duncan41

I adopted an 8 year old about a month ago (Seniors Rock!) and according to her records from the kennel, at 76 lbs., she was 13 pounds over her racing weight. Now this is a pretty big girl - much bigger boned than my other two 4 year old sisters who weigh 61 and 64 pounds. She's not wide, still has a nice tuck and her ribs could be felt when running hands over her sides. She seemed to be a bit slow getting up and thinking that this additional weight might be a contributing factor, I cut back on her food a little bit. Well, she lost 3 pounds in about 10 days! We increased her food a little and the weight loss slowed down and may be up to a total of 5 or 6 pounds by now. I swear, if this girl raced at 63 pounds, she was a sack of bones! Do seniors lose weight differently? She seems to have lost it all in the rib cage! Her last rib is actually sticking out and there's a visible shadow of the next two ribs, too! At this point, I don't care about the numbers (who cares if she weighs 63 or 70 pounds!), I'm only interested in easing any stress on her joints without causing some other problems by her rapid weight loss! She was just at the Vet for a "New Dog" check up and all the blood work was normal and the stool sample was negative. Any ideas?

I did a brief search and the only cautionary item I found was interaction with blood thinners and a warning about not drinking grapefruit juice. If you need to so SOMETHING and have some milk thistle, you could give Missy a dose. Just relax and take a deep breath. Sorry you were having such a bad day.

Living in Florida presents a 24/7/365 challenge of flea control. All of the previous suggestions are good ones - topical treatments for all is a good place to start. If you would like to combo with a more immediate result, you might consider DeFlea shampoo. I have one girl who is a bug magnet - fleas, mosquitos, flies, gnats - if it bites, it's after her. Poor baby! She was quite a mess earlier this year. Like you, I would rather avoid all chemicals, but realized that a topical is the best way to go for her, her sister and the 3 cats. After much research, I found DeFlea and have been very, very pleased with the results. I now buy it by the gallon and dilute it myself. Good luck!

Oh, I have been dealing with the same problem with a right rear. This girl is 4 years old and came up with a limp on the right front not too long after she adopted us two years ago. We rested her (no off-leash dog park) for a month and all seemed well. The right rear limp started in March - no dog park since then. She has been x-rayed from heat to toe because she had a sore neck at the same time the right rear flared up - all negative. I have watched our Vet poke, prod, rotate, palpate, squeeze from all angles every part of her feet, hocks, knees, hips and spine try to elicit some response! There is no swelling, no cuts, bruises - NOTHING! She is so stoic - never even blinks! The only time she ever cried out was when her neck was sore and she couldn't bend down to pick up a morsel of food from the floor! We use a TheraPaw when we go for walks and there is no hint of a limp! Ugh! I want to FIX the problem!

No corns - we keep looking and looking, but nothing. Thought about the nails, too. They aren't terribly long, but not as short as they should/could be. Will be concentrating on getting them as short as possible and hope that it helps - it certainly couldn't hurt! Fortunately, she's a very stoic alpha-girl; will let you do her nails anytime, anywhere.

Newbie to the site. Please be patient. I have a 4 yr old female who has a history of limping. First limp (right front) appeared not too long after she adopted us two years ago, but was chalked up to boisterous horseplay with her sister. From her symptoms, it appeared to be a bruised pad because the limp would become exaggerated as the surface became more rough; ie: no limp on grass, carpet, tile or smooth cement, but very bad on asphalt. On Vet's orders, rested her and the limp disappeared. Now she's limping in the right rear - started early March. No obvious injury - just started limping. She has been vet checked twice (he did everything but twist her limbs out of the sockets with absolutely no reaction from her), literally xrayed from head to toe (absolutely no bone issues), put on total rest (just leisurely strolls through the neighborhood), and wears a TheraPaw when out for a walk - which is about the only time she doesn't limp. Just prior to the xray marathon, and over a weekend, of course, she developed a sore neck. Crying out, couldn't/wouldn't pick up a morsel of food from the floor - OMG! (Her food stand is elevated 12".) Out of desperation and lack of sleep, I gave her plain aspirin (two tablets, 24 hours apart) and the sore neck went away, never to return again. The limp seemed to improve for about a week but has returned full force. Just within the past few days she started doing the three legged walk in the house, on tile, but not on carpet. She has been on MSM and Glucosamine since Sandy Paws in March but no other meds. My Vet knows I'm not big on meds (would much rather find the CAUSE than treat a symptom), so he has not offered any. My only other observation is that when she walks on asphalt (crossing streets on our nightly strolls), she looks like she's walking on shards of glass; v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y and very carefully putting each foot down "just so". I welcome any and all ideas!

Hi, all! I'm a newbie wanting to take advantage of your experience with corns. Did any of your dogs start limping BEFORE the corn(s) became visible? I have a 4 year old who started limping on the right rear about 6 weeks ago. Started as limping only on rough surfaces - no limp on carpeting, tile in the house, grass or even smooth cement. Vet examination of entire foot/knee/hip/back revealed nothing. At one point, two pads looked as though there was a circular marking developing, but nothing more has appeared. Glucosamine and MSM added to food and total rest for 2 weeks has done nothing to improve the condition. In fact, the limp has turned into hopping and avoidance of any and all hard/rough surfaces including tile in the house. Just received a Thera-Paw boot on Monday which is wonderful - no limp regardless of what surface texture. Vet wants to do follow up with x-rays via sedation, but I'm more inclined to something more comprehensive if sedation is involved in order to get the whole picture the first time. Any advice? Thanks! - Mom of "The Ladies"