# Ozzie's Hips



## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Be warned, this is not a short post LOL:

My puppy has had a rough week. Ozzie is almost 15 months now. We went to the vet last Saturday for a quick once over. Jersey was due for his HW test and titers and I needed to learn how to express Ozzie's anal glands. The vet was thrilled with them, said everyone looks great, commented on how good Ozzie's coat and skin were. Scheduled a skin tag removal for Jersey. I was a proud momma and everyone had a clean bill of health. 

Fast forward to Wednesday. (yeah, 4 days later... figures, right? :doh. I come home from work and rush to get the dogs fed because Jersey's not allowed to eat past 7pm because of the procedure scheduled for Thursday. Happen to notice a bright red, round hot spot on Ozzie's right hip. 








Huh? That's strange. No food changes, no treat changes, nothing new at all.... no swimming... no being wet in general. So where'd this hot spot come from? My first concern is that it seems to be perfectly round... thoughts of roundworm pop in my head.... but that still doesn't seem right somehow, plus he just got his HW preventative Saturday.... hmmm, could that be it? But he's been taking the same thing every month since I got him... so probably not. I decide I'll probably bring him to the vet with Jersey in the morning so that I can have them take a quick look at it, maybe do a skin scraping, and figure out what's going on. After dinner, I let the boys out back to take care of business and notice Ozzie chewing on left side. When we come inside, I take a quick look and notice his has a matching (slightly smaller, but maybe a little deeper) hot spot on the other side too. The two hot spots are right over his pelvis, right about where his hip joints are. Crap. Bad feeling sets in. Definitely bringing him to the vet in the AM. Try to keep him from chewing on them and get through the night (they're in the worst possible place, can't cover with a t shirt or with shorts). This pic is from after they shaved him at the vet, so that they could dry out. Poor boy:









Let the boys out in the morning and notice Ozzie is hitching his right leg a bit. Crap again. Now I'm sure it's his hip. So I get them to the vet, explain why I've brought a second dog, sign the consents for sedation and x-rays and leave them to it. Unfortunately, turns out I was right. There is a problem with Ozzie's right hip. 









Now I know the picture of the x ray isn't showing up great on here. But, you get the idea. They did not put him in the full rotation and extension you would see in OFA rads.... if they had, the joint likely would have subluxed more. Since he was only very mildly sedated and this was just the general vet (knowing the ortho will likely knock him out and do the whole song and dance) he opted to only go that far. My ability for reading x-rays (especially as pertains to a dog vs human) is limited.... but personally, I'm hopeful that we may not have to do surgery. I don't see that the socket looks much (if any?) more shallow than the right (which looks good to me, but again what do I know?). Big thing is, obviously he's subluxing. He's admittedly got a somewhat underdeveloped rear end (he's much stronger through his shoulders. We're supposed to begin agility classes... no jumping, low obstacles, mostly ground work... next week, was already hoping that with the help of my instructor we could work on building that up for him), and definitely pulls more with his shoulders (which are very muscular) when he runs, kind of like what you would think of with a greyhound, which I think he has in him. 

All this is to ask.... fully knowing that none of you can tell me pretty much anything about anything with such limited information and poor quality shots of the x ray.... what do you think? Those who have had experience with hip problems... any idea if it is ever mostly a matter of weakness and maybe some loose ligamentous structure (he's seriously the most bendy dog on earth... I should have named him Gumby), or does it always come down to a malformation of the joint (he wouldn't be able to sublux if it were built correctly)? 

My other question is this: At 15 months old, is he nearing the end of the age range where a more simple surgical procedure would possibly put him in the best place for a long, healthy, comfortable life? Would taking 1-2 months to try a conservative approach (i.e. canine rehabilitation... I am a PT afterall, had to know this would be my first, and best, hope for him) put us in a worse place if it is unsuccessful just by the sheer fact of waiting? And with an early surgical option (should it even be recommended... I'll get to that in a second), would participating in agility ever be an option... or is that an instant no go? (I know that seems like an odd question... but I love agility, compete with my golden, and really honestly believe that Ozzie will love it if given the chance... he's my Kamikaze dog... totally nuts!) 

