Arwen has Arthritis

Arwen's particular type of arthritis is more specifically known as spondylosis - osteoarthritis of the spine that causes bony spurs to grow on the ventral side of the vertebrae.  These kinds of bone spurs result from trauma, or from a familial predisposition.  Since Arwen hasn't had any trauma, she must have had this lovely characteristic passed down to her from her family.  We knew she was starting to have some discomfort from seeing a prior xray, but this most recent visit to the vet for pain symptoms, showed us how very bad the condition was becoming.  Here are her x-rays:

See where the arrows are?  Those are the bone spurs - ugh!

The arrows up show those nasty bone spurs.  The arrow down shows how much poo the poor girl wasn't able to pass because those spurs were pinching her nerves!

The bone spurs were pinching the nerves that tell Arwen that it's time to poo.  My poor girl was painful from her spine AND uncomfortable because she couldn't pass a bowl movement.  She was grumbly, panting and couldn't get comfortable.  Now I understood why. We started her on a canine NSAID, Metacam, and she was back to normal in a couple of days.  

To get her off of prescription meds, I've been advised by her vet to stay on fish oil at high doses, and start tart cherry juice supplements.  We've also started Dasuquin, a powerful joint supplement. I just started her on the tart cherry supplements.  I'll let you know how that goes.  I'm also considering acupuncture.  

Arwen is still playing, jumping and walking as well as she always has, but there are subtle changes.  She sleeps on her back mostly and while playing, she's pretty guarded with the other 2 jumping around her.  She rarely sleeps through the night on her bed, which is something she's always done.  Now she's changing positions more and often leaves her bed for the flat floor in her crate.   Lest you think she's become weak and frail, she still runs the Pack with an iron paw.  Discipline and leadership can't take medical leave!