Question by alwayssunny: found a hard lump on my dogs hip today any ideas what would cause this?
He’s a medium sized 11 yr old mixed breed dog. The lump is about golf ball size. He doesn’t want me to touch it as it seems to hurt him. Just been on a diet as seemed to be having trouble with arthritis. He’s now lost all the weight he needs to but I’ve just noticed the very hard lump on his hip bone….We will be taking him to the vets tomorrow but wondered if anyone could give me any help? Thank you.

Best answer:

Answer by dogz101
Bring him to the vet. It can be a tumor

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Question by Doublemint: Dog just dies without apparent cause?
My 10 year old Pom died today, which is REALLY young to die for a pom, the avg lifespan is 14-16 years. She had diarrhea this week but we took a sample to the vet and it showed that nothing was wrong. She had a great appetite, wasn’t in any pain, didn’t show any warning signs at all like anything bad was going to happen. She had never been in the greatest health (she was deaf and had a sensitive stomach, as well as some bladder control issues), but it was never anything serious!

I highly doubt she got into anything – she was a strictly indoor dog and we have dogproofed the house really well, when she wasn’t supervised she was normally asleep in her cage.

The ONLY thought that occured to me is that we got her when she was an adult and already deaf (breeder said she was 3) — maybe the breeder lied? She had some bladder control issues, arthritis, etc – maybe she was older than 10? Really that’s my only guess. The breeder was shut down due to poor care of her dogs so maybe???

Best answer:

Answer by Pam
Well if the breeder was shut down for poor care of her animals, many different things could have been wrong and not found unless specifically tested for.

And as you said, she could’ve been older than what the breeder was claiming.

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Question by Trail B: is it true that my miniture weenie dog has back problems that would cause him to cripple up, i need some help.?
My dog is old and for some reason he is acting like he has arthritis, its something to watch him try to get around, someone told me its cause wennie dogs have back problems, just wondering if anyone else’s dog might do the same thing, I dont know what to do with him…

Best answer:

Answer by Tiger
My does does that too when she walks sometimes.
I know she has back problems though because the herniated a disc a couple years ago. Also my dog is 7 and is a toy poodle.

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Question by greeneyedbride: What would cause my elderly dog to stumble?
My medium sized dog (dachshund/beagle/lab mix) dog is going to be 13 in a few months. For the past week, she’s been stumbling, uneasy on her feet and falling. Not all the time, maybe once a day or once every few days. She has also had some bouts of shaking/tremor. Almost as if a current goes through her body, like she’s going to have a seizure, but doesn’t. I doesn’t last long when it happens, maybe a minute or two. This has happened occasionally the past few months. I mentioned this to the vet the last time she was there, thought it was her thyroid but that came back normal. She does have a slightly enlarged heart with pulmonary edema (she’s on a daily diuretic for it). I love her to pieces, she’s my baby. I’ve had her for the past 10 years (adopted her from a shelter).

I made an appointment with the vet for Wednesday. But I’d like some input on anyone who has experienced this with an elderly dog. She’s eating normally, still has her spunky moments. She’s been the first dog I’ve owned. It’s breaking my heart to see her getting older. I’m not sure if this is just a normal process with an elderly dog, arthritis or a sign of something worse. Thank you for any thoughts, I appreciate it.

Best answer:

Answer by Becky
I know how you feel. My dog Max went through this exact same process the difference being he was 16. His legs slowly started to give way from under him and he would stumble forward into things, then would pick himself back up and walk fine. We took him to the vets who gave us medication to give to him to help strengthen his muscles and help with his arthritis.
Unfortunately I woke up one morning about 2 months after his first stumble to find him in incredible pain and rushed him to the vets, they gave him a strong pain killer (our equivalent of morphine) which seemed to work for a few hours until it wore off and I had to take him back, then they recommended I had him put to sleep.
Get her to the vets ASAP and keep a really close eye on her.
My vet also recommended massaging the offending legs once or twice a day gently to try and stimulate the muscles. I hope shes okay.

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Question by Love’s Excelling Way: People giving their dog a swift tug on the leash, can’t that cause damage to the dog’s neck?
You know… like Cesar Milan does. He pulls the dog by the leash roughly. Now I’ve seen other people doing it constantly to their dogs. If you did that to a human, they would have tendon damage, muscle damage, and then develop arthritis. Can’t this be harmful to dogs? Even a little bit? I think it can.

