I'm very sad to have to post this update on Dakota. Dakota has been steadily declining with his hips. This past month has been noticable and this past week even more so. He is different day by day. He seems stiff on a constent basis but this past two weeks he has shown even more of a decline. Some days he limps, some days he runs, some days he skips and some days he falls going up one step. This past thursday was the first time he was vocal about his pain. He was playing with Willow and she must have been a bit too rough. It was heartbreaking to hear him cry out like that. I have been talking with the vet and they said unfortanelty there isn't much I can do. They started him on Joint supplements at the first sign of the stiffness and it did seem to make a difference in the begininng. Now, I am going to try aspirin once a day for three days, then off three days. If that doesn't help, the vet will move on to stronger pain meds. I have been talking with a very knowledgable breeder who has been through this and is currently going through this with two of her own. She has been very conforting but it is so hard to hear that I now have to take it one day at a time. It seemed so sudden and I am having a hard time coming to grips with this. I am trying to keep his weight down and keeping him active so he is not laying around too much. I have gotten loads of advice on different medicine to try but I am not knowledgable in this at all so I have mentioned everything to the vet and am relying on his advice. He doesn't want me trying too many things at once...start with the aspirin and we will go from there. Please pray for my Dakota and me. I want to do right by him and am hoping we still have a long road together but it's not looking to be so.

I am so sorry to hear this. If you don't mind me asking, how old is Dakota? Is he the Grey one in your pic? I wish I had some advice for you but I have only been a Husky owner for just under a year and my two are pups. I do know, that my Briar especially, feeds off my emotions, even when I don't outwardly show them. She seems to know how I'm feeling. I can only imagine how difficult this must be and the worry you must have but try to stay positive and hopeful. A positive outlook may play into the healing/treatment process as does prayer, or at least that's what I myself believe. You and Dakota will be in mine. I hope you find answers and I hope Dakota finds healing.

Sorry to hear about Dakota While most of my dogs are younger, Odin has some issues with his spine and it effects how he gets around. He's fine for the moment but eventually i'll probably put him on Rimadyl. There are some people who don't like it but I've seen what it can do for dogs who were otherwise in pain and unable to move much... That will be the road we take with Odin. I'd ask your vet about it.

Oh Mindy I'm so sorry to hear this! I know one day I'll be at this stage with Mya and it breaks my heart. Even though she's only 5 she has her stiff days also. She runs and plays like normal, but only I can REALLY tell that she's having a stiff day. You know? You just know your dogs!!! I'm praying that Dakota gets better or at least stays as is. We're all here for you!

Megan, Dakota is the black/grey and white one. He is about to turn 11 which is too young to be having these issues in my eyes. Thank you for your kind words. I agree that dogs can feed off our emotions so I do try to stay positive. It's just hard to see him struggle.

Kristina, Gigi and Becky both mentioned the Rimadyl to me as well. I haven't read up on it yet and was warned about the side effects, but really, all medicine has bad side effects. The vet didn't mention what the stronger meds were when he talked about it, but I will ask if that is one of them when the time comes. I am willing to do whatever is best for Dakota. I'm sorry to hear about Odin. He will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Melissa, you are so right, we just know! I hope Mya has a long, long way before you have to deal with this. It's not easy seeing Dakota struggle. I have never had to experience taking care of an aging dog before and it is much harder emotionally than I could have imagined.

My hope is Dakota will still have years yet with us. I don't mean to sound all gloom and doom, we just had a really bad week and I'm struggling a bit to come to terms with it.

I'm so sorry to hear this Mindy! You and Dakota are in our thoughts and prayers, I cannot imagine how you must feel right now. I know you will do whatever is best for him and I truly hope that you will have a fair amount of time with him before things progress too far. Poor baby boy, 11 yrs does seem young for that much of a downward spiral. You both are in our thoughts.

My thoughts and prayers are with Dakota right now too. You're a great husky-mom and I know how hard you're working to keep him healthy, comfortable and happy. Here's to hoping you and Dakota have much longer to enjoy each other's company!

Thoughts and prayers are with Dakota and you. I have a 14yr old BC mix that almost completely lost her ability to get up and down due to severe arthritis. She is getting around on her own now with a combination of Tramadol (pain management) that has very few side affects and Prolozone therapy. Rimadyl or the generic Novox are NSAIDs and should not be used long term if a dog is having kidney and liver issues like my BC. Prolozone is a homeopathic treatment where oxygen is converted into ozone (O3 instead of O2) and injected into the problem areas with homeopathic medication. Link to more about prolozone. http://www.portaltohealing.com/prolozone-therapy.html

There is also adequan. It's an injection given in a series and then kept up with a maintenance dose. It works for some and doesn't work for others. It didn't work for Seamus but I think when Claudia had Sully it was working for him. It is a little pricey, but if you have them done and they work you can always learn to do them from home which makes them less expensive.

