[Dailydrool] Wyatt's Hip

[Kay, Nancy K *HS]

Our Sarah has similar symptoms as Wyatt -- she is stiff when she gets up, and she also "hops" when she goes up and down the stairs, or races across the yard -- what I mean is that both back legs hit the ground at the same time.  She has endurance, too, and when we go on walks, she's got that steady nose-down, flat top-line, tail-up, going-going-going that hunting Bassets are known for.

Sarah is 11 years old, too, and her gimpiness seemed to worsen about a year ago.  The vet thought she may have torn an ACL, and was talking about x-rays and surgery to repair it.  We asked for a more moderate approach to the problem because we couldn't see putting her through the surgery and the recovery, given her age and her extreme anxiety at being at the vet.  So she now takes Previcox (similar to Rimadyl), and she's a new dog.  We give it to her for a couple of weeks at a time, and then we wean her off it slowly to see what happens.  There's a chance it'll affect her liver eventually, so we try to give it to her as little as we can get by with, but enough so she doesn't hurt.

The one thing we're pretty sure of is that her ACL is fine.  Her leg works "all the way", especially when she's on the Previcox.  Since the x-ray to test for a torn ACL involves the vet trying to shift the knee out-of-joint, we're glad we didn't have to put her through that.

Good luck, Wyatt! (and Steve)

Nancy, owned by Sweet Sarah and Frank the Tank
Keswick, VA

Frank and the Furminator: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwuq0Bi-QzM
Frank, Relaxing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9daaOIfYIs
Frank's Doorbell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S8WKipuw-M
Frank and the Vacuum Cleaner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXB40WcgD-E&NR=1
Frank the Chow Hound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGATFKogAnI
You Had Me at Ahrooo: http://www.fortheloveofdog