Dog is man’s best friend as they say. It is indeed a big responsibility for individual having a pet dog. It brings about a lot of responsibility to take good care of your pet dog. It is your responsibility to provide a home, best nutritional diet and many more. Regular veterinary visits are also needed to ensure good health of your dogs. Dogs as they get old, their bones also start to deteriorate just like human beings do.
If you hear Spondylosis as a form of arthritis in man you will find one too in dogs which they call as Spondylosis Deformans. It is a disease that is distinguished by bony spurs which occurs in your dog’s vertebrae. This condition can affect one or more parts of the spine and this is common to middle age to older female dogs. This condition often strikes Airedale terriers, Cocker Spaniels, German shepherd and Boxers. In fact a study is conducted regarding the occurrence of spondylosis deformans as well as genetic aspects of the degree of osteophytes development with an Italian Boxer dog (J Anim Sci. 2004).
The most common symptoms you will probably observe in your dog are back pain, lameness and loss of muscle tissue. However most dogs may not exhibit visible signs so that it is hard to really identify the onset of the disease. So if you observe any problem with your dog’s health even if it is not that serious, call your veterinarian for complete physical examination and diagnostic. Your doctor may take x-rays of the Lumbosacral spinal segments, lumbar and caudal thoracic. Other test may include myelogram, joint fluid analysis and force plate analysis which is responsible in measuring pressure areas that is affected.
If your dog is diagnose to have Spondylosis deformans then treatment may consist of taking of NSAIDS to lessen any pain that the dog may experience. Most of the time, this condition does not need any treatment at all since it does not really cause any compression in the spinal cord however surgery may be necessary if its myelogram shows bone spurs that needs to be eliminated from the spinal cord thus relieving the dog from extreme pain and pressure.
If in any case your dog undergoes surgery then follow in detail the instructions of home care of your dog after surgery which include caring of its incision, medication and of course its follow up exam. Discuss with your veterinarians about spondylosis deformans and any preventive measures or any home care treatment that would help keep your dogs happy and healthy.