Elbow Dysplasia in my Golden Retiever - Diagnosis and Treatment

My Golden Retriever, Link, started showing signs of elbow dysplasia when he was about 7-8 months old. He was limping a little and was stiff in his right front leg. I talked to one of the vets at the clinic where I work and we decided to take x-rays of elbows and shoulder joints of both front legs. We also took x-rays of his hips to exclude any problems there that might cause more strain on the joints of the front legs. The hips where fine. From what we could tell from Link's symptoms and the x-rays, the problem was within the elbow joint. We could not however find what exactly the problem was. We decided to first try putting Link on an anti-inflammatory drug for a few weeks, to see if his condition improved. Unfortunately it didn't.

X-ray of Link's right elbow. (H = Høyre = Right)

I contacted the big referral animal hospital in Sweden, Djursjukhuset i Strömsholm, for an appointment with one of their specialists. We got two appointments; One the first day to examine him and one the day after for arthroscopy if it was found to be the best solution. When we got there, Link had been on the anti-inflammatory drugs for about 2 months. Thus he had not been in a lot of pain, but he refused to bend his right elbow. Link was not supposed to get any medication before the check and the possible surgery however, so I didn't give him any on the morning of the initial examination. He was fine that whole day, a bit stiff in the leg, definitely limping a little, but I was used to that by now. I showed the vet the x-rays and he bended and twisted Links leg to find out what the problem was. Link was such a hero! I could tell that he found the bending and twisting very unpleasant, but he let the vet do what he had to do. It was decided that Link should have a CT of both elbows and both shoulders, because the vet was not convinced that the problem was not in the shoulder joint after all. So Link was given a sedative so that he wouldn't move during the CT, and some routine blood samples were taken. I had asked for the blood tests, because I thought Link had not quite been himself lately, and also I wanted them to check these things before putting him under anaesthesia.

Link at the clinic after they had taken the blood sample.

The blood tests were all good, no problem with the liver, kidneys, blood sugar and he didn't have any signs of infection. What they found during the CT was what we had concluded with at the clinic where I work; There was nothing wrong with the shoulders, nor the left elbow. The problem was in the right elbow. What they found was that there had been improper development of the joint, with damaged cartilage and necrotic bone as a consequence. So Link was scheduled for arthroscopy the next day.

Link was really tired after waking up from the sedative they had given him. He spent most of the rest of the evening lying on his bed.

 The next morning, the anti-inflammatory drugs I had given Link up until two days earlier, had stopped working completely. Link was clearly uncomfortable using his right front leg and was limping worse than ever. I had not seen how much his condition had worsened, since he had been on the anti-inflammatory drugs since he first started having symptoms. I left him at the animal hospital and waited for them to call me. About five hours later they called me to tell me that the procedure had gone well. The damaged cartilage and the necrotic bone had been removed. The damage in the joint had been relatively small according to the vet, but it was good that it had been discovered early, before the onset of arthritis. Once that happen, there is nothing you can do but treat the symptoms.

The three stitches after the arthroscopy, on the inside of the elbow.

I went to get Link as soon as I could and when I got there he had a cone around his head. He looked so miserable! Poor darling!
After the surgery we were given strict instructions not to go for more than a few five minutes walks a day and as much as possible on soft, flat ground, during the first two weeks after the surgery. Then we could start with the rehabilitation. By that time we were back in Norway, so the physiotherapist at the clinic where I work made a rehabilitation plan for Link. I will tell you more about that in the next blog post!

Link out on one of the five minutes long walk the days after the surgery. This was ideal ground to walk on; soft and flat.

Here is a link to the next part:
Elbow dysplasia in my golden retriever - Rehabilitation after surgery

How to prevent resource guarding in your dog

My boyfriend's sister's shorthaired dachshund Ebben with a bone.

