So worried about my staffie

[Pocketsfullofpoobags]

Morning lovely MNers - I hope you can help.

We adopted a lovely little Staffie from a shelter 6 weeks ago and he is gorgeous, very clever, loves kids and our cat - he's perfect

However, he has been limping, always on the same leg, after walks and first thing in the morning, on and off since we brought him home

We have checked out the paw, leg, shoulder, between his toes and everything and there's nothing wrong that we can see

After Googling, I am convinced it's arthritis

I phoned the shelter Vet and they said "oh yeah he was lame when he was here so we were giving him painkillers" - this was not mentioned to me or my partner at all and we weren't given this information in any of his notes!

I am furious that they didn't tell us and allowed us to adopt him and take him home - poor little guy could have been in horrible pain every day!

Our regular vet has checked him over and can't see anything obvious so we plan to take him back to the shelter vet and insist on an x-ray (free of charge)

Is there anything else I can do? I see that fish oil is good but not sure which one to buy?

Is there anything the shelter should do in this situation? I just feel that they lied to us and am really angry!

That's awful! They should definitely have told you about it. I would expect them to do the x-ray and also to help with the cost of any medication he needs in the short term. There are lots of fish oils and supplements you can buy for dogs, but people often have mixed results so you might need to try a few different things. Keeping a dog's weight down is important for arthritis too as there is less strain on the joints. My sister's dog had arthritis, and they found raw feeding helped, plus a supplement called Yumove. He was ok with this for quite a long time before needing any medication. Hope your dog is ok, bless him. At least now he's at home and not in kennels which probably wouldn't have helped.

Thanks Little - I would have thought they would have sent him home with us with enough medication for the short term at least!

He's only about 3 and a fit little chap (perfect weight at the moment) so we've been walking him through woodland and fields etc... and he loves it but then is like an old man hobbling about in the mornings :-(

Will definitely try supplements

He shouldn't have arthritis at 3.

Raw food(especially tracheas, poultry feet and paddy sacks whatever they are) and yumove as mentioned above are good, also green lipped mussell extract, glucosamine, condroitin (spelling?) or krill oil might be worth a try?
I think people ones are okay for dogs?

There is a company called CSJ who do supplements for dogs, they do one called 'no ake'.
I find their flea supplement fabulous and many owners highly recommend them so no ake might be a good one to try.

*paddywacks.
I don't know what part of animal they are but they are rich in collagen, glucosamine and condroitin.

Yumove has green lipped mussel which contains chondroitin and glucosamine in it. I add salmon oil in as well.

But, I'd not accept arthritis as a diagnosis on a 3 yr old dog without seeing an orthopedic specialist - even if nothing shows up on an x-ray because things like elbow dysplasia don't always show without scans and can be treatable rather than trying to manage them.

Hi just a quick reply, I have a lab x staffy, also a rescue dog. We found he was limping a lot after walks, after awhile he was lame on that leg most of the time. Turns out he had luxuating patella. He needed an op to remove cartlige and put a metal rod in. After 8 weeks he was much better although when standing (this is over 2 years later) he still will not fully put that foot down on the ground, I suspect he will need his other leg done soon. ( it was created and vet said it was present in both legs but one more extream than the other)

Thanks so much everyone for your replies! Definitely going to give the oils/glucosamine a go (I have an arthritic hip so know how he feels!)

He already has a heart murmur (which we were told about) which is apparently not an issue - the shelter vets will have to do xrays etc to find out for sure re. the limp I think - it's good to know I'm not overreacting though.

I'm furious with the way they handled this - they gave us 3 days to collect him, told me that he was spinning in his kennel and if I didn't agree to pick him up in 3 days, he would be put down! She actually said "not to pressure you though"

I can't help feeling they deliberately lied to us because he was a 'problem' dog and they wanted rid of him quickly :-(

He could have arthritis at 3, my dog was diagnosed with it at 6 months

It's not impossible for a young dog to have arthritis, but, I'd want confirmation from a specialist that that's what it was.

My dog has FCP type elbow dysplasia, which causes arthritic changes in the joint, but responds to surgery and doesn't show up on standard x-rays...it's not the only condition like that.

So in a young dog, much as I respect my vet, she's a GP effectively and I'd want a specialist.

My last staffie had luxating patella and like the poster above's dog, had to have an operationn and a metal pin inserted. After that his leg was back to normal and it had no effect on his mobility whatsoever. Staffs are prone to this. As you can prove the rescue knew he was limping and gave pain meds, if it turns out to be a luxating patella, I would ask them to pay for the op (assuming he isn't insured?)

Hi Joffrey - he is insured but as we didn't know about the limping, they aren't aware either! (You just roll over the insurance that the dog is already set up with at the shelter)

I agree that the shelter should pay if he needs an operation - will ring them. thanks!

