Just a hand hold please. I think dog injured himself yesterday or it’s an arthritis flare

[Jamfirstest]

My cocker is nearly 11. Diagnosed with arthritis in his back legs 3 years ago. He has supplements and a physio plan and buckets of sardines and this has worked amazingly. A few weeks later he was a new dog.
usually I only walk him first thing for half an hour but yesterday it was cold but very sunny. We went to the park and he did zoomies over and over which he doesn’t that often these days. I’m kicking myself that I let him but he was sooooo happy.
this morning dp had to lift him as he squealed so much getting out of his basket. He is very tired today though he has got up a few times and eating and toileting is very normal except he doesn’t want to bend down. We just held the bowl for him.

i called the emergency vet and essentially she told me to let him rest and observe and reassess later but most likely it can wait until Monday.
he has slightly limped on both front feet but not at the same time.

the internet tells me this is either a shoulder injury or arthritis and neither are the end of the world.

I suffer with anxiety and today was so bad I had to go out -dp hasn’t left his side though.
we will be for the vets 1st thing as he is no worse I’m just very panicky.
any similar experiences?

He may have just overdone it, plenty of rest. My Lab suffered with arthritis and we had to limit exercise, get rugs, raised feeding bowl, orthopaedic dog bed and eventually lots of pain relief.
Hope your dog feels better tomorrow x

Thanks - we have the beds in every room, no exposed hard floors where he walks but no pain relief yet as vet said he didn’t need it. Emergency vet said likely overdone it. He is a bit dramatic though.

I think he's just got carried away and over- exercised and is now feeling a bit sore. My dog is half Black Labrador and if she over-exercises she goes slightly lame for a day. She has no arthritis. In the past, this has always happened when we've been on holiday at the coast as she very enthusiastically chases her ball and runs in and out of the sea. I now designate a day when we don't go to the beach. She has short walks on that day, mostly on lead. This has cured the lameness problem. Try not to worry, he probably just needs to rest and he'll be fine.

To be fair he is doing exactly what he should be doing to recover - resting. Hate seeing him like this though and the yelping is something else!!

Hopefully he's just overdone it and will feel better after a few days rest.

I'm surprised he isn't on pain relief for the arthritis though. Do you not have anything in stock for bad days when he might need it?

My dog was diagnosed with arthritis 15 months ago and has been on Metacam ever since. I totally get the need to let them do zoomies though. My dog is only 4 years old and I've decided she needs some quality of life too.

going by your post i would say he has over-exerted himself and it has flared the arthritis up. you should definitely push for pain relief for him… i don't mean to make you feel any worse because you clearly love him so much but you wouldn't let a doctor fob you off without pain relief for a human with this condition so please make sure the vet prescribes some (i'm the type that wouldn't give them a minute of peace if they didn't but i appreciate not everyone is.) sending healing thoughts to you and your lovely dog. ps i know this isn't relevant but i think you would benefit from help to manage your anxiety, try meditating or breathing exercises to calm you in the meantime you can get access to both of these on youtube or i use an app called insight timer.

@SpanielsGaloreno the vet wanted us to slim him down and use supplements and physio first. He’s never had metacam though usually I have some lying around for the rabbit but I couldn’t find it. I was slightly panicky he nughtcreactctonit though as I’m pretty sure he’s not been given it. He is usually very hardy so this is all new to me.
metacam to hand would have saved me a lot of panic today though!

slimming him down is definitely a good thing and should help but when they are older and arthritic, it's easier said than done. as i said, you should definitely push for pain relief and i've had another thought, a family member had success with cbd oil for an arthritic dog, ask the vet about it (if it would be suitable and what brand) then if they offer it say you'll see how things go then look the same brand up online because i've found you can get a lot of the same things from the vet online at a much more reasonable price.

