Bullet Posted February 23, 2014 Report Share Posted February 23, 2014 Hi! I'd like to ask the owners of young BK who has any hip and joints problems (displasia, Calve-Perthes disease and so on) about physical trainings. What way are you organising games, trainings and so on? I've got a 1 year old male, unbelievably active and easy-to-go in every adventure. But at the age of 7 months our doctor made a conclusion that he's got Pertesa disease on one of the hindpaw That was quite difficult for me and him to refuse of ajility and freesby at all. But we did all the prescriptions and after three months it seemed for me that everything is Ok and we can return some physical trainings. But I was wrong. His paw getting worse and now it seems that even bringing balls 4-5 times during the walk cause serious pain. But it's too difficult for him live with the lack of physical activity, he's getting a bit crazy when I try to avoid active games. I have no ideas how to organise his walks, what kind of sport / trainings to choose to entertain him without hurting his pure paw Any ideas, please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 I had never heard of this disease in Border collies, so I looked it up. It seems to be mainly restricted to small or miniature breeds: http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/saortho/chapter_82/82mast.htm I'm sorry that you're going through this with your dog. I would be taking it to a veterinarian that specialized in orthopedic issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 I'd agree with Lynn that taking him to an orthopedic specialist would be a good choice. He/she would be more likely to diagnose the issues with accuracy and come up with a plan to treat or deal with them. Very best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullet Posted February 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 I took him to 2 our best vets, specialising in orthopaedics and this diagnosis was confirmed after a number of X-rays and MRT. My dog doesn't need the surgery that usually makes in such cases, because of self-compensation of his organism. But he needs courses of antibiotics and chondroprotector injections and a lot of calcium in food. Thanks for your wishes, I really hope he will be fine If you are interested, you can watch this database http://drawmebc.net/ocd/europe.html with european border collies who have osteochondropathy (Perthes disease is one of the most popular osteochondropathias). Some countries want to make the obligatory test on osteochondropathy for Border Collie . Surely it's not that often as dysplasia, but I think in both cases dogs need approximately the same care and exercises to do. Vets suggest to build muscles to reduce extra load of a sore hip. Meanwhile, they think that the best for my dog would be calm walks on the lead and laying on his mattress at home. And the border, from the other hand, who does not believe that he's ill and desperately wish to play, run, jump and anything to do. I do really love him, but have no idea how to make him happy not hurting him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camden's Mom Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Bullet, I am so sorry to hear you are going through this with your pup, how awful for you and for him. I have no experience with Pertesa disease but my dog was just diagnosed with hip dysplasia a couple of weeks ago. He is also a very active, young (20 months old) male border collie. I know how hard it can be to try to keep them from over doing it physically. One thing I found incredibly helpful was scheduling a consultation with a canine physical therapist. The physical therapist was able to give me a plan of action for reconditioning and rehabilitating my dog. She showed me a variety of stretches, massages and strengthening exercises I could do with him at home. Not only did I learn a tremendous amount in one 90 minute consultation, but she also helped me craft a basic schedule for getting him back into shape. If you have not consulted a therapist yet, I would highly recommend it... it was worth every penny. Lastly, I wanted to share something my dog's therapist recommended to me: Keep a journal. At the very least, record the following everyday: 1) All of your dog's activity for the day. Time is better then distance. (Example: Went for 45 minute walk in the morning - 20 minutes on leash,15 minutes off leash, 10 minutes of fetch) 2) If you do stretching and massage record improvements or problem areas. (Was one of his legs tighter then the other? Did he have better "range of motion" in a limb then he did a few days ago?) 3) The dog's overall condition and mood: (In general, how was he feeling that day?) 4) The weather. (It's not uncommon for dog's with joint problems to have worse days when it's cold or raining. Keeping track of the weather might reveal that your dog is more sensitive on certain days.) We're only on our third week of our at-home rehab routine and I swear this journal has been invaluable. It's easy to think you'll remember what you did a few days ago, but I've found myself referencing it often. The journal not only allows you to track forward progress, but if he's having a bad day you can look back and re-evaluate the level of activity you are allowing. Anyways, I don't know if any of this helps, but I wanted to say again how sorry I am that you are dealing with this. Good luck to you and your boy and I wish you both the very best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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