[Qiwen Guo]

Simba is an 8 month old golden retriever. He walks fine but he always limp a few steps after taking nap. And when he stand he seems put more weight on his rare right leg than rare left leg. I really worry for him. So I took him to vet for an Xray this week. The orthopedist says that his hip is fine but he thinks that Simba may have elbow dysplasia on his left arm. :crying:
Could anyone help me understand how serious his condition is and kindly give me some advice on what should I do to make his life better please? Thanks a lot!:crying::crying::crying:

Simba: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yz4sBfeLt2alaFvzwNGC7_FL36e_hJeA/view?usp=sharing

Hip:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19m8Bhgvg3SsZRy-CqGVceRRaxw2K9Bmd/view?usp=sharing

Left Elbow(ED?!): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wMDcdqRDyZ_wgOk4Mzkxh0xkvdnnVLOt/view?usp=sharing

Right Elbow:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ctuc_1TVT-3ndeYItlhNZTZAqJ5JNMms/view?usp=sharing

 

[ArchersMom]

I would submit all of the xrays to OFA for evaluation. I'm certainly no expert, especially when it comes to elbows, but the left hip socket also seems shallow. It sounds like you visited a specialist already but I would want them graded. If he's only grade 1 elbow, I probably wouldn't put him through surgery. Keeping him fit and lean might be the best options. And supplements for joint health.

 

[cubbysan]

If I were you, I would not even bother with the OFA, but have your vet send them to a veterinary radiologist. There are only 200 in the US, so the are hard to find. I do know University of Missouri Columbia has them. They will give you a whole write up about what they see and even if the pictures were taken correctly etc. They will give you a lot more info than OFA.

Sounds like the limping is unrelated to the elbow. Maybe pano?

 

[Megora]

First thing is the right elbow view is not OFA acceptable (even the left elbow show be flexed more), I think. I don't see any problems there, but I don't think you can tell by that view. I'd be concerned if they couldn't get more flex than that.

The left elbow I see a lot of problems so it definitely is elbow dysplasia. What is going on there exactly, you probably need to have a specialist take a look at it. Somebody who isn't going to push you into surgery but who will give you an honest response on what they see and give you alternatives or management plans for right now.

My concern is if there's fragments or chips in the elbow (OCD), it won't get better with age. It could be like stones in your shoe and will cause limping from time to time and chronic inflammation.

Are you in the US?

 

[Qiwen Guo]

Yes I'm in the US.

 

[Prism Goldens]

So do both- send to vet radiologist, and to
OFA- the OFA piece of it would cost you only about $40...
I am not sure the left hip will pass and truly not sure on either elbow- both appear to have arthritic changes to me, but the left is worse.

 

[Trigger&Cinnamon]

Elbow Dysplasia

Sorry to hear about your golden! Elbow dysplasia is very rough to go through as I know there is a lot of negativity that comes with it and it seems helpless when they tell you about it. There are a lot of people on here that have been able to keep their dogs quality of life up and it hasn't been an end for their dogs. If they do advise you do surgery, the sooner you can do it the better for your dog, especially since he is so young, the surgery recovery will go way faster the sooner you can address it as he is still growing. There are people that also are able to help their dogs out with pain meds if surgery isn't an option. I ended up going for the surgery and my boy is doing everything at age 4 now that any other dog can and has been pain free since recovering from his surgeries. So definitely don't give up hope as it is not the end for your puppy. Linked is a full write up I did on what I went through with my dog, hopefully it can be solved without surgery but if you do opt for surgery this will help you get an idea of what the recovery and stuff will be like. You will see that the second surgery was on a less damaged leg and the recovery was night and day from the first one. Hope this helps a little and hang in there!