New here

[pastmxer]

hello, my name is joe and I am also new here. the reason being, I have a 5 yr old alaskan malamute that over the last 3 days seems to have gotten major arthritis over night and I dont think thats it at all.. she still has an appetite and drinks plenty of water. no puking or diarrhea.. it's like she walking on a bed of glass, but her paws check out fine and her nails are clipped. I have heard her whine on occasion but nothing serious yet.(I can only pray) anyone here ever see anything like this?? any input is geatly appreciated. :-)

[smorson]

Hi Joe,

I went through a similar situation with my lab/chow mix. He was 12 when he developed arthritis. Oddly, it was in his front legs/feet, his hips weren't really affected.

There are some really good drugs on the market, both for pain and to limit the damage. Bear lived another 2 years after his initial diagnosis. We made a lot of adjustments (he had to learn to use a ramp, which he hated). He weighed 80 lbs - I imagine your dog is a large one too! Get to your Veterinarian as quickly as possible. One thing I found helpful for Bear was to take him to the lake to swim as frequently as possible.

Good luck, let me know how it works out.

susan

[cichlidfreak]

Hi and welcome,
I don't know a ton about dogs but how large is your dog? I had a huskey malimute and she was HUGE!!! It probably would not hurt to talk to someone who knows... about a doggy diet for her to help her lose weight (as exercise might cause injury) let us know how it goes, sorry If I was no help just thought I'd give a wirl.

[mojosmama]

have you fertilized lately? I had my dog do the same thing when we fertilized. Check between the pads on his feet. One of our dogs got real red and moist between the toes when exposed to fertilizer or any yard treatment. Another dog got sore but didn't get red between the toes...the pads themselves got sore. Now we just keep them in until we water the lawn after fertilizing.