We meet with the Orthopedic surgeon/specialist on Wednesday. I have no idea what they will make of this, and my general vet was pretty non-commital one way or another thought he didn't seem to give me the idea that I was crazy for suggesting rehab rather than surgery. This all just popped up so fast, he's never shown any symptoms of anything and I've never had a dog with a joint issue... so I'm trying to arm myself with all info possible before I go in. The rest of my night is about to be spent looking through this forum and everything else I can find to get as much info as possible on dysplasia, what it means, and what the options are. Just thought I'd throw this out there, probably more to vent than anything else -- obviously, I'm stressed. Thanks in advance for any info/insight any of you may have.... and also for the well wishes I know this forum always offers in times like this... just in case it takes me a while to get back to you. 

Hope you're all enjoying your 2012. Despite this little setback, we most certainly have been! Well, Ozzie a little less at the moment, now that he has to wear a cone:








Though he did have a good nap on top of me and his brother last night:








We were in that position for about 35 minutes before Jersey decided he wasn't having it anymore. LOL

Julie, Jersey and Oz


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Well, my Laney UD,GCC, RA, radiographed at 2 and was OFA fair was mildly dysplastic(subluxated in her right hip) at 44 months, we started on Cosequin DS then Dasuquin w/MSM. She got her CDX, UD, RN,RA,RE(2 legs) after that, she was working on her RE, perfectly sound, when a splenic tumor took her at almost 12 years.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

ah geez, I'm so sorry for poor Ozzie and for poor you, too. I hope you get good news on Wednesday. The only comment I can offer is that my Toby was symptomatic at 6 months (popping hip, loose hips) and was diagnosed with HD in his left hip by xray at that age. We kept him lean and muscled, didn't allow him to jump, and he was fine until he was about 12, at which time he started showing signs of arthritis. Even so, we managed it with adequan and acupuncture until about 8 weeks before he passed on, just short of 14.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

It looks like shallow sockets, maybe... his body is crooked so the one side might look worse than it actually is...?

My question has to do with the hotspots... has he been licking or chewing at his hips? Or scoot?


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Megora said:


> It looks like shallow sockets, maybe... his body is crooked so the one side might look worse than it actually is...?
> 
> My question has to do with the hotspots... has he been licking or chewing at his hips? Or scoot?


He was licking/biting at himself. Completely came out of nowhere Wednesday while I was at work. I'm wondering if he didn't sublux a little wrestling with Jersey and go after his hips because they were bothering him. I think he then got to them more overnight on Wednesday and possibly while at the vet on Thursday... plus a little irritation from the shaving.... so by the end of yesterday they just looked awful. They look worlds better today, drying out well and scabbing over! But he's trying to get at them pretty hard, so absolutely no cone-less time allowed right now.  Unfortunately, I think the itchiness will get significantly worse as he starts to heal before it gets better.

Curious about your comment: Do both sockets look shallow to you? I know you can't see them well in the photo and I know it's really poor positioning, but I thought the left one looked decent? Won't hold you to it, just curious if that was intentionally plural. 

Thanks to all 3 of you for your input! 

Julie, Jersey and Oz


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

> A dog with Hip Dysplasia should not be given glucosamine or any chondroprotective (joint support) supplements unless there is evidence of degenerative changes (arthritis.)


Jessica Waldman, VMD, CCRT
Jessica Waldman is a veterinarian with certification in animal rehabilitation. She works at California Animal Rehabilitation in Los Angeles.

Anyone ever heard this before? I wonder the reasoning? I was actually planning on starting him on glucosamine/chondroitin immediately. Suppose I will hold off until I get more info. 

Not sure I know anything more now than I did at the beginning of tonight, except that the "easier" surgical procedure I was thinking of won't be an option for Oz. The TPO is for dogs less than 1 year old. I knew there was an age limit, just couldn't remember what it was. And after looking at an x-ray of a dog post-procedure.... wow!! Looks like it would be a much more involved surgery, harder recovery and more variable outcome than a total hip replacement. Someday when I have the time, after this is all figured out, I really want to read up more on it. But at least that's one less thing I need to research for right now. Feeling a touch overwhelmed and having a hard time finding trustworthy resources (lots of doginfo.com type sites... and yes, I made that name up, but just hinting at the generic names I'm seeing.)

