Thor had his 10.5 year old check up last week. I mentioned that I had recently noticed him scraping his back nails when walking. (his paws will turn in and he scrapes the inside nails) The vet did a thorough physical exam and found no signs of a physical problem; no muscle wasting, atrophy, weakness, loss of reflexes or range of motion or any sign of pain....just the slightly worn down nails of his back paws.

We briefly discussed xrays but I said I was against putting him under because of his age. She said after examing him she thought it could very well be a metabolic issue anyway because the results of his physical exam were excellent. The only thing she noted was a low heart rate of 70 which is actually normal; but she said as a rule under the stress of a vet visit she finds heart rates usually are higher.

She left a message yesterday that his blood work and urinalysis were text book perfect and suggested a hip and spine xray. She feels she can accomplish this without anesthesia and just using pain killers.

I hate the idea of putting him under anesthesia due to his age and a possible low heart rate but the alternative of the pain and stress of the xrays without it doesn't sound like a better option. I don't know what is required to get the xrays so maybe I'm overreacting....

I haven't talked to the vet yet to ask questions but what would she be looking for with the xrays and are there any other tests that could help diagnose what the problem is?

Sheila, depending on your dog's training it might be possible to do x-rays without anesthesia. Connie had 2 sets of x-rays done without going under. She is an amazing dog and would hold still if asked nicely. Both sets of x-rays came out perfect

eta: I don't think they used pain killers: did not tell me anything about it, did not charge for it and Connie did not look like she'd taken any.

With most dogs, that are not in pain, we would not anesthetize. Now, there are different types of anesthesia - a general, where the dog is totally out, and intubated (like for surgery) & intravenous sedation. IV sedation varies in type and strength, depending on the situation.
All in all, I would say the majority of x-rays I do are only fully conscious animals. We generally use drugs for *very* stressed or painful cases.
All that is involved, is that he will lie down on a table, they will get pictures at several angles, and if he is a reasonably good dog, it will only take a few minutes. Developing the xrays is actually a longer process than taking them!

Well that doesn't sound so tortureous He is very cooperative at the vet's so I think this would probably work. I'll need to ask why pain medication. I might not have understood the message correctly.

It generally isn't that bad. If you have a dog with say, known hip issues, or if you need to get OFA rads, you would have to sedate the dog. In the first case because the stretched out position would be painful, and they need to be relaxed, and in the latter case, because the images have to be very precise and perfect quality. Your vet likely meant sedation, not pain medication.

Depending on the position of the dog for the x-rays needed....maybe you can train the position ahead of time. ie: laying on his stomache & pulling his legs out behind him or laying still on his back etc & holding the position for a cound of 8-10 which if the tech is ready should be enbough time to take the shot. Thru training, the dog will know that he will be released from the position & rewarded by the count of 10. Find out what posiitons are needed.

Also see if your vet will let you go in with the dog for the x-rays (mine has let me do that,I just don the vest & thyroid cover & in I go with the dog) & ask for the trained posiiton & hold the dog in that position. If you dog behaves better with you there then not during any proceedures (many dogts do not) it might be a better way to go. That way you won't need any sedation. Just a thought.

Hey training the position is a great idea. Damn! Am I too late for the video contest?

I can go in with him well I've never been told I couldn't my vet is very open in that regard.

Thor lays on his back when I say "belly rub" I'll just add "stretch out" and slowly start to straighten his legs. I don't think he is in any pain so I think he will be okay with that. Not sure he will generalize it to the vet's office but it is worth a try.

How is a spine xray performed? I think the vet is more interested in that than the hips. I'm going to make the appointment for Saturday since I will be off.

I'm also trying something his trainer who practices TTouch suggested; to place terry cloth scrunchies on his rear paws where an ankle/wrist would be located. She said sometimes dogs do not sense their backside in the same manner as the front and the slight pressure/support reminds them to lift their feet. She used it on her shepherd in agility training when he was having difficulty crossing a ladder without scraping his toes.

Won't he be so pretty?

Just a thought....Maybe the vet will allow a couple of 'practice sessions' before the actuaal appointment on the x-ray table. I found that when I asked my girl to jump up on the metal table...I had to grab her before she slipped off the other side. She way over jumped & it is very slippery & she slid across it. Also, because it is hard & slippery I had to hold her in order to keep her right flat & straight on her back.

I think for a spinal x-ray, the dog needs to lay on it's stomache with the back legs out straight to the back. Kinda like a bully dog will often lay down. Hips are with the dog on it's back with the hind legs pulled out away from the body & twisted inward to line up the hips.

"I'll need to ask why pain medication. I might not have understood the message correctly."

I have had what would probably have been painful (because of the positions) x-rays done on one of my dogs with morphine only. He apparently had broken a bone and was given the morphine because of his obvious pain, and the result was not just pain relief, but also relaxation and willingness to be placed in the positions necessary and then to stay in them with just those long plush-covered heavy snake-weights to pin him into position. I helped to position him and talked to him until just before the x-ray, and the tech placed those weights across the limbs, then I ducked out for long enough for each picture.

This worked out well in this case; he needed the pain med anyway, and he's a bracheocephalic dog (a Pug), so I was glad we were able to skip putting him under.

I don't know if this is commonly done (using pain meds for x-rays), but I was happy that it worked in Leo's case.

You are so smart Connie because that is what they used not morphine but a pain killer with a sedating effect. That was a few weeks ago and he did fine.

The results are he has arthritis in his spine; and the vet has suggested a mega dose of fish oil as the main treatment and rimadyl as needed.

The supplementation began a couple of weeks ago in conjunction with rimadyl in order to give him some relief while the supplements build to take effect.

I stopped the rimadyl and the guidelines I am using for fish oil are between 12,000-15,000 mg of omega 3 and 400-600 iu of vitamin e as well as 3 cosequin.

Weight gain would be detrimental so I'm trying to find a balance between omega 3s, omega 6 and vitamin e.

Thor weighs 81 lbs and I was formerly giving him about 10000mg omega 3 and 400 iu vitamin e and 1.5 lb of raw food daily. I have increased the omega 3 to 12100 mg of fish oil but have kept vitamin e at 400 I'm considering increasing since it has some properties which are beneficial to arthritis. How does my math sound?