Great Dane in pain

[threedogmom]

I joined this great board in hopes of finding an answer to my great dane's problem. I own a 134lb. female, rescued dane. I do not know her age,but I have had her for 5yrs. The vet is putting her in the 7-9yr. group. For the past year she has been having problems with her shoulder/neck. Every now and then it seems she either pops her shoulder out or hurts her neck.I have noticed this seems to happen after she gets the crazies and runs around like a crazy dog or jumps off the furniture.( which I try to restrict BUT she is a GREAT DANE!! LOL) She walks around with her head down, shakes all over,won't eat or go out and yelps when she trys to lie down. This will go on for 3 to 6 days and then she is running around like a pup again. She has been x-rayed several times. Nothing shows up. I hate to see her in so much pain and I hate paying for vet visits which have no answers.
Does anybody have any suggestions or ideas.

Thanks,
Haley's Mom

[Squawksx3]

Hi Haleys mom,

Sounds like she might have arthritis, large breed dogs are known to get this. Has your vet suggested any meds to help with the pain?. I have a German Shepherd with hip displaysia and arthritis. We have him on prednizone and baytril, he also goes to therapy(water treadmill) and it really helps. Best of luck to you. Great Danes are wonderful "lap" dogs ;)

[RWDVM]

Dear threedogmom:

You dog has probably had chronic cervical intervertebral disk disease most of her life. Chronic cervical spondylopathy (as it is termed) if most commonly found in large short hair breeds, namely Danes and Dobermans. When this disease is severe enough to cause compression of the spinal cord, a condition known as "wobblers syndrome" occurs, where the dog walks like a drunken sailor. Your vets have no answers because, intervertebral disks that exist between the vertebra for cushioning and mobility, are soft tissue (cartilagenous) in origin and will not show up on x-rays. Only a myelogram, a CT scan, or an MRI would confirm a diagnosis. These are very expensive diagnostics that require general anesthesia.

My recommendation is to go forward with the diagnostics mentioned if money is not an issue (and if you can find a veterinary orthopedic specialist in your area). Otherwise, you should ask your vet to arm you with a supply of Rimadyl for when the episodes occur. Rimadyl is a great anti-inflammatory and pain suppressant for dogs. The dose for your dog would be 125 mg given two times daily with food. Good luck! Please visit my veterinary advice and health management website url listed below.

Sincerely,

Roger L. Welton, DVM
Veterinarian, Webmaster http://www.askdvm.com