So hard to see her so sad

[Sirchow]

Bramble is really struggling with her elbows and this morning it brought tears to my eyes to see her limping so badly on her little walk. We will be heading to the best orthovet in Scotland on the 14th of this month. It has taken a long time for this appointment to come round and I have had to increase her tramadol but I wanted to wait to see him as he has a state of the art surgery and a brand new CT scanner to look at her elbows. From that we will know if she needs to have more surgery and possibly expect some improvement or if this is her life and it will just be a case of managing the pain best we can. She looks so old now considering she is only four and I think it is the pain that does it. I feel so sad. I know she has the best home and I have done everything I can but it is so unfair. I have some ideas of other treatments but I am waiting for the scan to see how that turns out before talking to my vet about them. I am just feeling down about it tonight and thought I would post. We have been through a lot together my girl and me and she is such a special loving chow. I just wish I could make it better for her.

[Me & Tess]

Bless you and Bramble. I will keep you & Bramble in my thoughts. Wondering if water therapy would help....

[Sirchow]

Thank you for your kind words. It means a lot.

We looked at water therapy before when she had her TPLOs done but she is so scared of going in water above her ankles and would fight and flail around so, that it might do more damage than good. The surgeon said not to try it. She is not a laid back girl when it comes to doing stuff to her. Even nail cutting is a major trauma

[chowpups]

my heart goes out to you I know that look you speak of when you say the pain makes them look older! You and Bramble have been thru it all together and I know you will continue to what ever you can for her to be pain free I know you! yes, I agree Bramble and water I don't think would be something she would do great at ? But can the give them some type of sedation without hindering them too much? If it's a last resort thing? I know Nikki would never ever even get her feet wet in the pool so I understand! hoping the Vet has some better therapies other than water. if I remember correctly when we went on our walk with the girls Bramble avoided every puddle!!! Not Isla!

[Sirchow]

You are right Nancy. I just think with her nature she would fight the sedation too. I am thinking that laser therapy might be an option and I found a place in Edinburgh where they have one of the few units in the UK. I think in general we are a long way behind the US when it comes to these different therapies so I am lucky to find one close enough to drive to. There are other things like acupuncture I could try but from all the different things I have been reading I like the sound of the laser therapy and know of a few dogs from an orthopedic forum I go on who have tried it with good results.

I dont think the vets will be offering any therapies....they seem to prefer to just hand out more and stronger drugs but I am not keen to go the rout at this stage of her life.

[Cocoa]

I don't know about the states but here in Canada the vets tell me there isn't a lot of options with elbow dysplasia, unlike hips where they can do a total joint replacement. Mostly it is just management: supplements and joint manipulation along with warm compresses and anti-inflammatories when necessary. I'd be interested to hear more about laser therapy.

[chowpups]

our Vet for Bella used laser therapy for pain management after spaying! They use it for other things too like ortho problems too. Oh, I hope it works for Brams! with Bella, I told the Vet. a rubber mallet would do just fine the little knuckle head! ( onlying joking folks don't take me seriously pls, The tech laughed she knows Bella the best!)

[wokman]

Zoey, my eleven year old Blue Female had Laser therapy after spinal surgery. It was a low intensity laser used to create heat on the swollen area created by surgery. Her spine was/is mostly fused together, though you would not know it. Wishing Bramble a speedy, pain free recovery.

[Fozzbear]

Oh I am sorry to hear that. I hope something can be done for Bramble as I know how awful it is watching your beloved pet hobble around. I'd be interested to know more about laser therapy as it may help Humphrey in the future. Good luck with your appointment and keep us posted. Bramble is lucky to have such a caring and committed owner - wish every dog had great parents.

[Sirchow]

Thank you all for being so kind and supportive. I will report back after the CT scan. We will know then whats what and if she has laser therapy I will let you know how that goes. This morning we went for a tiny walk and she just sniffed about for a while and her tail stayed up so it was a better day for her. I didn't have to come to work till lunch time so she was able to lie in the sun and soak it up. You could see how much she enjoyed it. the temp was only about 5 degrees C but the sun has some warmth in it and she stretched right out to catch a few rays.

[chowpups]

Good warm thoughts, Bella was doing the same catching a few rays before the snow comes tomorrow!!

[Sirchow]

Having a little comfy snoozy time

[Cam Atis]

My best regards to her and you. How is she doing now?