We've all seen dogs that has issues either around food or toys. They will growl or even bite a person approaching when it has a resource it wants to have to itself. As with all other problematic behaviors in dogs, prevention of the behavior before it ever occurs, is the best alternative. So how do you prevent it?
Well it's fairly simple. Teach your dog to exchange one thing for another. When you want a toy that the dog has, give it another toy or a treat. If your dog has a tasty bone, give it another even tastier treat. If it learns that you approaching means it's going to get something as good, or even better than what it has now, it will stop guarding whatever it has and look at you with anticipation. This is the ideal situation. This is what you want; a dog that willingly lets you take whatever it is it has. This is when you start introducing the release cue. I use "thank you" (or "Tack", the Swedish/Norwegian equivalent) with my dog, and now we can be in the middle of a tug-of-war and immediately when I say "Tack", he releases the toy.

Siberian husky Noor with a dried pig's ear.

The release cue during play is somewhat different than the release cue when it comes to things your dog is chewing on and which it shouldn't be chewing on. You will most certainly at one point end up in situations where your dog has something that could potentially be dangerous for it to chew on or to swallow. In these situations it is important that you've done your training with the dog, because there might not be time to get something to exchange for the thing the dog now has. If your dog really has learned the cue, use it. If it doesn't work or if you haven't gotten that far in your training yet, you will then need to take the item directly from the dogs mouth. This is confrontational, and a way of managing the situation, it is not the way to train a dog! If you've trained the dog before this, it will likely look a bit surprised but still look at you anticipating something good. If you have not trained the dog prior to this, it very much depends on the dog how you approach the situation. If you are in danger of getting seriously bitten, don't grab the item from the dog's mouth! If your dog learns that biting people gets it out of uncomfortable situations, your dog's future is really uncertain. It might end up being put down for something you initially taught it. So be careful!

Here I am holding the bone while Link chews on it. This way he learned that me holding the bone does not mean I will take it away. Please note: I didn't walk up and grab the bone while he was chewing on it, I held on to it when I gave it to him.

I was i a situation with my dog when he was almost three months old. At home he had never guarded anything, not toys nor food. But we were at work (at the veterinary clinic) and he had gotten a bone. He also had a wart on one of his front paws and I had asked a vet to take a look at it. The vet sat down in front of him and he immediately started growling. She extended her hand and he snapped at her! As I just said, he had never shown any such behavior at home, so I was surprised to say the least. Fortunately he was wearing a harness, so I simply grabbed the harness and pulled him away from the bone. When we had removed the bone, he was fine and the vet could examine him. But I was really shook up and was a bit afraid that this would turn into a real problem. I hadn't realized that all dog's need training and good experiences to learn to trust humans that approach them. Even the ones that hasn't shown any signs of resource guarding.

Siberian husky Ashoka politely watching as her sister Vida is chewing on a dried pig's ear.

The release cue during play can be taught in several different ways. I've already mentioned exchanging it for another toy or a treat. I've used treats with my dog since he is so very food motivated. With the "in law's" dog I used another technique. He loves tug-of-war, so when I wanted him to release, I "played dead", that is I let my arm fall down and didn't pull the toy back towards me, but I still held on to the toy. This was really boring for the dog, so he let go of the toy (after quite some time the first time, so have patience). Immediately when he let the toy go I engaged in play again and after a few repetitions he let go of the toy as soon as I stopped pulling, in order to start the game again as quickly as possible. I then introduced the cue. Remember, when you start teaching the dog to release an item, it doesn't know what is expected of it. So you standing there repeatedly saying "thank you", "thaaank yooouu", "THANK YOU!", is only going to frustrate both of you. Always introduce the cue AFTER the dog has learned the behavior.

Scott in a game of tug-of-war with my boyfriend.

When it comes to dogs guarding their food bowl when they eat. Teach it from a young age that when you approach the bowl, it is only to put more food in the bowl. Never take the food away from the dog when it is eating!

Hope you found this post helpful! If your dog has serious issues with resource guarding, contact a dog trainer in your area to get help. The last thing we want is a  confrontation ending in a bite!

Good luck with your dog training!