# Concerned about my Bailey



## retriever718 (Feb 10, 2014)

My big little girl is 12 1/2 and just in the past few weeks she has had bad problems with her hips. I'm assuming she is in pain, though she doesn't whine or truly show it. I think she is more stiff than anything. She has trouble, sometimes, picking her rear up. Other times she is perfectly fine. 

It troubles me to see that when she can't pick up her rear, she sort of shimmies and crawls and drags her butt. We have hardwood floors and put rugs and carpet in all the places she goes and she has 2 beds and still lays on the couch. At first I was thinking, "yes she is old, but she has trouble getting off the couch because she's been laying there for hours and her legs are asleep". It became a big concern when just last night she couldn't get her rear up.

Again, this is not constant, sometimes she gets right up and can run and walk fine. I would love to get her more exercise but it's too cold and there is snow everywhere where I live. 

Also, I noticed she has been losing weight over the course of about a year, it hasn't been sudden and she pants for a long time when she's active and sometimes she just pants for no reason at all. But I know she is still happy, when I call her she still perks up and puts on that smile and is always happy to see anyone come by.

This is my first and only golden so far and I have never before had a dog that has hit this age, so this is new to me. Any insight would be extremely appreciated and any tips on how to make her feel better until the warm weather comes would be very helpful, I hear aspirin (not tylenol or motrin) are good options for hip pain, does anyone have any that they prefer?


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## Angelina (Aug 11, 2011)

Take her to the vet for a check up. Most likely she is arthritic and there are many different choices. My girl is 12 and we had to start with rymidal for a while and when that stopped working tramadol but the important piece is we have blood tests done to make sure her organs are not stressed by the drugs. Find a vet you like, one with a heart and in my case we were lucky enough to find one that believes in holistic as much as possible; non invasive as much as possible and really specializing in older dogs. If you are in the SF Bay area I can recommend. Would love to see a picture of your girl....


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## retriever718 (Feb 10, 2014)

Thank you, I know we would be starting some kind of medication. Do you think if it comes up that surgery would be good? Since she is old and may be (hopefully not) sick with something else?


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## Shellbug (Nov 14, 2013)

retriever718 said:


> Thank you, I know we would be starting some kind of medication. Do you think if it comes up that surgery would be good? Since she is old and may be (hopefully not) sick with something else?


Just like people, when they age it gets hard on the connective tissue. I'm sure arthritis is the culprit here. Your vet will be able to prescribe the right medications 


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## retriever718 (Feb 10, 2014)

Another thought, maybe someone with a senior dog could give me insight: does arthritis take some time to go into effect. Literally the first time she fell over was last Tuesday. It snowed the day before and she was out with me playing and running as always, soft powdery snow though. 

I am thinking maybe she just hurt herself, or the cold got to her? It has been snowing ALOT in NY lately. 

I just imagined that from her going to having stiff legs to not being able to stand and/or falling over wouldn't happen so quickly! Now it is 50% of the day. At this point I cannot tell if it is the hips or one or both of the legs.

I will hopefully have a definite answer by the end of the week, but any opinions or insight from experience is appreciated


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## wayfinder (Sep 18, 2013)

I've had three senior goldens. My last girl, Bailey, had joint and hip problems for many years. She was an "old" dog for about 5 years before she passed at 14 last October.

Baileys would be at her worst after a "good" day where she had energy and over exerted. We would notice that she'd pretty much lay around the next day.

We started with rymadil, then ended up adding gabapentin. It was very helpful to her. I think gave her years more.

I also paid to have stem cells transplanted about 5 years ago, and that was a small miracle.
My vet says now there is a replacement for that procedure that is really very minor. Ask your vet for sure.

Sounds like you're a great doggie mom!


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## randi (May 9, 2005)

I would take her to a vet as soon as possible. Although her problem may appear to be manifesting in her hips, at her age it could be something else. You are noticing more than one symptom. Please get her checked.


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## Pudden (Dec 28, 2008)

I second what randi said - the falling over, panting and weight loss could be signs of other troubles, anything from heart failure to cancer. Not to scare you (and I hope she lives many more years  but at age 12 these are possibilities.


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## retriever718 (Feb 10, 2014)

I want to thank everyone who posted their thoughts. Luckily her falling over and difficulty getting up is because she hurt her knee, we have medication for that and she tested positive for Lyme disease and she's on medication for that. And the vet said she could afford to lose some weight. I can finally breathe and know there is no major issues!


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

Thanks for the update. Glad it wasn't a worse case scenario!


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## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

Am glad you have found out what was troubling Bailey, I hope you have many more fun times together!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Retriever*

Retriever:

I am so glad Bailey went to the vet.
What can they give her to help her?


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## retriever718 (Feb 10, 2014)

She is on pain meds for her knees and medicine for her Lyme disease and it must really be working because she has a ton of energy! And she is walking fine, she even started running back and forth in the house! Back to normal


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

I'm so glad that you have good news from your vet and that the meds are working. Lyme disease can cause muscle pain, so getting that under control will make a big difference.

My Joker is 13.5 years old and has arthritis in his back legs. The thread about him is the top one in my signature, if you want to read about how we handle his challenges. He has also been treated for Lyme disease a couple of times, had a splenectomy at age 11, and is hypothyroid. All of that said, he is still a happy boy. 

Good luck to you and Bailey. Please do keep us posted.


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## retriever718 (Feb 10, 2014)

Thank you! I will be sure to look at it and get more info.


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## randi (May 9, 2005)

Glad to hear things are looking up for Bailey.


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