TLDR; dog I'm in the midst of a 3 week trial period with is displaying signs of hip pain, neither her previous owner or her vet/adoption paperwork mention this. What should I do/expect?
I just adopted a second dog on Friday, she's so sweet and loving and my boyfriend and I have been so happy to have her in my home. Her owner was rehoming her due to no other reason than not having enough time or emotional bandwidth for her. She doesn't have any real behavioral issues and has been really receptive to training. We are currently on a 3 week trial run but I have had very little doubts about committing to adopting her. Except that...
I recently noticed she is having some pretty consistent mobility issues. Not all the time, and usually when we are inside, I notice a mild limp in her rear right leg and putting most of the pressure on her front legs to get up when lying down.
I also notice she doesn't like to sit for long, which I initially thought was a lack of attention span, but am now concerned has to do with pain. She also sits strangely on her haunches when I make her return to a sit after breaking too early.
She had never been in a place with stairs or an elevator, so both have been new to her and she expressed some fear of them at first. We've been taking the stairs up and down about 3 times a day to help with her anxiety about it and she seems to be doing much better, but does go much more slowly than my other dog despite being 2 years younger. I'm now wondering if I could be contributing to this pain she seems to be feeling.
We also will lightly smack my other dog's butt as a form of affection (M, 6.5, 50lbs. Black Mouth Cur) he loves it as much as scratching his butt, but when I've done it to her sometimes she will kind of tucks her rear end or sit down. She seems to have a sensitivity with her rear in general.
I know that she was rescued when she was a puppy, she had mange and terrible rashes, and was in an awful situation that I don't have many other details about. I'm wondering if it's possible her sensitivity is in response to trauma from being abused as a puppy and is more emotional than physical or just residual sensitivity?
I'm not in a position financially to afford intensive out of pocket treatment for a dog with hip dysplasia or spine problems, though I don'tknow much about either, and would have no problem with things like supplements and maybe biannual treatments. She already has allergies and requires a once a week medicated shampoo (my other dog has similar allergies but hers are more severe,) and I'm not sure what exactly I've gotten myself into here...
I'm currently on a 3 week trial run with her, so I'm in that crucial decision time right now. I love her dearly but I'm not sure if this issue is going to get worse and become a huge financial burden. I already was planning to get health insurance for her at the end of the trial period, and I don't see any hip or spine issues mentioned in her vet and adoption paperwork, so maybe I'm being overly sensitive and she just has a slight soreness from the new stairs and her new active lifestyle?
I just need some outside opinions and thoughts
Please if you have adopted dogs with health complications, or have experience with hip dysplasia or other joint or even spinal issues let me know what you think of the situation and what the burden was on you and the dog.
Thank you.
I just adopted a second dog on Friday, she's so sweet and loving and my boyfriend and I have been so happy to have her in my home. Her owner was rehoming her due to no other reason than not having enough time or emotional bandwidth for her. She doesn't have any real behavioral issues and has been really receptive to training. We are currently on a 3 week trial run but I have had very little doubts about committing to adopting her. Except that...
I recently noticed she is having some pretty consistent mobility issues. Not all the time, and usually when we are inside, I notice a mild limp in her rear right leg and putting most of the pressure on her front legs to get up when lying down.
I also notice she doesn't like to sit for long, which I initially thought was a lack of attention span, but am now concerned has to do with pain. She also sits strangely on her haunches when I make her return to a sit after breaking too early.
She had never been in a place with stairs or an elevator, so both have been new to her and she expressed some fear of them at first. We've been taking the stairs up and down about 3 times a day to help with her anxiety about it and she seems to be doing much better, but does go much more slowly than my other dog despite being 2 years younger. I'm now wondering if I could be contributing to this pain she seems to be feeling.
We also will lightly smack my other dog's butt as a form of affection (M, 6.5, 50lbs. Black Mouth Cur) he loves it as much as scratching his butt, but when I've done it to her sometimes she will kind of tucks her rear end or sit down. She seems to have a sensitivity with her rear in general.
I know that she was rescued when she was a puppy, she had mange and terrible rashes, and was in an awful situation that I don't have many other details about. I'm wondering if it's possible her sensitivity is in response to trauma from being abused as a puppy and is more emotional than physical or just residual sensitivity?
I'm not in a position financially to afford intensive out of pocket treatment for a dog with hip dysplasia or spine problems, though I don'tknow much about either, and would have no problem with things like supplements and maybe biannual treatments. She already has allergies and requires a once a week medicated shampoo (my other dog has similar allergies but hers are more severe,) and I'm not sure what exactly I've gotten myself into here...
I'm currently on a 3 week trial run with her, so I'm in that crucial decision time right now. I love her dearly but I'm not sure if this issue is going to get worse and become a huge financial burden. I already was planning to get health insurance for her at the end of the trial period, and I don't see any hip or spine issues mentioned in her vet and adoption paperwork, so maybe I'm being overly sensitive and she just has a slight soreness from the new stairs and her new active lifestyle?
I just need some outside opinions and thoughts
Please if you have adopted dogs with health complications, or have experience with hip dysplasia or other joint or even spinal issues let me know what you think of the situation and what the burden was on you and the dog.
Thank you.