What are affordable non-surgical treatments for dog elbow dysplasia?

Yes there is something but unfortunately it is invasive and not cheap. Surgical intervention that involves removal of any bony fragments, or cartilage flaps (joint mice) that are in the joint is curative in most cases of elbow dysplasia, which is a multi-factoral disease that can involve one of 4 different disease processes including: 1) Osteochondrosis dissecans, 2) Elbow incongruity, 3) Ununited anconeal process or 4) Fragmented medial coronoid process. Unfortunately no amount of medication given by mouth will eliminate signs of his condition and surgery has to be highly considered to alleviate Oska's pain. In the meantime your vet can add on an opiate (i.e. Tramadol) to help ease the pain somewhat for Oska. Or weekly Adequan injections can be discussed with your vet.

I do see some abnormal opacity in the elbow joint where the arrow is, so I would have to agree with your vet here. It is not possible to zoom in on x-rays that are copied here however, so its best to get a copy of the x-rays on a CD and then having them reviewed by a 2nd opinion doctor that way. Or you can ask your vet to send these to a radiologist who is well trained on picking up on small details that the untrained eye can miss. Another option is to treat medically for a minimum of 2 weeks, and if there is no improvement, then you know that is not just a muscle sprain or mild injury, and that elbow dysplasia is more likely the underlying cause. Doing a process of elimination, while still treating the pets pain, is a common thing that owners do when they are looking for a more conservative approach. If this is indeed elbow dysplasia, then I would recommend a referral to an orthopedic specialist if you want to pursue treatment. Treatment for this condition is often surgery. Poor guy. I hope that you can get him some relief soon. Best wishes and take care!

That looks like a pretty nasty fracture. My first recommendation would be orthopedic surgery. The surgeon may recommend plates or other devices to get the bone back in alignment so that it can heal. If that is not an option in your area, then amputation would be my next recommendation. Due to the location, a cast or splint will not provide enough stabilization to allow the edges of the bone to knit back together. If the bones can be re-aligned, a hobble can be attempted, but the failure rate is quite high.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Hygroma when they get this big can be difficult to treat. The first step is to prevent further trauma by providing adequate bedding such as memory foam or something else with extra padding. The hygroma likely needs to be drained and have him placed on antibiotics. Along with that, an anti inflammatory and antibiotic as well as warm compresses applied to the leg can be beneficial. Cold laser therapy is also a treatment to consider but not all clinics have this treatment option available. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

I would consider at his age a referral to a veterinary surgeon to discuss any surgical options particularly for his hips. This might delay the onset of arthritis in the future. Depending on what's causing his elbow dysplasia surgery may be an option there as well. You could also get the advice of a surgeon as to which is more likely to cause issues the elbows are the hips. I would also recommend starting him on a joint supplement now and potentially omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. All supplements and physical therapy are great surgery might be your best bet at long-term comfort.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bailey. He appears to have a skin infection over the area of his elbow elbow callus. I recommend that he sees his veterinarian. This can be a difficult area to heal as you mentioned dogs tend to lay on their elbows. In the meantime, place an E-collar on him to prevent any further licking as this will make the wound worse. If an infection is present, he will likely need oral antibiotics to help it heal. I hope this information helps!

I'm so sorry that you and your Bella are going through this. I recommend speaking to your veterinarian about financing options such as CareCredit that may allow you to have the surgery performed, as the surgery would give her the best chance at walking again. Also contact your local Humane Society/shelters to see if they know of other companies that provide financing options. If surgery is not an option for you, I recommend you look into pain management and crate rest through your veterinarian, and contact a veterinary acupuncturist immediately. In some cases acupuncture and rehabilitation/physiotherapy can help restore at least some function in dogs with IVDD. Time is of the essence in IVDD cases, so please look into treatment right away, preferably via immediate surgery. Best of luck to you both. See the links below for more information. http://www.tcvm.com/Resources/FindaTCVMPractitioner.aspx https://www.carecredit.com/