VERY ill dog, possible arthritis

MILLYMOLLY

My dog suddenly started not putting weight on his back leg on thursday night, we took him to the vets friday who said possibly arthriris and gave metacam. He deteriorated over sat/ sun not eating or drinking (just a little bit of milk). We went back to the vets sun morning and they gave him a pain killing injection into his muscle then we took him back at night because he was crying very loudly obviously in a lot of pain.

They kept him in and did an xray under aneasthetic and sent him home last night. The xray showed some displacement and arthritis, which is common in labradors apparantly.

He's still not drinking water but has ate some small pieces of beef. He's not moving about and only gets up when someone gets his lead. When he goes out it takes a long time for him to wee and last night he was lay in his own wee.

Vet said to take him back in about 10 days.

Our other dog died in Feb and he's not got over that.

I obviously don't want him to suffer but have accepted the fact I might have to have him put down does anyone know how long it usually takes for the metacam to kick in or any ideas what else we can do. Thanks
Sorry for the long post

Elle7

Does the vet know that he isn't drinking, and was lying in his own wee? If they do, I'm surprised they don't want to have him in for a while to keep an eye on him. This won't be good for him...how long has it been since he had a drink? Will he drink if you move it closer to him, or raise his bowl so he doesn't need to lean down, or lick water off your fingers? Keeping him hydrated will be important.

Other things we were told to do while our dog was on metacam were keep him warm and comfortable, and giving him massages - actually, the FAQs on the metacam website say a lot of what I've said!

As for how fast it'll work, that'll depend on his size and dosage - hopefully not long, I really hope he improves soon. Please keep up updated.

All the best,
E x

gruffalo55

Hi, sorry about your poorly boy, it is awful when you can see them in pain. Our own experience of Metacam is that it works pretty quickly as a pain reliever. I was discussing arthritis with our vet recently who mentioned Cartrophen injections, they have found them to be helpful to the majority of dogs they are treating, might be worth investigating? Our vet also said to consider supplements - Glucosamine and chondroitin as some owners do swear by them while others don't find any improvement. Fingers crossed for you.

Padstow

The not eating could be due to the metacam, not all dogs do well on it, there have been posts on MSE before about it. What was the injection?
There is plenty on metacam if you Google it, articles like this one.http://www.santosha.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/888-beware-the-dangers-of-metacammeloxicam/

I hope I'm not making things worse for you, but it's best you are aware. Hope it all turns out well for you and doggy.

Lil_Dee_2

So sorry to hear that your doggy is in pain.

I have to say, personally, I would be looking for an alternate vets for a second opinion. To have him go so donwhill so quickly with arthritis just seems to me (none-medically trained, just a pet-owner) to be a little suspect, especially the not drinking bit.

Talk to some of your doggy pals, and see if they have any recommendations regarding an alternate vet.

I hope that you manage to figure things out quickly.

PS The info about Glocosmaine and chondroitin is worth looking into, I had my last cat on it for years....bought it from Holland & Barret in capsule form, and simply sprinkled it into her wet food. Seemed to help her a great deal over the years.

MILLYMOLLY

Elle7 wrote: »

Does the vet know that he isn't drinking, and was lying in his own wee? If they do, I'm surprised they don't want to have him in for a while to keep an eye on him. This won't be good for him...how long has it been since he had a drink? Will he drink if you move it closer to him, or raise his bowl so he doesn't need to lean down, or lick water off your fingers?

All the best,
E x

only came home last night so vet doesn't know about lying in his wee they were told he wasn't drinking and we've tried lifting bowl, putting it under his nose and he still won't drink and he won't lick from fingers. going to try using seringe from metacamto put water in him. thanks

MILLYMOLLY

Padstow wrote: »

The not eating could be due to the metacam, not all dogs do well on it, there have been posts on MSE before about it. What was the injection?
There is plenty on metacam if you Google it, articles like this one.http://www.santosha.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/888-beware-the-dangers-of-metacammeloxicam/

I hope I'm not making things worse for you, but it's best you are aware. Hope it all turns out well for you and doggy.

He wasn't eating before the metacam and the injection was a pain killing injection that's all they said

Elle7

MILLYMOLLY wrote: »

Honly came home last night so vet doesn't know about lying in his wee they were told he wasn't drinking and we've tried lifting bowl, putting it under his nose and he still won't drink and he won't lick from fingers. going to try using seringe from metacamto put water in him. thanks

That sounds like a good idea. It might be a bit tedious...when my cavalier got sick he would only lick water from my fingers, it took a long time to give him enough, but being dehydrated will make him feel much worse.

Then I'd phone the vets and update them. They should take this seriously - they might need to approach the arthritis with a faster or more intense treatment, and check that this is his only problem - it doesn't sound like its just arthritis to me.

I've got my fingers crossed for both of you, I hope he improves soon.

MILLYMOLLY

vets is the local RSPCA

just read the article on metacam I will ring the vets because he is probably dehydrated:(

Elle7

I hope that they are helpful...if they aren't, I'd get a second opinion from another vets. I know plenty of people don't rate the RSPCA, and while I've got nothing against them personally, it has made me wary of using them.

I've got my fingers crossed for him, I hope he drank enough.

All the best x

MILLYMOLLY

Not got through to the vets yet but gave him some more water with the metacam seringe and son took him a small walk, he had a wee and came in and drank a very long drink of water. Fingers crossed he might be on the up:) He's also come out of his basket and come in the living room, looks a bit happier