Degenerative Joint Disease

Noninfectious osteoarthritis is the commonest form of joint disease in the aging dog, a situation not too different from that in humans. The disease is progressive and causes few, if any, noticeable symptoms in the early stages. It is not uncommon for a veterinarian to discover the existence of degenerative joint disease or its predisposing causes during a routine checkup.

Primary arthritis develops from the normal wear and tear of a joint with time and age. While seen occasionally in very old dogs, it is not the commonly observed arthritis that it is in people. The bulk of aging dog arthritis cases are secondary to disorders which happened or started earlier in life.

The following are just a few of the many such disorders:

• Obesity in any breed but especially in the large and giant breeds.
• Mechanical trauma such as falls and jumping mishaps.
• Torn ligaments in any joint but especially the stifle joint in toy or miniature poodles.
• Chronic dislocating patella (slipped knee cap), most common in toy breeds.
• Osteochondritis dissecans, a disease of young dogs.Hip dysplasia.
  

Continue Reading »

Constipation And Flatulence

As your dog grows older, the muscles of the colon and rectum may lose some of their ability to propel and expel feces adequately during a bowel movement. Reduction in stomach and intestinal digestive secretions can produce a bulkier, firmer stool as can diets very high in dry food content if there is insufficient water intake. Your dog will squat and strain to force the fecal mass slowly out. She may cry from the discomfort.

Prostatic disease can mechanically cause constipation as the prostate gland enlarges and presses up against the floor of the rectum. Similarly, tumors in the rectum or on the anus can interfere with the passage of feces. Any dog may have an isolated difficult bowel movement on occasion. This should be no cause for alarm if he is otherwise in good health and there is no bleeding or excessive pain.

Repeated bouts of constipation can slowly stretch the rectal muscles, causing permanent dilatation and resulting in chronic constipation. Once this occurs, your dog will need frequent enemas as well as fecal softeners to help him eliminate. The increased time the stool remains in the colon and rectum will allow bacteria that normally live there to act on the stool, causing putrefaction and excessive gas production.

Continue Reading »