Best answer:

Answer by dartass224
It depends on the dog, the human and the collar on the dog.

Too many variables to answer the question.

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Question by Miracle Paws (QUESTION PROFILE): Putting a dog to sleep with no cause?? How do you feel about this?
Well long story short my uncle has a very old Dalmatian that he has had since it was a puppy but was used basically as a guard dog. Well the dog is old and has arthritis and some hip pain. Which you all know could be fixed with some arthritis medicine. Its about 10 years old i am not exactly sure.

He also has i think about 3 or 4 other dogs. Well about a month or 2 months ago. One of his inside dogs. His small breed dog. Got out and got to Gavin(The Dalmatian) Gavin went for it attacked the small dog and tore one of its eyes out of its head. Well they called me and said “OMG what do we do!.” They know i am the dog person. The animal lover of the family and my family if they have any animal problems or need help call me. I rush over there and take there dog to the vet for them and get it treated. Well after a month or so the dog got out again and the same thing happened. Gavin tore the other eye out. Now the dogs blind.

Anyway. To me they are VERY bad dog owners. I don’t blame Gavin at all! his WHOLE life he was put in a backyard. What do you expect from him? He doesnt know what to do with the small dog he could have just been playing with it.

So anyway they also have a few dachshunds in there backyard and there tied up on one side of the yard. So they have 3 dogs in there backyard 1 small breed dog in there house and now they just bought a St.Bernard puppy. I think now they want to put Gavin to sleep because they have a lot of dogs and a lot of mouths to feed and plus they have themselves a new guard dog the St.Bernard puppy.

They called me and said they wanted to put Gavin to sleep. They said “how do we do that?” I told them they would need to get a hold of there Animal Shelter in there city. They didn’t know how to do it so i did(of course). I called and i asked how much etc. I told my Uncle to bring Gavin in and they will do it for a small fee. But i did talk to them and asked them “why? put him down” etc etc. But after a while of trying to convince them to keep him alive cause there is no reason to put him down etc. I stopped try to convince them. Reason being is because i started to think about his quality of life. He walks around a backyard all day. Thats it. He has arthritis which i know can be cured but they will probably not get the meds he needs. So i thought well if he was living a good life i would have stopped them from putting him to sleep. But i didn’t. I did it for Gavin. When he passes he will be free. He wont be this hurting guard dog that sits in a backyard all day he will be free from all of it.

I feel good about my decision in not stopping his owners. But then again i cannot stop thinking about it. Do you agree i made the right decision???

NOTE: They haven’t put him down just yet but will do soon in the next hour or so. I will not be there. They live far from me.

Thank you. Sorry for this being so long i wanted to give you guys every detail. Thank you so much!
Yes i agree with you all! They do not deserve to own animals. I will call on them. Although i do not think the Animal Control will do anything. This is there law- A dog must be in good weight and have proper shelter. All there dogs do. Not to sure if there can be anything done. There not breaking any laws. Its just so sad. He is a sweet heart to.

As for the rescue. I talked to the vet and he said that because of his age and his health. The chances of him finding a home are slim! I thought of that one to. But again. I think he will be free from it all. Its heartbreaking though.
I would love to take Gavin in. But i have 3 dogs, 3 cats and 2 bird myself. Plus Gavin is not good with small dogs. If you go on my profile there is a link to my real profile. There you can see my dogs there all small breeds. Not sure if Gavin would be good with them. Also they live really far from me and they will not be willing to give him to me. Its heartbreaking i know!! I just don’t think there is anything left to do. I am glad you all agree that they are bad owners! I will surely call not sure if it will help.
To: Debra..Thank you so much for your input! Some how they state that there small breed dog got out and went straight to Gavin. They said they could here something happening outside and they opened the back door and there small dog came running to them with its eye hagging out of its head. They didn’t know what to do! *I* had to take the dog. Then it happened again!! I was very mad at them! Now the sweet little dog is blind!! I blame THEM not Gavin. To the other question. They have an old dog house that only one of the dogs use. They also feed them left overs NOT dog food. These poor dog do not know what love is. I am and will call on them.
I am so sorry everyone i cannot choose best answer you all have touched my hearts. I will call. I to pray that he is not allowed anymore dogs and that he somehow LEARNS. Its sickens me i am hurt, i am just in a horrible state. I hope something is done. I hope Gavin is happy. He was put down and from what i heard went peacefully with loving vets showing him what love was. His last few moments of life he had loving vets petting him and talking to him. Thank you all there is no way i can express my gratefulness and how happy i am to have such good dog loving people on here to help me through my worst of times. You guys all rock! Gavin is at the Rainbow bridge and is having the time of his life! I am very happy for him. Thank you all! Words cant describe.

