Dog with bone spur on shoulder

[sketcher]

Has anyone ad a dog with a shoulder spur? The spur is right at the tip of the humerous.

The vet wants to give him rimadyl and xray in a few months to see if he is developing arthritis. At that time she would refer me to an orthopedic vet.

I hate rimidyl. This dog is only 6. The lameness is very mild and intermittent. The vet examined him twice and could not discern any lameness. If he were 10 and it was a quality of life issue for him then I would consider the drugs but I know a few dogs who have been on it and ultimately died of liver failure.

I would prefer to go to the orthopedic person now and have the arthroscopic surgery to remove the spur before the arthritis develops, before he has liver damage form the NSAID and before he is a year or two older where surgery gets more difficult for him.

The vet acts like I am am monster because I am hesitant to use this medication. She says the surgery is invasive and there is no guarantee he does not develop a spur in the other shoulder. I’m not sure why that matters…it just means we have both shoulders done.

Am I way off base here? I’m really, really starting to dislike this vet. We started out with one we really liked and somehow now always get this vet.

[Bluey]

When in doubt, get a second opinion.

Since you have questions, go get them answered to your satisfaction.:yes:

[Lone]

raises hand I have a 6 year old lab with a bone spur in his shoulder

I started off with a vet who sounds a lot like yours- wanted me to do Rimadyl for 6 months and to see if that was enough to help him. I kept going back saying things weren’t getting better, but they weren’t willing to change course.

I called my horse vet who was willing to look at my dog and give me a second opinion and he immediately referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. We did the consult with him and he seemed pretty confidant about the outcome. The recovery sounded like it would take a couple months, but that it should go pretty smoothly for a dog this age.

Ultimately I decided against it. My dog already has arthritis in his shoulder, and he has a bad stifle also. We worried that he’d make his stifle worse by putting extra weight on it after the surgery. Plus, so much damage was already done in his shoulder that simply removing the spur was unlikely to significantly change his quality of life. Had our circumstances been different, I definitely would have considered the surgical route.

Currently we’re managing my dog’s pain with drugs. My horse vet was willing to take us on permanently (he’s so fantastic!) and has been great at helping me find the right drug regime. He has recommended that we rotate drugs every 3 or 4 months. Basically the plan was to use a drug that damages the liver for a little while, then switch to something that’s hard on the stomach for a while (in hopes that the liver could have a break), and so on. Basically we would try and spread around the side effects so that none of his organs would take a hard hit.

Anyway, if I were you I’d definitely go get a second opinion (or a third if you aren’t satisfied with the second!) and see if you can get referred to a good orthopedic surgeon. You also might ask about starting your dog on Adequan, it has helped my lab quite a bit and hopefully it’ll help prevent some future deterioration.

[jetsmom]

[QUOTE=Bluey;5742373]
When in doubt, get a second opinion.

Since you have questions, go get them answered to your satisfaction.:yes:[/QUOTE]

THIS^^^

[sketcher]

@Lone;5742431

Ultimately I decided against it. My dog already has arthritis in his shoulder, and he has a bad stifle also. We worried that he’d make his stifle worse by putting extra weight on it after the surgery. Plus, so much damage was already done in his shoulder that simply removing the spur was unlikely to significantly change his quality of life. Had our circumstances been different, I definitely would have considered the surgical route.

My dog is six as well. He has no arthritis and no other issues. That is why I think it would be good to remove the spur now, before the damage is done.

I’ll definitely get a second opinion.

[SquishTheBunny]

My god, arhtroscopic surgeries are just that arthroscopic. There is a 2mm incision. We do dozens in a month (90% labs…interesting). Get it done - you will be happy with your decision and so will your dog! Dont mess around with shoulders, elbows and stifles, labs are always happy and dont always show signs of pain - however a proper orthopedic exam will show you just how painful it can be. Atleast get a consult with ortho vet, its worth the $ for the discussion alone.

[Pancakes]

[QUOTE=sketcher;5744189]
My dog is six as well. He has no arthritis and no other issues. That is why I think it would be good to remove the spur now, before the damage is done.

I’ll definitely get a second opinion.[/QUOTE]

This – do it NOW before there is significant damage. Leaving the spur will only cause more issues down the line, when pain management may become more difficult.

Definitely get a consultation with a surgeon!