Julie, Jersey and Oz

Edited to Add: That quote was taken from this article if anyone was wondering.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

The pelvis is so tilted(not great positioning), that I think that the subluxation would look worse. However, dogs do not walk on their x rays....


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Julie - I was guessing shallow sockets (plural), and just the one side being loose. But comparing to the example pics on the OFA website has me going back and forth about what I define as shallow. And again the positioning doesn't help. I probably should have kept my lip zipped. 

I honestly think based on the advice given to me by a lot of people.. you should get him on glucosamine/chon/msm/ester c and work with an ortho vet as far as proper exercise to keep him strong. 

And then have the hips redone when he's done growing and OFA'd. 

And I would not wait for damage/further changes to occur to the joint before getting him on supplements.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I am a fan of dasuquin w/mom... Fish oil,etc.. My guys grow up on it.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Sally's Mom said:


> The pelvis is so tilted(not great positioning), that I think that the subluxation would look worse. However, dogs do not walk on their x rays....


That's what I thought too.... and the vet who did them agreed. That's the most extreme position he brought him to, and it's not the full rotation and extension you'd see in an OFA film. I have 5 or 6 films in different positions, in most of them the hip looks ok, but as he extended more it started to come out of the socket as you see in this film. 

To the vet's credit, he did as I asked. I told him I really didn't want Oz put under, only minimal sedation if possible. I was fairly sure what the x ray would show just by his symptoms (and I'm a worst case scenario type of person) and I was sure we'd have to go through it more formally with an ortho specialist, so I didn't want him getting repeatedly knocked out. I'm actually going to talk to the ortho in hopes that they are one who performs x-rays without totally knocking them out (as I've heard it's becoming more common), but I was referred to the most respected place in town so I will probably let them do it if they think it is best. So many decisions.....

Good point that the x rays aren't the only important factor.... I'm more worried that he's been hurting than by anything I see on that film. Just wish I had some idea how he did it. He and Jersey go at it pretty hard sometimes, but there's a big difference to me between one off step leading to the pain and a good plowing (which he's certainly gotten many times) doing it. 

Really wish I didn't have to wait until Wednesday for this appointment... I'm not so good at waiting. I have a feeling this thread is going to be about 5 pages of me thinking "out loud" to myself by then, lol. :bowl: <---- head spinning... at least not Exorcist-style

Julie, Jersey and Oz


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

I just wanted to pop in and say I will be thinking of Ozzie... Hoping for the best with him. I don't really have any advice for you.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Megora said:


> Julie - I was guessing shallow sockets (plural), and just the one side being loose. But comparing to the example pics on the OFA website has me going back and forth about what I define as shallow. And again the positioning doesn't help. I probably should have kept my lip zipped.
> 
> I honestly think based on the advice given to me by a lot of people.. you should get him on glucosamine/chon/msm/ester c and work with an ortho vet as far as proper exercise to keep him strong.
> 
> ...


LOL, no worries... told you I wouldn't hold you to it. I keep going back and forth about what I see in the x rays too, so I can't expect any less from someone who's only seen my poor quality cell phone pic of it. 

I had the same thought about the supplements, which is why I was so thrown by that statement written by a vet. Why on earth would anyone wait until the dog is already arthritic to provide something that protects the cartilage?? Especially in a dog who would be at automatic increased risk for arthritic changes? Seems counterintuitive.

Another random question: Can you do OFA with an unregistered animal? Or would AKC's Canine Partners reg count? What about the fact that I have NO idea what breed he is? I feel like the paperwork I filled out for Jersey needed all that info.... but since I had it, I never thought about how one would fill it out if they didn't.

Julie, Jersey and Oz


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Found it -



> *I have a mixed breed. Can she get an OFA number?
> *The OFA does not require dogs to be purebred or registered in order to perform an OFA evaluation or to register test results into our databases.


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## SandyK (Mar 20, 2011)

Poor Ozzie!! I don't really have any advice for you, just moral support. Sorry you have to wait until Wednesday to see ortho. Good luck!! Thoughts and prayers are with you and Ozzie. I hope whatever is going on that he will still be able to play and be crazy with Jersey. It will be tough if you have to hold him back.:doh::crossfing


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

OK, new topic of internal debate... 

