this hurts me too
Picked Bear up from the vet this evening...his original appointment was just to have him be fixed, but I had them check out the limp he's been showing the last week or two. I had a feeling it was going to be bad when they called me at work and recommended taking x-rays.
I stopped by after work and they showed me the results. Our puppy has almost no hip sockets. The limp is caused by his joint popping in and out while he's walking. He hardly ever even gave us any indication anything was wrong.
It's killing me to think that he's been in any pain over the last few weeks/months, and that his joints are this bad this young. The vet recommended a surgery that will help him quite a bit, and she said that down the road he won't even be bothered by it.
I hate to see him with the e-collar he's wearing now (to avoid chewing on his stitches) and knowing he's going to have to have it on for another week after he heals up from this one.
I want my playful puppy back.
So, did you get him fixed in the end, or does he have further (and possibly more significant) procedures to undergo?
Well, I wouldn't quite say he's fixed "in the end", but almost.
The neutering surgery was done Wednesday, but sometime in the next week or two he'll go back for what's likely the first of two hip surgeries.
We're going back again Saturday to look at the X-rays and discuss the options in a little greater depth.
He's handling wearing the plastic collar (looks a lot like a lampshade) much better than I would have imagined. Other than randomly bumping into things it hardly seems to bother him at all.