Low grade elbow dysplasia

[lovenotwar149]

My dog is a 2 yr old lab with this condition. Does anyone else have a Labrador with this condition? If so , how do you manage their playtimes? i.e.do you let them run around freely in the park with other dogs? Do you not allow your dog to fetch a ball etc

I would definitely not be throwing a ball - I occasionally do it for one of mine (but once in a blue moon thing). But there are two reasons why ball throwing is a bad idea;

• Your dog is also still very young, labs don't really mature joint wise until they are two-ish, so you shouldn't be ball throwing anyway due to their age.
• It's really bad for the joints as it's repeated high speed acceleration, followed by high-speed breaking which puts too much pressure on their joints. All the pressure from braking goes to their front legs - the elbows, specifically.

If you watch the movement your dog goes through when it brakes, you'll see why it can be so dangerous. Almost all the advice out there is to avoid ball throwing even if your dog doesn't have joint issues.

Playtimes are fine, they can run etc. But I wouldn't be encouraging high energy activity and repeated movements - i.e. lots of braking. I wouldn't encourage jumping onto furniture either - people always think this is okay as 'it won't hurt'. But it does. Short, on lead walks are really ideal.

Being a very healthy weight is also important - as with humans, if your dog is a bit chunky, it's going to put even more pressure on joints.

Ultimately, if you were to carry on with high-impact activities, your dog you could end up in a very difficult place in a few years suffering with significant and sustained pain and quite possibly unable to walk more than a few paces. I don't say that to scare you, but I own a breed prone to dysplasia and the effects when it's not managed properly are awful to witness.

I have a Labrador with mild elbow dysplasia. My reply is long but I have recently spent a long time researching! The FB group Canine Elbow Dysplasia is a helpful community.

Unfortunately your ball throwing days are over. Basically the post above is spot on. It’s terrible for their joints. (I’m an ex ball thrower to no judgement but have stopped now we have the diagnosis).

It’s up to you on playing with friends. The hard stops and jumping around is going to be bad for the joints. But my personal view is it’s a balance you need to decide on.

For us, we want her to be a dog and do the things that made her happy but I obviously want her to be pain free for as long as possible. So she gets a mix of on and off lead walks. She gets to run and swim and sniff and play on the off lead walks. However, we are careful with other things. We vigilantly lift her on and off of everything (car, sofa, bed) and use a raised food and water bowl. We use the best joint supplements and take her to physio and hydro therapy regularly.

The most important thing we do though is keep her lean. Labradors are often overweight so people’s perception is off on what they should look like. Any excess weight is going to cause huge issues later on with the elbows. This is almost the most important thing. No point stopping them from jumping and running if they are overweight. It undoes all the hard work.

But ultimately it’s what you can live with. If it was up to the vets, they would never do anything ever again! but there is no guarantee that if you went with the most conservative approach possible that they would be pain free any longer than if you didn’t. That’s why I made the decision to strike a balance so she has a happy, albeit maybe shorter, life … but I would rather that than a miserable, on lead, restricted, lonely 10 more years 🤷🏼‍♀️

Here are some things you can do to help slow the progress of the dysplasia that are fairly easy to do:

• use a raised food and water bowl so they aren’t bending down and putting weight on their legs/elbows

• limit how often they go up and down stairs and try and limit jumping on or off the sofa

• no jumping up at people (hard for labs 🤣)

• lift them in and out of the car (or get a ramp)

• start good joint supplements sooner rather than later. We use Antinol (for green lipped muscles), Maxxiflex+ (for Glucosamine and Chondroitin) and rosehip powder for anti inflammatory

• give bone broth for collagen (super cheap and easy to make at home, lots of recipes online)

• regular physio and hydro therapy

You will decide what is right for your dog 😊

Thank you this is super helpful. Really appreciate these lengthy thought out replies.
I have stopped ball throwing. I am now playing mentally challenging games indoors more. Weight is good ,lean and he doesn't jump on the sofa or on ppl. He doesn't go in the sofa or upstairs. I sit on the floor with him downstairs. He does like a run though if he is off lead and another playful dog is about. I agree, its a balance. He has to still play and be a dog. He is a happy Chappy! Thank you again :)