[sue]

Its hard when you see them struggle you get so frustrated & upset.Its times like this when you think if only you could talk & tell me everything your feeling.I dont know whether theres one in scotland but theres a training vets school in liverpool & london.Years ago when i had my tess & she had heart problems there was talk at one point of taking her to the liverpool one to have heart surgery & a pace maker fitted.I think there could be a long waiting list though but heres the link [urlhttp://www.liv.ac.uk/veterinary-science/clinical-services/][/url]

[Sirchow]

Thank you Cam Atis and Sue. The CT scan is for her elbows Sue. She may or may not have bone chips that can be removed so they should be able to see from the scan. I dont understand why the many Xrays she has had done dont show bone chips but apparently they dont. The man she is seeing has a very good repuation and it is an orthopedic specialist. I could have sent her to the big teaching hospital in Glasgow but from my daughter doing her training there I know the staff are ever changing and I know Bramble wouldn't do well with that at all being quite shy and nervous. Thank you for your suggestions

[Fozzbear]

If it helps any at all - that is the operation Humphrey just had and he is doing really well now (lots of rest time required afterwards though). I'm sure that Bramble's specialist knows just what he/she is doing; we all want the best possible care for our fur-babies and it is a bit of a minefield.

[Clovers_Mom]

Siriol,
Your pups are gorgous & they always but a smile on my face, and lighten my mood. My hearts reaches out to you. Looking forward to a positive follow up once you have the scan completed and results in.
Best Wishes!
Shannon

[Sirchow]

Thank you so much Shannon and Fozzbear. It meant a lot to me to read those words this morning having just bathed Bramble for the fourth time

Poor Bramble has been very unwell the last couple of days and can keep nothing inside her so she is off all meds and no food either. Just hoping she settles down soon. I am rather worried about her but the vet says I am doing everything I can so I just need to try and get her settled again. She is passing blood which is always scarey Life has not been kind to my girl. Just praying the orthovet can come up with something.

On the upside she has had to have four baths in the last couple of days and is looking lovely. In an attempt to get her coat to brush after the baths I put some detangler on that a hairdresser persuaded me to buy years ago and I never threw it away because it was expensive. It was made for chows I think it works a treat. I will be getting more of it next visit!

[Rio]

You are doing the very best for her by loving her at the moment, I am sure she appreciates it. Have you considered hydrotherapy? I have read a lot of articles about it, I so believe I saw a program on it too. Best of luck to Bramble. Big purple kisses from Rio xx

[Judy Fox]

Poor little Bramble - nearly 14th. Siriol.
I love the picture of her comfy little snooze.

[Sirchow]

Thank you Judy and Sharon. I am pleased to say that Bramble has managed to keep a bit of boiled rice and chicken inside today so I am hoping I can build her up for thursday. I was getting very anxious that she might not be fit for the GA for her scan but I think if we can continue as we are she should be OK. I cant bear to put this off as I would probably have to wait another six weeks for an appointment. I still dont know if it was a bug or the meds. I hate NSAIDs they are not good news and vets love them

[Cocoa]

Siriol, I don't like having to give Cocoa NSAIDs either, they upset her stomach (even given with food as the vets prescribe). I'm not sure if you can get it in Scotland but I find that Traumeel, http://www.traumeel.ca/Traumeel-ca-Home ... D=10008493, works well for Cocoa. It is a holistic natural anti-inflammatory so it doesn't have the side effects that NSAIDs do. I think they ship worldwide so if you don't have it there you might be able to order it.

[Cocoa]

Any news from the specialist visit?

[Cam Atis]

NSAIDS do upset the stomach.
Hope Bramble is okay , I mean getting the best of it. Dogs have the tenacity to endure painful events and would only emit low grunts or whine.
a senior dog run or walk in spurts and then rest for a while.
Cookie when she was old about 10 y/o, ran after a vermin, but she slid through the wet cement and hit the pavement, and well, she said "Forget about that *** rat, Oh! my back."

[Sirchow]

Its true they do have the ability to forget about the pain and if they have to live with pain that is good. Bramble has her Sunday walk which is a bit longer and she goes to the country park and runs off leash and is oh so happy...you can see it in every bit of her body but she pays for that on Monday and has to stay home cos she is too lame to go for her 15 min walk. But she enjoys her longer walk so much. I just wish she didn't have to deal with this at four years old. But she does still have fun and thats the important thing.