at the hip joint which is causing Hip Dysplasia. Mixed with the size of our dog, he's basically starting to get arthritis at a very young age. The vet said this often times becomes apparent when the dog is 2-3 years old (which Ninja is), but it's also pretty rare - he hasn't seen a case like this in nearly 2 years.
Hip Dysplasia is genetic, there's not a whole lot we can do about it except make him lose 15-20 pounds and give him medication. This would greatly slow the arthritis and scar tissue build up in his joint. It's either that or buy him a new hip... which would be quite hilarious, I think. However, we can't exactly afford that option at this point. Hopefully the weight loss will help.
So now, I need to build him some steps to get in and out of bed, because if I have to pick him up this 90 pound dog a few more times, I might contract some hip dysplasia of my own.
:(
So, Ninja has been acting really funny lately, like his hind legs aren't working and are hurting him. He's been having a lot of trouble getting onto furniture, getting up stairs, and even getting up off the floor. Several times lately he's tried to hop into bed and got completely denied. And even worse yet, he has to use the stairs for nearly everything - even going to the bathroom. To watch such a young/playful dog have so much trouble has been really rough to watch.
That said, last night I took Ninja to the vet, he didn't feel anything wrong in Ninja's legs, so we x-rayed. The x-rays showed that his left femur is misshaped at the hip joint which is causing Hip Dysplasia. Mixed with the size of our dog, he's basically starting to get arthritis at a very young age. The vet said this often times becomes apparent when the dog is 2-3 years old (which Ninja is), but it's also pretty rare - he hasn't seen a case like this in nearly 2 years.
Hip Dysplasia is genetic, there's not a whole lot we can do about it except make him lose 15-20 pounds and give him medication. This would greatly slow the arthritis and scar tissue build up in his joint. It's either that or buy him a new hip... which would be quite hilarious, I think. However, we can't exactly afford that option at this point. Hopefully the weight loss will help.
So now, I need to build him some steps to get in and out of bed, because if I have to pick him up this 90 pound dog a few more times, I might contract some hip dysplasia of my own.
:(