An oldie foster dog has landed.

[bunn]

He has come to stay for a while until he finds his forever home. We've not had a Golden Retriever before, so it will make a change from all the lurchers.

He transferred to Oldies Club from a kennel-based rescue in Wales because he wasn't doing very well in kennels.  He has bald patches on his feet where he's been nibbling them.   Supposedly he is only 10, but at the moment he seems older: he struggles a bit with steps, and standing up when he's been lying down a while.  But it may be that he will seem younger once he's had a good sleep: he has had a rather busy day.   I didn't take him for our usual long evening walk with Rosie and Brythen, because he was clearly worn out.  We did a little 'introduction' walk when he arrived, to make sure Rosie wasn't going to try to eat him, and that was more than enough.

Comments

[bunn.livejournal.com]

He is adorable, but I'm a bit worried about his legs. We did a fairly short walk this morning and it really wiped him out, I think I shall have to walk him on his own and take him very short distances. I believe Goldens are prone to hip dysplasia, and I'm thinking a vet trip looms...

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a trip is needed, yes, but I hope it will turn out to be nothing to worry about!

[songblaze.livejournal.com]

They are, sadly, prone to hip dysplasia, poor things.

I grew up with a very much loved golden retriever Samoyed cross, and visually he reminds me of Sarah a bit. Very sweet looking pup!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm a bit worried about that. I am used to foster dogs that are a bit unfit and wobbly as often they arrive after not having had much exercise, but he really seems to struggle just to stand up, taking him for long walks with my pair is definitely not an option, poor old thing.

[songblaze.livejournal.com]

Of course, it could just be arthritis. Have you tried him on something for the pain? Rimadyl or even a bit of aspirin might provide enough pain relief for him to move better. If he moves better on a pain med, that would suggest it's arthritis. If it's hip dysplasia, the instability would make it so he still had trouble standing and moving even without the pain. In either case, a heating pad for him to lay on might help, as long as you're careful about the temp. You might want to get a dog one, as they tend to be a bit tougher and have a lower temperature. I assume you have dog beds everywhere so he always has the option of something soft to lay on.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

He's had a vet check and is on loxicom now, which really seems to be helping a lot, he's much more mobile and even did a reasonable walk this morning.

Vet thinks it's mostly arthritis and general lack of fitness, plus I have also discovered that he's quite obstinate, and goes FLOMP in protest if you ask him to do something he doesn't want :-D

I do have dog beds all over the place, but he will not use them, he occasionally will sit on vetbed, but he prefers the carpet.

[songblaze.livejournal.com]

Loxicam is good stuff - better for long-term applications like arthritis than rimadyl or aspirin. Did the vet warn you that it may upset his stomach? It's one you definitely want to give with food if possible, especially if you expect him to be on it for a while. The stomach irritation can be cumulative, so you'll want to keep an eye on that. I'm more familiar with it as a human drug (brand name Mobic, generic Meloxicam) but it's pretty similar for dogs. Does he have you planning to try a lower dose in a week or so? As I recall, the typical use in dogs is to start with a higher dose, use it for long enough to get the inflammation down, and then titer down to see how low a dose is sufficient, to minimize side effects, but your vet would know better than I.

Sounds like quite the stubborn boy! It took my service dog years to discover that dog beds are comfortable, because he really didn't have one in the prison-puppy raising program or the training kennel. It wasn't until we got a second dog (originally a pet, but now my fiance's emotional support dog) and he saw her making use of a bed (and eventually flattening it out a bit via use) that he was finally convinced to lay on it. He still doesn't use it much, even at 9 years old, but I figure he knows it's there and that it's comfortable. He does refuse to use fluffy or thick dog beds, and prefers relatively flat ones. Go figure, eh?