Tony and I took Hudson to Deer Creek Veterinary Hospital today and Dr. Todd Rezac had a look at him. He feels that Hudson most likely had some sort of soft tissue injury. The tendon movement that my old vet described could not have occurred. Typically injuries like that are caused by F'ING BEING HIT BY A CAR. There is nothing in everyday life that could have created the force of the trauma required to pop a tendon out of place. We've got the soft tissue issue under control now.
Dr. Todd was very surprised that my old vet diagnosed hip dysplasia without an X-ray. He was also extremely surprised when I told him my old vet wouldn't do an x-ray because he didn't want to anesthetize Hudson. Dr. Todd and his assistants (all 5 of them) were able to do two x-rays of Hudson's hips in 10 minutes. Imagine our surprise when he told us that not only does Hudson NOT have hip dysplasia, but he has much better hips than he would expect to see in the average 5 year old Dane. He did discover that Hudson has Spondylosis, that's where his pain is originating from. Even though Spondylosis is a degenarative disease that can eventually cause paralysis and loss of control over the bladder and bowels, Dr. Todd doesn't feel that Hudson's case will ever progress that far. His vertebrae have already fused. They are mis-aligned enough to cause occasional pain, but not enough for the spinal cord to be severed. There isn't really anything we can do to treat it, since his spine is already fused. Surgery isn't an option. Dr. Todd recommended giving Rimadyl as needed to control the pain, in addition to the glucosamine and fish oil that we already use.
Spondylosis is by no means a good diagnosis, but it has taken a very heavy weight off of my shoulders. I've worried incessantly for three years about Hudson. Every move he makes worries me. We've restricted his movement the entire three years in an attempt to keep him from damaging his hips further. For example, Hudson is not allowed to play outside in the snow/rain with Porter. He can only go out to potty with Tony or I watching him. He doesn't get to go on long walks. We limit how often he can go upstairs or downstairs. All of these things can impact the wear and tear on a set of dysplastic hips. Poor Hudson doesn't have dysplastic hips. Dr. Todd said to let him run free. He can play, he can walk for miles, he can go up and down the stairs to his hearts content. I don't have to hover over him like a mother hen. He can finally be a dog again.
