Many small breed dogs are plagued with LP,and crutiate ligament problems. Knowing this, I teach my dogs not to jump on and off the furniture, to wait for me to help them up or down. This alone prevents alot of injuries. I also add a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement to the food of any with any 'play' in their joints.
I guess the worst is their inability to just run free and function as a normal dog, but once the limitations are in place, I think they thrive on the extra attention: when they bark to get off the bed, Mommie comes a running! We schedule bed playtime, too, so they don't miss being able to get up on their own. So I make special fun things to do to make up for the things they can't/ aren't allowed to do. I don't think they miss out on much, they don't seem unhappy.... |