I am very sad today! Toby is still not doing good and I don’t think he will make it! I can’t stand to see him in pain! I don’t know what to do. Toby is such a great dog and he has been a great friend to me and I will be so lost without him. I think I am nuts because he’s “just a dog”, but he is so much more than a dog to me!
Why does this have to happen? He’s only 4 years old, he’s too young to die! Please pray for Toby and me, I am week and I need to be strong for Toby! Dear Lord, please guide me and give me strength to take care of Toby. I am so scared right now, all I can do is write here about how I feel. Thank you, if your reading this!
After doing a little resurch on-line I think it could be Canine hip dysplasia (CHD).
The following are signs that your dog may have Canine hip dysplasia (CHD).
- Rear limb lameness, particularly after exercise.
- Difficulty or stiffness upon rising or climbing uphill.
- A “bunny hop” gait (moving both rear legs together).
- Rising using front legs only and dragging rear end.
- Waddling rear limb gait.
- A painful reaction to extension of the rear legs resulting in a characteristic short stride.
- A side-to-side sway of the croup (area of the back above the hind legs and in front of tail.)
- Tendency to tilt hips down when pressure applied to rump.
- Reluctance to jump, exercise or climb stairs.
As I have said Toby does not like to jump or climb the stairs like he once did. And he does not like to get up after he’s been sitting down. When I first noticed something was different was about 4 week ago when I took Toby for a walk. Most of the time when we would go for a walk, Toby would lead and run out front of me. This time, Toby would stay behind me and some times not want to walk at all. I didn’t know it at the time but he was in pain and his CHD was just starting. We haven’t gone for any walks since and I miss going for walks with my buddy! I don’t know if we will ever have walks again.
Right now, Toby is lying on the floor and trying to rest, I can tell he is in pain but he is stating to go to sleep. I wish you could see him now, he’s so sweet. He does not want to put his head down to sleep, he’s got it resting on a container that’s next to him. I tried to give him his Prednisone pill and 1/4 of an adult aspirin, but Toby didn’t want to eat the food that I put then in!