Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Visit to the Vet

Today we got to meet Tate's new vet, Dr.Carla Schluchter. I really liked her, it's always hard to change vets when you have found a good one. The vet I had in Thunder Bay was great, but I think Dr. Schluchter will be as good, if not better!
I have to keep an eye on Tate as he was infected with Lymes last spring. He was treated, & now according to his bloodtests, we knocked out the bacteria. However, you always wonder if there was any damage done before you started to treat. Lymes affects the muscles, tissues & joints, & left untreated, in super advanced cases it can go into the brain...nasty nasty disease.
We also did a geriatric profile on Tate as he will be 6 on Fri, & he is a large dog so they tend to age quicker.
During his exam the Dr. found him to have osteoarthritis, which is a breakdown of cartilage, in both pasterns as well as both elbows, the left side being worse. He has had a build up of scar tissue inside both stifles. Tate has been doing agility since he was 10 mos old, so I'm sure it was a bit of a factor also. I am to keep walking him but no more jumping off the ground & coming down on his legs, like when he chases the ball!!! I have to keep his weight off, & right now the Doc says it's perfect! I also have Tate on a high potency CM complex which the clinic highly recommends , so she was very happy that I had already thought to start him on that. Sounds like I'm doing all the right things for my ageing boy!
Well Tater dog, your tire jumping, ball leaping days are over!!

2 comments:

Paws on the Run said...

Poor Tate. Growing old is never fun.

Sarah said...

he has many more years ahead of him, they just have to be with all four feet on the ground!! You can tear up the Rally ring!