Stiff and sore dog

[catman71]

I have a 6 year old yellow lab. at 6 months the UofM repaired a bad knee diagnosed with OCD. He was never 100% but he was alright. Now he has similar symtoms in the other knee (surgeon said he would) and overall joint pain and arthritis after an easy hunt (sometimes after a walk). For duck opener, he had a few retrieves in knee deep water with a nice hard bottom and did some running around while we waited for 9 am. When we got home I put him inside and when the wife got home he barked and growled at her like he wasn't himself. Next day he is back to his happy self. I have him on medication and specail glucosamine pills and he still limps BAD after a light hunt. BUT he still gets excited to go and really pouts when I take the other dog. So, what would you all do? Would you ever take him, knowing he wants to go? or just keep him in the house and have less joint pain? I'm torn....

[Walleye Guy]

Take him hunting. Give him an aspirin wrapped with lunch meat when you get home. That helps with the stiffness. I would also recommend trying to get him out running or walking the day before a hunt. This may help lossen him up and keep the stiffness/pain level to a minimum.

[Swamp Scooter]

Well at 6 he should be alright to go in the field for a season or two more. The aspirin works well. If you have the other dog working well maybe just bring the 6 yr old on the easy days and not every one.

[LABS4ME]

If he is in the kind of pain I think you are describing, I'd leave him at home. The type of pain you are describing is the same pain humans feel when they are due for hip or knee replacements. Very few of these people are out slogging around in sloughs or walking endless miles pheasant hunting. Actually it is not fair for the dog to put him through this amount of pain, nor are you doing him any favors by letting him hunt. Make a wonderful pet out of him... if you insist on short hunts maybe try these... if he is non-slip (totally steady) bring him with on your duck hunts and let him enjoy your company while the young dog does the work. When taking them out for pheasant maybe work a ditch with him if you see a bird run into the ditch. Remember, you are actually damaging his joints more each time you take him out and work him. The end result is a lame dog or one that takes thousands of dollars to even get to walk again. An aspirin probably won't begin to touch the pain of a dog that has advanced arthritis from OCD (or dysplasia). I assume you have him on Rymidal or something of that nature. In the end it's up to you to decide what is in the best interest of your dog. I know plenty of (ex)athletes that would still love to skate or play football, but previous injuries and surgeries preclude that from happening, the same holds true for your dog. Use your best judgement to gauge what he can and can't handle, but if there is any personality changes brought on by the pain, my feeling is you have crossed the threshold of what he/she should be doing....

Good Luck!

Ken

[catman71]

he is on Rymidal. on Sunday evening he would have trouble getting up out of bed. By monday morning he is pretty nuch back to normal. I do use the asprin. And he already is a great pet. He stays inside and has a few beds around the house, BUT he knows dang well when we are going hunting and I actually think he feels bad when I leave without him, the wife says he pouts and won't eat. But I don't like carrying him up the stairs on Sunday nights either. You make good points LABS4ME, i don't want to hurt him but he litterally LIVES to hunt. He likes the kids and the fireplace but he'll knock down the toddler and the wife to get to the door if i put on hunting clothes....

[Bobby Bass]

For stiff and sore dogs we have always used a dose of vit c not asprin. Just like us asprin can be very hard on a dogs stomach. You can't over dose on vit c as it is washed through the system. Our older lab was 13 and about 85# we gave her 500m once in the am and on a hunting day we would giver her another in the evening. This was told to me by my vet many years ago and I thought it worked very well. Of course as she got older we kept her hunts shorter but she was still a working dog at 13

[WaveWacker]

If you give asprin, use Buffered Asprin. No Advil or Aleve. Give him some before hunting and then after.