So sorry to read you are have these issues with Dakota and that it came on so fast. has the weather changed at all that could be affecting his joints? your all in my thoughts and i hope he has a come around and has many more years with you. have you also thought about trying acupuncture as well as maybe some dog massage to see if that helps with the stiffness?

Thanks Val and Tori, I truly appreciate your kind words!

Brian and Kristina, thank you for the additonal meds info. I will put them on the list and research all of them and discuss them with my vet. I want to have a full picture of everything that is available and what they can and can not do!

Jen, I have noticed that he is worse when it's about to rain or is rainy but not just those days...so I don't know. Yesterday he didn't even use his right back leg all day, but we did have a storm go through today. I'm don't ususally have weather related issues...a headache every once in a while so I'm not sure when bad weather should affect arthritus. I'm glad you brought that up, I need to learn when those times will come into play. I'm not sure if acupuncture is an option in this area but that is a great idea! I forgot I was going to look into that back when someone (maybe you) posted about taking their dog for acupuncture. I will research that tonight!

I started him on the aspirin so I really hope that will make a difference. Poor Dakota, he should not be having these issues yet. Eveyone I have talked to that has gone through this, their pups were 14 or older.

Melissa, if you notice Mya being stiff already, maybe you should look into joint supplements for her now???

26nikita wrote:

Melissa, if you notice Mya being stiff already, maybe you should look into joint supplements for her now???

Yep, she's on Glucosamine/Chondroitin complex w/ MSM. She's been on it for about 7months now. She started crying one day when she would jump and then started limping so I took her to the vet. He said it seemed like the beginning symptoms of arthritis and told me to give her Glucosamine. After only a few days of being on it her limp went away (relief!). It's a very slight stiffness that hubby doesn't even really notice. Maybe once he agreed that she did seem a little stiff so I'm hoping this won't be an issue for a long time.

Has Dakota been on any joint supplements? Or did you just start him on them? Sorry if you mentioned that before

The vet started him on it a month and a half ago. That is how fast he has declined! I'm not sure when exactly he started the stiffness, but It got really noticeable about 2 months ago, I think. I made a vet appt to discuss his seizures since they were progessing and while we were there I asked him to check his hips since I had noticed a difference. The vet wasn't even that concerned! I ASKED him if we could go ahead and put him on supplements... I don't think he would have prescirbed him anything if I hadn't. Before his first seizure on January 4th, he had no issues whatsever. He was acting like a puppy! He had tons of energy and loved to play with all dogs. That was a big reason why I got Willow. It seams when he had his first seizure, things just spiraled. This month it has spiraled the most. I think that's why I am so shaken about it. It's happening too fast!

I ended up taking Dakota back to the vet today. It took some major motivation to get him up to go potty last night and this morning. The vet gave him a shot that's a pain killer and anti-flammatory and some pills that do the same that I am suppose to give him over the next week. I have to bring him back in next week for xrays.

Aww, that doesn't sound very good. I hope he bounces back with the meds.

The vet is thinking he has injured himself and that is why he is having so much trouble right now. I hope that is the case cause then there is a chance of recovery. We just won't know until the xrays.

Oh I hope that is the case too. Fingers crossed!

Thanks Val!

If he did hurt himself and that's what I'm hoping for over other things then my guess would be a muscle or ligament and those do not show up on an xray very well. I still say try accupuncher, jack ws better the next day and no pain meds were used.

Sorry for the spelling I'm on my phone

The shot and pain meds have done wonders for Dakota. He's almost like his old self. I can't wait to get these xrays done to see what's going on. Jen, thanks for letting me know about muscle and ligament issues not showing on xrays very well, then I will be ready to ask about that when I take him in. I have found a few places online that say they do accupuncter. I want to wait until we see the xrays before I go that route though. Just in case.

Good luck guys. Seamus has had quite the bout of issues and even though some of his issues are in his knees and hips others were able to be helped with some chiropractic adjustments. You just have to keep pushing and pushing! You know your dog, they don't.

I'm so happy that Dakota is better!!!

Dakota's xrays are Monday and I'm getting nervous. They have to sedate him and they told me to wait until 4pm to call and check on him. I don't know how I'm gonna get any work done. He's still doing great on the pain meds...

Dakota had his XRays today and I'm afraid it's not good news. The vet showed me his xrays and he has a badly deformed hip that has been building up calcium deposits. I looked up hip dysplasia and the picture of the hip they show is exactly how it looked on the xray. It's his left hip and is right one is normal. Not the news I was hoping for...

I'm sorry to hear that Mindy. What can they/you do for him to make him more comfortable?