First here's some things I've learned about hip dysplasia in the last 16 hours or so that are influencing my decision... or at least my take on them. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on any of this: 

Generally the first thing you see with hip dysplasia is the laxity in the joint... the skeletal changes are generally secondary due to the abnormal wear and tear associated with the loose joints. Some dogs are maybe just born with shallow sockets or poorly shaped femoral heads (or perhaps the joints are just so unstable that they truly break down in just a few short months of the dog's life? I don't know)... but those seem to be more extreme cases and not really the "norm" when talking about hip dysplasia. 

This scenario (the "norm" if you will) seems to describe what I see when I look at Ozzie's x rays (again, with my lack of training and obvious preference for one result over another.... plus the poor positioning on the x ray... I am fully aware that the vet may see this as being more serious or more advanced than I am currently thinking). I see a loose joint, but no obvious skeletal changes, and I see a joint socket that doesn't necessarily look inherently shallow. 

So now to my issue. My general vet tells me he's going to refer me to a "specialist." To _me_ in this instance, this would mean an orthopedic specialist.... right? Apparently not. She's just a surgeon. From everything I see online, very well respected and knowledgeable and great... but with no special background in orthopedics of any sort. Her "special interests" as listed by the practice are as follows: 


> Oncologic surgery, reconstructive surgery, minimally invasive surgical techniques, exotic and zoo medicine and surgery


This screams general surgeon to me. Searching for her brings up a ton of research related things (which I love when vets are in on research)... some even on orthopedic subjects... but it really seems that her focus is elsewhere. Looking through the practice as a whole, I don't really see anyone who specializes in orthopedics at all. There's one in a related practice up in Winston-Salem, but that would be a bit of a stretch. 

If I am right and the hip joint has not yet started to remodel in a detrimental way... if Ozzie's only issue right now is truly a bit of an acute injury caused by (or that caused... chicken and egg) increased joint laxity.... I can't even imagine that a general surgeon whose livelihood is cutting would recommend surgery at this junction. After all, he's past the stage where a TPO would be possible, and the other surgical choices just seem beyond extreme if there's no arthritic changes yet. 

I have a good friend whose dog recently went through a round of treatment with a rehabilitation vet for a completely different issue. She had excellent results and really liked the vet and team she worked with. Looking at this person's background and training, I see a stronger focus in orthopedics (although she does not claim to be an ortho specialist, and what led her to rehabilitation was geriatrics and pain management... but still, in a way, those topics generally come back around to ortho much of the time). She was going to be my second stop, after I had confirmation from an "ortho specialist" that things didn't look too bleak and that rehab could be a good idea for Ozzie. But if the specialist isn't truly specialized.... is there really a point to seeing her first? Wouldn't it make more sense to just go to the person with the stronger ortho background as well as a background in rehab? That would be my first choice anyway... try conservative management before jumping to surgery... no matter which vet I meet with. And from what I see on the rehab vet's page/bio, she may be a surgeon also? It says something about her completing her small animal "medicine and surgery internship," but I'm not really sure what that means. 

To bottom line it, does it make any sense to meet with the general surgeon as a first resort? It seems to me it makes more sense to do the other consult first and then meet with the surgeon if we are leaning toward going that route. Sorry if I'm talking in circles... just want to make sure I am making the best choices for my boy. I'd be lying if I said the financial implications weren't playing a part (cutting out an unnecessary trip to the surgeon would be helpful) but want to make sure that I'm not letting that overshadow the bigger picture (at the end of the day, I only care about making sure he gets the best care possible). 

Again, I'm probably mostly thinking out loud here. I process things better when I can see them in front of me. But I welcome any and all of your thoughts on the subject.

Julie, Jersey and Oz

Edited to Add: Set up a consultation with the rehab vet but can't get in until a week from Wednesday. Now the question becomes do I keep the other appt this Wednesday or not?


