Anne Grose Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Well, that made very interesting reading. Almost a carbon copy of Barty's story. Different vet, same outcome. Unfortunately, Barty is terrified of water so I never ever managed to get him to swim and there were no water walkers around here so I gave up. I was advised that his exercise should be carefully managed and that he shouldn't be allowed to overdo it (!!!!) especially while he was still growing and maturing. I made the decision a long time ago that as he was a lurcher that to spend his whole life on the lead when he was born to run and play would be cruel. I did not allow him to go upstairs until he was full grown and I used to lift him into the back of the car until he hit nearly 30Kgs then I got a car with a low back. He is kept on the thin side of normal - he weighs 28.5Kg and you can see the bottom bit of his ribs sticking out a bit more than normal but his vets are very happy for him to be light. I guess Barty was about 4 when he really stopped showing any signs of discomfort from his hips. Now they are the one thing that don't cause him any problems. We allow him to have a completely normal life, he does what he wants to do and if that involves playing chase for hours well so be it. I carry his medication in my pocket permanently so that if he has an accident I can treat him and my heart is in my mouth an awful lot of the time when I see him flying across a slippery field. His life may not be as long through having no restrictions - but by golly it will be happy. Good luck tomorrow Sarah. I shall be thinking of you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uke Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Best of luck to Flora at the vets, I hope there's something they can do. I also hope you see an improvement with the Synflex, my Loki Chops was given a new lease of life when I started him on Stride Plus (a similar enough product) and is currently in better shape than he was 18 months ago when he was given 3 months left to live. He sees a regular vet and a homoeopathic vet and I've found both to be very helpful. Have you considered looking into homoeopathic treatments as well (for this sort of thing they're very much an addition to, and not a replacement for, traditional medicine)? It's horrible to watch a young dog in pain, I really sympathise on that one We decided with Loki that if he was to have a short life it'd be a fun life and we've tried to walk the line between keeping him moving/pain free and not wrapping him in cotton wool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mags Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Will be thinking of you and Flora tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophie Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 I hope it all goes well for Flora today - will be thinking of you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trallwm farm Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Quality of life wins every time Sarah. She is unfortunately paying the price for a very nasty greedy businessman who breeds them simply for cash. He lives in an expensive house with a big manacured garden and will justify what he does by saying that Flora is just a dog. Rolex has bad hips and as he is seven Im giving him time to enjoy his life because like Flora he is a happy dog that breathes in air and exhales joy when playing and living. Rolex was due to be PTS 3 years ago because he was a biter. They are little gifts that may not be with us long but leave us with a lesson on how life should be lived to the full. With a dog that is still happy but terminal I use bute which is for horses. it is an amazing painkiller but the side effects do lessen length of life. You need to speak to your vet about managing pain and projected life span if Flora cannot have a hip op. Is she still covered by insurance ? if not perhaps we could fundraise to give her the best chance of life through an op. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billydog Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Will be thinking of Flora and you today You already give her the best life possible and I'm sure you will make the right descisions for her in the future. I have everything crossed that the vets can give you some positive news. There are some positive stories posted on here - I'm sure Flora can be one of them - her spirit will keep her fighting I could quite cheerfully throttle her breeder for doing this to such a lovely girl Please let us know if there is anything practical we can do to help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantan Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Thinking of you today and sending positive thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherlock Bones Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Big hugs to Flora xxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redditchlady Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 for you both today Kazz xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobleronie Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Thinking of you all and wishing you all the best luck at the vets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elefan Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Loads of positive thoughts coming your way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel n Hardy Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 loads of good thoughts for Flora bulldozer good luck at the vets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtychicken Posted January 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Thank you all lots Quality of life wins every time Sarah.She is unfortunately paying the price for a very nasty greedy businessman who breeds them simply for cash. He lives in an expensive house with a big manacured garden and will justify what he does by saying that Flora is just a dog. Rolex has bad hips and as he is seven Im giving him time to enjoy his life because like Flora he is a happy dog that breathes in air and exhales joy when playing and living. Rolex was due to be PTS 3 years ago because he was a biter. They are little gifts that may not be with us long but leave us with a lesson on how life should be lived to the full. With a dog that is still happy but terminal I use bute which is for horses. it is an amazing painkiller but the side effects do lessen length of life. You need to speak to your vet about managing pain and projected life span if Flora cannot have a hip op. Is she still covered by insurance ? if not perhaps we could fundraise to give her the best chance of life through an op. Thank you That is a wonderful way to describe your boy and my girl and I think that Rolex was very lucky to land where he would be able to live his life playing with the other horses Flora is still insured (phew!) after some debating, but I need to investigate whether she is covered for hydro/physio, etc as they did introduce a clause saying that it wouldn't be covered for genetic conditions or arthritis I'm not sure if that applies just to new policies or not or whether they'd still cover it for Flo as they have done in the past I'm hoping the latter applies as they are still covering her when they no longer accept ABDs for new policies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abby Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 We are thinking of you and Flora today I really hope the vet can give her some relief now, but also has ideas about a longer term solution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mop Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Reiki on the way for Flora. My lttile oldie Gracie has arthritis in all 4 legs and her spine but hydrotherapy has made a very big difference to her, it has built up her muscles so they give her joints a lot more support. I was hoping that she would see Christmas 2007 through, she started hydro just before then and is now full of energy and tries to keep up with my 2 youngsters. They hydrotherapy Gracie goes to is a treadmill in a tank, she still has to do some weightbearing and it goes at her speed. For the last 5 minutes, she does 15 minutes, the water is dropped to about an inch and she has to work harder to step through it. She had done 28 sessions before the water was lowered. I wouldn't have Gracie now if it wasn't for the hydro, Gracie is also on Metacam daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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