Did you know in dogs the knee joint called the stifle?
Yesterday we noticed Simba was favouring his back right leg a little more than usual and not putting much weight on it. It was something we noticed a few times at the park a few weeks back, but he never did it consistently enough to make us think it was much of a problem. Yesterday he was doing it a lot more, so it was off to the vet to check it out. Fortunately they weren’t too busy so it didn’t take too long.
The vet clinic isn’t one of Simba’s favourite places (oddly enough Nala loves going to the vet) so he was pretty mellow. The vet moved his leg around, poked, prodded and pulled and had some x-rays taken. He said all the joints seemed pretty stable, but he did feel a little bit of clicking when the stifle/knee was manipulated. He thinks Simba may possibly have partially torn or injured his ACL and that the clicking in the knee might be a result of some collateral damage to the cartilage.
So now Simba’s restricted to just going out on the leash (no more dog park for a little while) and some Rimadyl to help with any inflammation on days he seems to be limping more. The vet also recommended adding some glucosamine supplements to his diet to help with the joint problem.
Hopefully he heals up well, but it’s going to take a while. We’ll keep a close eye on him for the next month or so and then follow up with the vet if we don’t see much improvement.
Life with two black dogs
or Why I Love My Dyson
Before
After
Puppy sitting
Yesterday the wife and I got to puppy-sit for Gabby’s latest litter (she also happens to be Simba‘s mom) while her people parents were out celebrating their anniversary. Gabby was a little defensive about her puppies at first but she eventually warmed up to us being in the room with her. She even let us pick up and hold some of her babies too.
The puppies are only a few days old, but already really cute and fun to watch. They’re a little bit bigger than my hand, and very feisty and wriggly. At this stage they’re all about sleeping and nursing on mom. In a few short weeks the six little puppies will be up walking around and tumbling all over each other. It’ll be cool to go back and see them again in a week or so to see how they’ve grown. It was so much fun to watch them.
Sleepy dog
I think I’ll just have a nap here while you work…
More fun with dogs
Yesterday we were at the Coastal SC Lab Retriver Club‘s Lab Fun Day. A little bit on the breezy side, but a nice sunny day. Simba’s breeder greeted us with a loud and friendly “Look at the Canadian!!” (I was the only one in just a shirt…everyone else was wearing a sweater or jacket).
Plenty of fun was had for both dogs and their people.
There were obedience demonstrations and an obedience course for people to try out
There were retriever demonstrations by some dogs that really knew what they were doing. They did retrieves on land
and in the water
There were also fun contests for dogs and people to participate in. Tail wagging
and a dog dress-up contest
This guy skipped all the contests and went right for the cookies
Seemed like everybody who stopped by had a good time. Even the non-labs came to check things out and have fun.