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## Bentley's Mom (May 19, 2011)

Let me preface this by saying I have NO experience with any of this. However, as someone who has had orthopedic surgery, I'm looking at this from a people perspective. I personally would start with thee therapy. If Ozzie does need surgery, you're probably not going to choose a general surgeon anyway. If I'm right about that, you are paying for a visit to someone who is not a specialist, won't be able to give you a definitive answer and then in the long run wouldn't be his surgeon anyway. If it were me, I would rather get on the therapy ASAP in hopes of it just being an injury. Then I would find an ortho specialist (even if it is a bit of a distance from you) and set up a consultation type appt. just to look at the x-rays you have and discuss their treatment protocol. Just my 2 cents


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Bentley's Mom said:


> Let me preface this by saying I have NO experience with any of this. However, as someone who has had orthopedic surgery, I'm looking at this from a people perspective. I personally would start with thee therapy. If Ozzie does need surgery, you're probably not going to choose a general surgeon anyway. If I'm right about that, you are paying for a visit to someone who is not a specialist, won't be able to give you a definitive answer and then in the long run wouldn't be his surgeon anyway. If it were me, I would rather get on the therapy ASAP in hopes of it just being an injury. Then I would find an ortho specialist (even if it is a bit of a distance from you) and set up a consultation type appt. just to look at the x-rays you have and discuss their treatment protocol. Just my 2 cents


That's pretty much exactly what I wound up deciding. Spent some time chatting with a friend from agility (the one who just went through rehab with her dog), and she's actually familiar with both vets and confirmed what I had been thinking. I cancelled the appt with the general surgeon. 

I am just thrown to realize that this big referral that my vet made wasn't what I thought it would be. Definitely disappointed in that. But thankful that I have a good reference to someone better suited and feeling really good about the rehab vet, just wish she wasn't out of town for conferences this week. On the flip side though, I always love to see a professional continuing their education and/or teaching. Being unavailable now and then is unfortunately the price to be paid.

My hope is to do a good course of rehab, monitor via x ray and/or laxity tests, and do as Megora suggested and go through the full OFA films at 2 years old to see where we are. In the meantime, we've officially pulled from his agility class. Even though it's primarily ground work and I could manage to avoid jumping altogether if I wanted... Ozzie's just not feeling well and I don't think it's a good time to start anything. I briefly considered just switching to an obedience class, but really feel that rehab needs to be our main concern right now. We're going to be given a lot of exercises and stretches and massage and who knows what as homework. Having specific training homework on top of it could overwhelm us both... so we'll stick to what we've been doing and choose a few new tricks to learn on our own in the meantime.

On the plus side, he's been napping without his cone for the last hour, hasn't been trying to go after his hot spots. They look much better today. I know he'll still need the cone most of the time until they actually heal, but I'm glad to be able to give him a break from that thing.

Julie, Jersey and Oz


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

I just wanted to add to my post earlier. Today we xrayed Beamer's hips and I got a bit of advice on how to read them. My vet described the way to look at the xray as seeing how much of the femoral head is covered by the acetabelum. You can certainly tell that there is less of the socket covered than the other one. 

With Beamer's hips today, my vet feels they look good. The right femoral head has slightly less coverage than the left (the left looks perfect to her). We just xrayed them to check and see what they looked like. I will make a new thread so you can see them as I took pictures of the rads.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

So when my Laney became mildly dysplastic in her right hip at 44 months, she was subluxated (which is not uncommon in the golden breed). She did not have signs of DJD. And after her, I started raising all my dogs on glucosamine/chondroitin. The brand you use(Iuse Nutramax) definitely makes a difference as not all are created equal. Since I started doing this, I am four for four on OFA elbows and hips. All clear elbows and 3 GOOD's and 1 FAIR. Basil,who was returned to me at 8 1/2 months will be the experiment as she was raised differently than I raise mine and didn't get glucosamine/chondroitin until I got her back. She will be radiographed any day now, was waiting for it to be long enough after her heat.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

And my husband and I also a vet have discussed whether or not we would do the radical hip surgeries in a young dog if it was ours. Neither of us would.. You can always do an FHO as a salvage procedure if the dog is painful. And the other thing is even if the hips don't look so good, he could've been gimpy in that leg for another reason. Just because the hip doesn't look so good, doesn't mean that's where the pain is.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Rainheart said:


> I just wanted to add to my post earlier. Today we xrayed Beamer's hips and I got a bit of advice on how to read them. My vet described the way to look at the xray as seeing how much of the femoral head is covered by the acetabelum. You can certainly tell that there is less of the socket covered than the other one.


