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Osteoarthritis (OA)
afflicts millions of dogs each year, and as active animals
our Beardies are at high risk of showing signs especially
the older they get. Poor conformation and joint injury are
the major causes of OA in dogs. One of the first things we
can do is to make sure that the parents have good
conformation and that the puppy does too. Hip structure
should be evaluated either via PennHIP as early as 6 months
of age, or else by OFA at around age 2. Unfortunately, OFA
elbow analysis is of little value, but the good news is
signs of elbow dysplasia are far less easily masked than hip
dysplasia as there are no powerful muscles to support
inadequate joints.
We can’t protect our puppies and older
dogs from all joint traumas because they need to lead the
active lives for which they were bred. While we can avoid
jumping and running immature skeletons on hard surfaces
deliberately, our puppies have other ideas. My three year
old Beardie adores vertical leaps and has been able to rise
over 6 feet since she was 8 weeks old. However, I don’t ask
her to do this, as I did with my almost 14 year old when he
was young, and I will have to rely on her good structure to
hold up. Do watch out for high speed collisions with other
dogs and inanimate objects like walls and trees as these may
sadly come back to haunt you later.
Unfortunately, dogs are pretty good at
hiding pain, and it’s often not until there is serious
damage that an OA flair up catches owner attention. Even
then it may just present as a mild limp. However, a
thorough work up now may slow down progression and provide
pain relief for the affected dog. It’s a sad fact that we
generally under-treat pain. Be sure to rule out tick-borne
and autoimmune diseases as causes of joint pain.
One of the major contributors to OA is
obesity. It’s never a good thing, but so much worse if a
dog has OA. What about exercise? Consistent low impact
exercise is much better than high impact. Weekend warriors
and couch potatoes are at much greater risk of joint damage
than dogs that get regular consistent work outs. Swimming,
walking and running on forgiving surfaces and regular
massage are all great for our dogs. Remember if your dog is
an athlete to stretch him before and after intense exercise
rather than expecting him to perform with cold, tight
muscles.
As well as its role in preventing
obesity, nutrition can play an important role in preventing
and treating OA. Diets high in omega-3 and low in omega-6
fatty acids alter cell membranes and reduce the inflammatory
response that results in pain. While glucosamine and
chondroitin are helpful, the optimal dose and ratio has not
been determined. There is little data to show that they
prevent OA, but given that the damage that results in OA
probably starts a long time before symptoms become apparent
there is an argument to be made for using them to supplement
the diets of younger animals. Other “nutraceuticals” have
also proven helpful for relieving the pain of OA. It has
been my experience that what works for one dog may not
necessarily work for another and that some experimentation
may be necessary. Needs may also change over time, and
switching supplements may prove helpful. While initially
being used to treat flare-ups of pain, some dogs will need
to be maintained on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs). We have heard a lot about how dangerous these
drugs are, but for most animals they are safe and provide a
vastly improved quality of life. In some cases opiate
analgesics may also be helpful.
Keeping your Beardies in good
musculoskeletal alignment throughout their lives is great
preventative medicine. Chiropractic adjustments done in a
timely fashion can spare a lot of misery as the dog ages.
Acupuncture can provide excellent pain relief, as can a lot
of massage and other manipulative processes.
Optimally, of course, we would love to
be able to cure and reverse the damage to the joints, not
just try to reduce the pain. In the past we tried injecting
steroids into the joints, but these ultimately cause more
cartilage destruction. Polysulfated glycosaminoglycans
(PSGAG – Adequan) injected intramuscularly inhibit the
enzymes that break down cartilage thereby reducing its
resistance to compression and resiliency. They also act as
precursors for formation of new cartilage; increase the
viscosity of joint fluid by increasing hyaluronate
concentrations in the joint, while reducing levels of
prostaglandin E2 – released in response to joint
injury and causing inflammation and ultimately pain. In
horses PSGAG may be injected straight into the joint, but
this is not done in dogs. A new treatment which is
beginning to be seen more and more is the use of stem cells
grown from fat harvested from the recipient dog and injected
into the joints. Because they are specific to the dog there
is no rejection. The stem cells grow new cartilage, and the
results are quite remarkable in many cases. The biggest
downside is currently the expense, but we can only hope that
this will eventually fall. (For more information on stem
cell therapy, see the Bagpipes’ article Brave New World on
the BCCA website
http://beardie.net/bcca under Health articles).
Perhaps in the not too distant future
we will be able to restore our dogs’ and our own arthritic
joints to optimal function; a very exciting prospect.
Dog Bites
The Coalition for Living Safely with
Dogs and the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association
released the results of their 2 year study on what kinds of
dogs bite and why for National Dog Bite Prevention Week in
May. The results may surprise you.
Running loose is the leading
circumstance for dog bites, and in about half of those cases
dog-dog aggression, property protection and fear were
clearly identified as causes. Apart from dog-dog
aggression, most bites occurred at home. Only about 2% of
bites happened at the groomers, veterinarians or boarding
kennels. Owners were bitten when the dog was food or toy
guarding most often, while 31% of non family bites were the
result of property guarding.
In terms of breeds, 129 of 188 breeds
in the survey were reported to have bitten – and yes
Beardies were in the 129, but not in any of the top lists –
but at least 38% of bites were attributed to mixed breed
dogs. The top five breeds were Labrador retrievers (13%),
Pit Bulls (8.4%), German Shepherds (7.8%), Rottweilers (3.9%
and Chows (3.5%). Of course breed popularity as a whole
should be considered when looking at these figures. Bites
involving children were similar – Labs 15.6%; Pit Bulls
(7.5%); GSDs (6.8%); smooth coated Chihuahuas – also the
most likely to bite veterinarians (4.2%); and Rottweilers
(4.1%). The most severe injuries though were delivered by
American Bulldogs, Dalmatians, Standard Dachshunds, English
Bulldogs and Lhasa Apsos.
To find out what situations are most
likely to cause a particular breed to bite, the effect of
sex and neutering you can check out the full study at
www.livingsafelywithdogs.org One thing the study makes
clear though, breed specific legislation will not have much
if any impact in reducing dog bites, but there is much in
the study that can be applied to reducing dog bites. OTOH
it should be pointed out of the estimated 226,152 dogs in
the jurisdiction of the survey only 0.28% were reported to
have bitten someone. |