Best answer:

Answer by CC
I understand, it is not the dogs fault at all. He was never socialized, or trained properly. The owners are the ones who should train the dog to be a well socialized dog. It is a sad thing for them.

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Question by Bill B: can a small cut, or crack on the pad of a dogs back paw cause the dog to limp?
Dog has been limping for about a week, called the vet and said the dog may be gettin arthritis(8 year old lab), but I have noticed today there is a small cut/crack on the pad of the paw she is having trouble walking on. Any answers that may be a help, and any solutons on what how i may be able to help the dog…

Best answer:

Answer by Olivia M
You need to TAKE your dog to the vet. If a dog is limping more than 24 hours, he needs to see a veterinarian. If he has arthritis, they will give him pain medication. They will be able to find out what is wrong. Just take him to the vet in the morning.

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Question by Starryeyes: Can trauma cause arthritis?
My dog has suffered from arthritis for years. He is 11 I think and it has recently gotten much worse. I have him bcuz years ago it turned out my (crackhead) uncle had been pulling his little (chiuahuah) ears, punched his tiny face, etc. With oscar really in pain now I am pissed. Wondering if the abuse caused this. The vets both said they can’t do much and gave him as much pain meds as poss w/o knocking him out. It hurts bad to see the “arthritic changes” they’ve diagnosed hurting my baby. He’s on metacam and tramadol. I’ve spent years healing emotional wounds and when I got him he had a crooked spine, both ears infected, an enlarged prostate, and 10 ( now extracted ) infected teeth. Did that piece of sh!t do this to him or is it normal aging? Its so hard to see him in pain, I love him. Is this from abuse or is my heart just looking for someone to blame?

Best answer:

Answer by that cancer guy
It’s normal aging. Don’t beat yourself up about it, you saved his life, you have cared for him to the max, simply continue to love him and treasure him. Keep him warm in winter, and cool in summer, and keep him well hydrated. Be strong for him.
All the best to you and li’l Oscar dude.

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Question by Sylvia: Limping Dog – No visible injuries – What might be the cause?
I have a female Doberman who is approximately 7 years old. Yesterday she suddenly started to limp on her right back-leg and was avoiding standing on it. When she starts to walk it seems to get better and after walking she tends to stand on that leg again. There are no visible injuries and when I move and stretch her leg she seems fine with that too. Otherwise she is fine and happy, has normal appetite, and still wants to play.
I was doing some reading online and found informtaion on “Paneosteitis”. The symptoms seem to fit pretty well, except that they usually affect young dogs. It says treatment, if any, involves painkillers and basically it just has to be waited out. She is currently on an anti-inflammatroy/pain killer for arthritis.

I am obvioulsy going to take her to the vet if symptoms continue. I just wanted to see if anyone has had a similar experience or some advice on what it might be or what could help.
She gets “Deramaxx” for arthritis on a daily basis already – prescribed by the vet.
Could it still be arthritis-related even though she is already getting medication for it, and it came completely out of the blue?

Thanks for all of the answers so far!

Best answer:

Answer by Pat A
Taking her to the vet sooner would be good. It could be a knee slipping out of place.

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Question by maddiekaykay: does cosequin cause upset stomach? my dog has a sensitive tummy, and arthritis. i feed her chicken & rice?
that is basically all she can hold down. she has to take pepcid 2x daily. i know for a fact rimadyl gives her a belly ache. i started her on cosequin yesterday, she threw up today after feeding with the cosequin in it. Is nausea and vomiting one of the side effects of cosequin? thanks for the feedback

Best answer:

Answer by Mutt Mommy
My dog has been on Cosequin since August and I have never noticed any side effects like you described.

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