Absolutely. It's clear on the film that his right hip is subluxing as he's brought into increasing extension. My vet actually did the same thing as far as showing me how to read it. But just because he's subluxing doesn't mean that the acetabulum is necessarily shallow or malformed... yet. 

Now that I'm actually home during daylight hours, I might try to look closer at the other x rays and see if there's anything interesting on them. I didn't see anything the first time I looked through them that indicated to me any level of degenerative change. But after looking at x ray after x ray (and about to look at yours too lol) over the past few hours, wondering if I'll see anything different. Glad to hear Beamer's hips looked good!

Sally's Mom - I agree about saving surgery as more of a last resort if conservative management fails and/or the dog is having significant, frequent discomfort. That's a big part of the reason I dropped the consult with the surgeon. Had it been someone who specificially focuses on orthopedics I would have kept it because I think they would have a superior ability to read and interpret the x rays... but a general surgeon isn't going to be any better suited to give me an opinion than a vet with a strong background in ortho and rehab. 

Julie, Jersey and Oz


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Ok, next question:
Do I start the Glucosamine/Chondroitin immediately? Or do I wait until some of these meds fall off? He's currently on Prednisone (for about 20 days, though it starts to taper down after day 5), Tramadol for 5 days (ends Wednesday) and Cephalexin for 14 days. Is all that, plus another supplement too much at once for a dog who has never had to take anything for anything? I don't want to overwhelm his system. I'm already seeinga significant increase in both his water intake and urine output... likely from the steroid. Should I wait until after Wednesday when the Pred dose goes down and the pain medicine falls off? Or is there no reason to worry about it? As always, all opinions welcome. 

Julie, Jersey and Oz


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I am sorry I havent ever dealt with this but wanted to say I hope that Ozzie is going to be ok. He is such a cutie. Saying a prayer for you sweetie.


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Well we finally got in to see the rehab vet today. Essentially, she told me exactly what I expected to hear. Ozzie has great range of motion, but he doesn't use it (he has a fairly short stride. This wasn't always so apparent, but has been very much so since this all started). Had his first treadmill session tonight.... will continue at 2 x per week for 6-8 weeks.... with the option to continue "workout" sessions at a lower cost under only my supervision - not with the assistance of a vet or a tech. So my adorable rescue mutt just got fairly expensive... lol... but worth every penny if it saves him from having to deal with surgery down the line. The possibility of training/competing in agility is up in the air at this moment... we will decide based on how he does with rehab and what is best for him in the long run. I like this vet and think I will keep her for the long haul for everything (basic care too). I'm officially done with my old vet.... still really upset about the referral he gave me. 


Random side note: It became apparent to me that with him getting wet and the cold air (even though it's been relatively mild for winter, it's still a bit cool and he has a pretty short coat) that Oz might benefit from some sort of coat to keep him warm after sessions. (I keep it fairly cool in my house too, so it's not like it's just a short drive to my very warm home lol) I think that overall, a chill may prove to leave him feeling stiff, which I really don't want. Does anyone have any recommendations on a coat that is actually warm and not just cute? My primary concern is function. Hoping I might see something useful on sale at Petsmart, but thinking that the only dog "clothes" I've seen there have been cutesy little dresses for tiny little dogs... which I have absolutely no use for. Would appreciate any suggestions as far as brand and/or store or website. 

Julie, Jersey and Oz


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## SandyK (Mar 20, 2011)

Glad Ozzie went to see the rehab vet and started his sessions. Did he seem to like it? I hope it works well for him. I am also glad you like your new vet. It makes life so much easier to have a good vet you can trust. Sorry, I have no suggestions about a coat for Ozzie. Good luck with therapy!!


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## Jersey's Mom (Nov 25, 2007)

Ozzie's doing good today. No stiffness noted following his round on the treadmill yesterday, despite the cold weather. My goal for tomorrow is to build him a little set of cavalettis so we can start working on increasing his stride length, and hopefully it'll be nice walking weather this weekend so we can get out and get moving. 

Couldn't get to the store today to look at coats, but hoping to do that tomorrow also. Still open to recommendations. 

We are dog sitting a pair of miniature Daschunds starting this evening and going through the weekend... Ozzie loves playing with the little male, so it's going to be a challenge keeping him quiet. Should be interesting.... :curtain:

Julie, Jersey and Oz


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