Age catching up to whippet

Dear Dr. John,

Our whippet is approaching 10 years of age and it seems as if the last few months have been filled with all sorts of accidents and lameness issues. It all started almost a year ago with an acute episode of rear leg weakness. It was revealed that he had an acute disc extrusion in his lower back. He was started on Meloxicam in addition to his thyroid supplement. Both medications are still used but we only use the Meloxicam only we see issues.

In the last three months, we have had him seen several times for what seems to be shifting lameness in the two rear legs. We have had the vets look at our dog and both rear legs and we were assured there was no ACL issue and all of the joints appeared to be normal, yet occasionally the legs seem to make a round stepping motion. It also seems as if his head is held lower. We had an MRI done which showed nothing of significance. Should we be concerned that anything has been missed? — M.M.

Dear M.M.,

Your dog may be getting a bit clumsier or weaker with advancing age. This happens to all kinds of patients and species as they age for a lot of reasons including arthritis, weakening of the musculature, and more. It appears that you have had appropriate evaluations done all along and the addition of the recent MRI probably should give you a sense that nothing serious is present or developing, which should lower your concern about something being missed.

If the head seems to hang lower, it may suggest that a cervical issue is present but, again, your veterinarians would have found something. Testing for a proper and full range of motion by raising, flexing, and turning the neck can give clues to any issue in the area. If you pointed out your concern at the time of exams, I am sure that was assessed along with the back and all of the legs.

You might consider discussing long term daily use of an NSAID like Meloxicam or Carprofen after proper bloodwork is done to assess liver function, and joint supplements as well. Random use of medications unless prescribed might not be in your dog’s best interest.

Dr. John de Jong owns and operates the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic.He can be reached at 781-899-9994.