I was surprised to see the young couple bringing the old
Miniature Schnauzer with the large cheek tumour I had
excised on Jun 14, 2010 to see me on Sunday. The case is
recorded in:
"He had been crying loudly at night for past 3 nights
(Jun 17-19)," the young lady said. "The neighbours
thought the dog was abused and enquired about him. He
just could not stand up. Previously a vet had diagnosed
hip arthritis."
PALPATION
1. T/L to L/S spinal area painful.
2. Extended right hip. Dog screamed in pain.
3. Extended left hip. Dog showed painful reaction.
CHEEK TUMOUR EXCISION EXAMINATION
"The dog will not allow me to open his mouth," the lady
said when I wanted her help. I wanted to see whether the
large ulcer after excision of the cheek tumour had
healed well. I put the dog on the table and opened the
right cheek. The stitches had broken down. The ulcer was
reddish but otherwise not infected. The dog did not
object to the lady opening his mouth now.
"He had painkillers called tolfedine tablets of 60
mg/day for the last 7 days," I said.
"Did he behave like a young puppy by running wild?" I
asked. "Painkillers made him feel good and
over-exert his muscles and joints."
"Yes," the lady said. "He was most active unlike other
times when we took him outdoors. He would lift his hind
leg, either left or right and pee at every vertical
surface till the last drop of urine. This is his usual
habit."
I explained: "The reason he cried at night and could not
get up on his hind feet is that he has painful hip
joints and back after the exercises. Now you have to
restrain him from any activity for at least one month."
I proposed that the dog be neutered to reduce his
urine-marking obsession. But the owner was not keen on
the idea. The male dog lifts up mainly his right hind
leg to balance weight while peeing on vertical surface.
So, the extra weight puts pressure on the right hip.
Therefore the right hip became very painful. However, he
would switch to the left leg. So both hip joints
are painful. What did he do then since he had to
urine-mark at all cost? "Oh, he just squat and pee on
the ground," the owner said. After enjoyment during the
evening of urine-marking, the dog felt the intense pain
at night for 3 nights. The neighbour was concerned and
so the owner came for consultation.
From my observation, I deduced that this dog had severe
hip pain after he had over-exerted himself in the
evening. The pain manifested at night and he could not
sleep and cried for help. The owners could not bear to
hear his cries and came to enquire. Is this deduction
correct? Some veterinary cases are like those of
Sherlock Holmes. Observation and deduction are part and
parcel of veterinary medicine. The value of the
information provided by the owner is more useful than
various X-rays and tests. Below are pictures of the
dog's right cheek 6 days after excision. The wound
appears to heal well and is not infected. The dog's pink
tongue and his demeanour indicated that he is in good
health.
CHANGES OF
LIFE-STYLE ADVISED
1. No walking over the drainage grate from void deck to
grass during outdoors exercise for the next one month or
more.
2. Use of a anti-obesity dry food diet. If the dog loses
1 kg, his hip joints would bear less weight. It is
easier said than done as some old dogs just love to eat
and put on weight easily.
P.S
Neuter your
male dog at around 6 months to prevent obsessive
urine-marking. During old age and weight gain, the hip
joints may be worn out due to weight bearing from the
lifting of the hind leg to urine-mark.
TOA
PAYOH VETS
