Last month, we x-rayed our dog. The vet said she had mild dysplasia in her right hip and is developing arthritis in her spine. What should we do?

Dear Cindy and Ed

I am writing to give you an update and ask a health related question concerning Taiko Vom Leerburg, CD, SAR (Ron x Ida; 10/30/99), call name "Grace," who will have her ninth birthday in a couple of weeks. I obtained Grace from Leerburg in January of 2000 for the purpose of training her for search and rescue work with Missouri Search and Rescue K-9. http://www.missourisearchandrescue.com/

"Taiko" was chosen because she came from a "T" litter and is Japanese meaning "Power" or "Powerful." This has proved to be a very appropriate formal name!

Grace has been a wonderful companion to our family, great with family friends (including my elderly father), appropriately watchful of our home, easy to travel with on cross country trips, a breeze to train in obedience and a great SAR dog. Her drive and work ethic from puppyhood to the present has been outstanding. She is our dear friend.

My health related question is this:

Grace is a hardworking dog high energy dog and has always exercised a great deal throughout her life. She walks daily and loves swimming more than just about anything else in this world. (We joke that she is part Labrador Retriever) She has always weighed about 65 pounds, varying from that only 3 to 5 pounds, since she reached maturity. She currently weighs in the low 60s. As we had no desire to breed her, we had her spayed at about 6 months of age.

In the last year or so, Grace has begun to limp around after working particularly hard. This has increased the past few months and it is difficult to watch. Last month, we had her x-rayed by our vet, who said that she has mild dysplasia in her right hip and is developing arthritis in her spine. He explained that the dysplasia has probably always been present but because of her regular exercise, she has been able to compensate for it to the point where it has never given her trouble.

When Leerburg Kennels switched to a natural diet a few years ago, we did as well. Her regular diet consist of the following:

Morning - Three raw chicken wings, 1 cup of Embark dehydrated food, 2 to 3 fish oil pills (1,000 mgs) Two to three times a week, this is supplemented by 2 oz of raw beef liver. She also gets fresh salmon on a regular basis.

Afternoon - One cup of California Natural kibble mixed with 1 tablespoon of glucosimine condroiton. The reason for the kibble is that I don't trust myself to give her all of the appropriate vitamins and nutrients that she needs. California Natural seems to be about the most basic and natural kibble out there, other than Innova (which she really doesn't care for, for some odd reason).

So, my question is what should we do? Is 9 years old heading into the "Golden Years"? In general, what should we expect as she heads into her remaining years? What are your thoughts caring for her in her later years and on her life expectancy? Her desire to work is as strong and energetic as ever and it is heartbreaking to see her sore after doing the things that she loves best. Of course, I guess the same could be said about me too! :) She did successfully work a fire scene three weeks ago (see attached newspaper article "Gardner Fire") and she can continue to do this type of close forensic type work for a while, but retirement from SAR is looming quickly.

Thank you for breeding these outstanding dogs! Your contribution to the
lives of many families has been enormous!

Sincerely,
Ray and Theresa
Shawnee, Kansas