Thanks RiverGirl and Mix, beautiful dog you owned Mix. We had our 13 year old Golden pass last May and now have a 11 month old Lab Golden mix. But you cant ever replace a dog I have found out. Still missing Ginger. Hey here is a pic. Ginger is on the right and Sandy the one with the limp on the left. And this is Sundown.
Mixz How did you get a picture of MY Canela? They look exactly alike, I miss her so much still, Her Son and Daughter Tomba and Casey look like him as well but they have gotten thinner with age.My Puppy Lilly is a redish Golden and a sweetie but nothing like Canela was.
Glad this thread is going since my question is soo far off topic for living in Cancun that it's not funny! Except for the fact that my Leo (6 year old golden and street dog mix, I think) is orgullosamente Cancunense. Anywhoo...how do you tell if your dog is getting arthritis? His back leg is a little wonky...and he's been having a bit of a panic since this morning. I used to think that his leg would fall asleep and he'd get pins and needles just like humans, except he didn't understand what was happening and freak out. But he started the same way this morning and didn't snap out of it...usually once I get him walking he is fine, but today he didn't want to walk and just sat down looking sad and seemed to limp a bit. Is this vet-worthy? Or should I wait until I get home today to see if he has calmed down?
Get him to a vet while he's still displaying the symptom. Even if it resolves on its own, there was and is something wrong. It will be easier for the vet to diagnose by observation and hands on examination than it will be if the symptoms resolve (probably temporary) and the vet has to rely on your verbal descriptions. From personal experience I would say that 6 is young for arthritis, so the odds of some kind of injury are strong. Left unattended it's not going to get better by itself, even if the symptoms go away for awhile.
Thanks for responding! Thing is, his symptoms only ever last at most an hour (this is when he gets especially worked up)! So I'm not sure how I'd be able to get him to the vet in time...plus, normally when this happens, he "walks it off" and then is normal much more quickly.
gbchayctca - If you got your dog off the street in Cancun be sure to get the vet to test for any tick-borne diseases or diseases common here which may not be common there. Just to be safe. Vets here seem to not think of testing for all of these diseases, maybe because clients here have little money or maybe because they don't think in terms of pets having long lives or maybe because they don't have proper labs in their own offices. So even if your dog had care in Cancun it may not have been tested for common diseases which occur here. My puppy ended up with ehrlichiosis which she got from ticks as a puppy (when we found her she had more than 100 ticks on her). She didn't display symptoms until months later. Later stage symptoms of ehrlichiosis include joint problems, though I imagine they would be symmetrical or through all joints, not just on one side in one joint like your dog has. I imagine your dog has an injury since it's only in one leg. But definitely get that dog to a vet so you can begin figuring this out.
You can also make your own dog food here cheaper than buying kibble. My vet gave me a recipe and you used ground chicken (very cheap) oatmeal, carrots, diced potatoes, etc. I cook it up twice a week and feed my dog for about 50 pesos a week! Hi pro, low fat, high fiber! I add an envelope of glucosamine and condroitin beverage mix.
Dog Food Recipe Hola Isla Zina! Making your own dog food actually sounds like a pretty good. I'd love to get the complete ingredient quanitities and percentages, so I know precisely how to make it. I may give it a try. I do need lower protein, though, and definitely low fat. One of my dogs has pancreatitis, so low protein, low fat is essential (and low risk for a bacterial infection is also essential). The other one is 16 years old, so that's also good for him. Where do you get your glucosamine and chrondoitin beverage mix? Thanks a million!
Pet Stores? I'm here in Cancun now and still researching dog food options. Does ayone know of a pet store or veterinarian that carries a larger selection of quality dog food brands? (I've been to Mundo Animal on La Luna, but there's a very small selection.) I'm looking for a low protein, low fat, no wheat, no corn formula that's easily digestible. Any other suggestions? Many thanks! (formerly Christina in Colorado)