@dogsarebetterthanpplthabks that’s good advice. I’ve just said to dp we should have metacam on standby - he agreed and thought it’s a bit daft we haven’t.
ddog has just slightly shifted his weight in his basket and yelped - and then pulled like a tank on the lead when I made him go out for a wee. He would have had a good potter around the garden if I let him!! He’s back to moping on his heated blanket though now.

i'm quite sure that would be available online too, just make sure with the vet he would be okay to take it. even frame it as is it an option… definitely worth looking because a family member paid a quarter of the price online for the same exact thing from the vet. it won't be long til tomorrow so try to placate yourself until then, maybe a gp visit for yourself is worth it too.

I agree with others suggesting to have some pain relief for when needed - my arthritic 13 year old is on regular pain meds but I have some extra ones I can give him if I think he needs a top up.

Sounds as if he's hurt his neck. Can you give him half a paracetamol. Its a very effective pain relief for dogs.

@Jamfirstest Mine is a cocker spaniel too. She developed arthritis after having surgery on her knee. I was also told to keep her lean, give her joint supplements and see a physiotherapist.
I was given Metacam and told to use it as and when she needed it. She went partial weight bearing on her bad leg in September, so now has it every day.

My foster has Metacam, Gabapentin and Paracetamol daily for her arthritis.

I hope you all have a good night and can get some sleep. And the vet can do something to help tomorrow.

I googled giving the paracetamol and there are lots of warnings I’m too scared until I see the vet. He’s eaten his dinner and had a few wees but we have had about 5 more yelps and not always when he’s getting up. All his limb extensions are fine he doesn’t care if I do them. We are a bit baffled but less than 12 hours he will at least have some pain meds.

@Jamfirstest good luck🙏🏼try not to worry and be as assertive as possible…i hope it all goes well but time will tell.

Oh they are such a worry, I’m sure he’s just overdone it and you’re panicking because you care so much (says the woman who’s dog is in the vet’s every 5 minutes for something or nothing)
It sounds like you’re doing a great job already, but I would push for some pain relief - to be used when needed
Yes, dogs can have paracetamol, but best check with your vet first ref dosage.
Have you checked out the CAM website (canine arthritis matters/management?) it’s a brilliant resource 👍
Good Luck at the vets xx

He slept all night and got up unaided this morning at toilet time but he was shaking from the cold when he came in. He’s more liveli though he was so excited about breakfast!

Is he limping? We have had a dog who loved zoomies and overdid it one day and tore the cruciate ligament and needed surgery to recover. Didn’t really show it other than the limp but apparently it’s extremely painful, dogs like most other animals don’t express pain like we do.

Bloody dog is 85% better today. Vet gave us some arthrocam for a couple of weeks and said he is flaring in his right leg but he’s 100% sure it’s not a fracture and probably thought I’m being a bit dramatic.
thanks for all the support the fucker is quite mobile now!!

I video mine these days so I have evidence. They invariably bounce into the vets as happy as Larry, making me out to be a liar. 🙄

Glad he's a lot better today anyway. And hopefully the Arthrocam helps too.

He’s having a lovely snooze now he’s had his meds the night. He looks completely different to yesterday. Vet had a v long poke about with his joints and his arthritis is increasing but apparently not enough for the jabs yet

thats excellent news! (I think male dogs are wimpier/more dramatic than girls - think man flu 😂) but it’s so distressing to see them in pain 😔
glad he’s on the mend 👍

omg they cause so much worry then perk up the minute the appointment comes (same as kids lol)… hopefully they renew the arthocam if it helps🙏🏼hope you don't need this advice for a long time but if you have any concerns in the future, record him on your phone to show.

@BruceLeTerrorhe is the wimpiest ever!

he’s followed me unbidden all the way up to the loft conversion tonight just for a nose. I won’t be walking him until at least the end of the week. Then he’s back to his strict routine of taking dd2 to the bus stop and a tiny frolic in the little park and that’s it. 30 mins

My vet told me it was fine to give my Lab 3 x human paracetamol per day. He weighed about six stone though.
He then had Galliprant, then Gabapentin 3 x a day but it was too much and he went a bit loopy so just one Gabapentin at bed time, he had Librela also. He suffered with his bowels so this was the best combination of drugs for us.

Glad DDog is feeling much better after his rest OP.