Sorry to hear about your baby's health issues. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people on YT who have experienced issues with LP. Hopefully they will post here.
My little buddy has Grade 3/4 LP and I just discovered it about two months ago. The best advice I received was to get a second opinion from an orthopedic surgeon which I did. I was told if it didn't get better he would have to get the surgery. First off, he is on Rimadyl which is an anti-inflammatory medicine. When I got Toby back in December he weighed 8 lbs and when he was diagnosed with LP he weighed 11 lbs. He is now on a diet and is losing weight. That has helped his LP a lot. My husband built some doggy steps so he could get up and down off the bed. It didn't take him long to learn how to use them thanks to our other dog who taught him how to use them.
Toby is a "jumper" and I now have him trained to let me pick him up. If he's outside wanting to come in I tell him "no jump" as he likes to jump at the door. He no longer jumps to come inside (most of the time.) If he wants to come up the basement steps I say "you want mom to pick up" and he will stand still and wait for me to pick him up.
I have seen tremendous improvement in Toby and he is no longer limping. I never thought about his weight contributing to his LP until a few of the ladies on this site told me to get his weight down and it would help. My problem was giving him too many treats. He no longer gets treats except a carrot here and there. The only thing he's getting is a Himalayan Chew and in a 12" chew, there is only 0.9% fat content and they last for days. It also keeps him calmed down. I am just now letting him go back to playing some.
In another week I will take him back to the vet for a "weigh in" and see if I should continue the Rimadyl for a little longer or if they want me to wean him off of it.
But definitely get another opinion from a specialist (ortho). It put my mind at ease and if he ever does need the surgery, I will take him to the ortho. |