Um, while I think they should have told you about any medical issues they were aware of...

Are you really thinking about asking a shelter for money when he's insured?

Will the insurance cover it though?

I mean, if he was limping at the 'rescue' then technically isn't it a pre existing condition....?

I think the insurance will get out of paying this one and think the op should kick up an almighty stink and insist they (the rescue) pay.
How dare they rehome a dog and keep such a huge nugget of vital information quiet!

Which rescue is it?
I would contact citizens advice or something if they refuse, what they have done surely can't be allowed?

It's not pre-existing if it's the same policy, no.

The op says you just roll over the insurance the dog was already set up with though.
That sounds like a yearly policy?

If so, then won't the premiums become extremely high and any future joint issue excluded?

I wouldn't be asking the shelter for money, I'd be asking them to a) investigate the problem properly in the first place and b) perform the operation (if needed) which should have been done whilst he was in their care - he was there for nearly 3 months.

I'm mainly angry that they took such a huge risk for the poor dog by not telling us!
What if I wasn't a responsible dog owner? I could have lied through my teeth to get a dog, then, on discovering that he had a limp and that it would cost me money to fix, either taken him back/dumped him on the side of the road/left him at home for hours and hours on his own without expensive medication, so he would be in pain...

I've just spoken with the shelter - to their credit, she apologised profusely.

Apparently, the dog had been stuck on painkillers 2 weeks before we rehomed him and, because the meds stopped the limping, there was no follow up and nothing was said to us.

She admitted that is very wrong and we are to take him back to be x-rayed and checked out properly, which should have been done whilst he was there.

So a result, kind of.

Yes, if the painkillers worked so well he stopped limping, he could have been damaging it further just by walking on it...

Pocketsfull best of luck with your staff. He sounds lovely and perfect for you. I'm sure they will now get tot he bottom of this and as I say if it's luxating patella, depending on the degree, the operation can be successful. Our staff got it around 6 months, was operated on as soon as he finished growing, and it never bothered him again in any way. They said he might be more prone to arthritis when older, but we always fed him supplements to guard against that happening and at the time he died (brain tumour) he had had no further problems with his leg. So the outcome can be very good if it is this. Something else and I'm sure if they can figure it out, they can medicate/do surgery appropriately.

ETA: Read that back and by 'depending upon the degree' I meant, the only operate at all if it is severe. But once they do operate, the outcome can be a dog that is no longer in any pain and no longer limps at all. Just to clarify!

I was assuming it was a front leg as shoulders were mentioned...which is why I mentioned elbows.

Op, sorry, I didn't realize they had facilities to treat themselves...which is why I was a bit .

You need to get him checked by a vet. He may have a muscle sprain. As staffs are especially muscly they are prone to it. My dog has pulled his shoulder in the past; the vet gave him an anti inflammatory injection.
Or it could be cartilage damage.
Arthritis in young staffies is quite uncommon, they are more likely to get muscle problems then skeletal ones.
What food is he on?
Also, i'm assuming he's been castrated by the rescue-if so do what age was he before he was done? Castrating before three years old makes dogs more prone to skeletal problems.
The rescue should be paying for the vet, this was very sly for them to pass the problem on to you. (congratulations btw with getting the best dog ever-a rescue staffy!)

Thanks everyone! We have a solution in progress now :-)

He is lovely - v surprised (as he's a staffy) with the amount of parents who have approached us to ask if their (tiny) kids/toddlers can stroke him - he is good as gold - so proud!

Irony is, a lot of people round where we live have black labs, spaniels etc... and tend to be a bit snobby about him being a rescue dog: the amount of times we've been out on a walk and someone's lab has been barking/straining on the lead - Ddog looks at them as if to say 'how rude' and trots on - superstaffy!

I have an 11 year old staffie cross - I got him 6 months ago from a rescue and he has a medial luxating patella which the previous owner did not get fixed. My vet said mine is now too old for the operation and he seems to manage ok and is happy enough so advice was to leave it alone but it is his right back leg and every few steps he sort of hops on it. He can still run and chase his ball but he does have arthritis and has Ease Flex MSM chews from the vet.
Well done for adopting yours mine is also a fantastic dog and loves all animals and people and walks well off the lead with great recall and is so clever and has learnt lots of tricks and words. He is very food focused (what dog isn't?!) and I am lucky to have him. I previously had greyhounds but now am converted and would definitely have more staffies - might get him a girlfriend. He is such fun and even at his age, it is like having a puppy. It's just him and me and we are sort of in love with each other and he sleeps on my bed at night. He is no trouble and such a comfort to me.
Hope your little one will soon be more comfortable.