MOVING FREELY

KNOW THE EARLY SIGNS OF DYSPLASIA TO KEEP YOUR POOCH

QMy German shepherd rescue is coming up to a year old. I have been told that this breed is particularly at risk of a hip disease. What should I be looking out for to prompt a consultation with the vet?

AGerman shepherd dogs, along with other large dogs, are prone to developing hip dysplasia.

The hip joint is a ball and socket joint and when hip dysplasia occurs, the joint becomes lax. This results in the head of the femur (the ball) not fitting properly into the acetabulum (the socket), which can cause the animal pain.

This is primarily a genetic problem, but there are other factors that contribute, such as obesity and a poor diet that doesn’t meet the requirements of a growing dog.

If you are unsure whether your pet is overweight or on a correct diet it would be worth a consultation now.

Signs of hip dysplasia can be seen in dogs as young as four months, but by 12 months the problem is more obvious.

Observation by the owner is very important in helping the vet decide on an appropriate course of action, as signs vary in intensity and don’t always correlate with radiographs, such as X-rays.

Typical signs to look out for are swaying when walking; struggling to get up after lying down; difficulty in jumping into the car or going upstairs; lameness in one or more of the back legs; and a reluctance to exercise.

Any of these should prompt a visit to the vet for a physical examination, often followed by radiographs.

These will help your vet to decide whether specialist surgery is needed.

QMy six-year-old domestic short-haired cat has been licking one of his front paws for a month. All the nails look blackened where they meet the skin. I have been bathing it with salt water without success. Can you advise?

AYour description is important as it suggests a nail bed infection known as paronychia.

Bathing with salt water was a sensible initial home treatment but, as there has been no improvement, it’s time to get your vet to have a look.

If only one nail was blackened I would suspect some kind of injury might have started the problem.

But as more than one nail is affected, your vet may want to do some sampling of the discoloured part and perhaps some blood tests to look for underlying diseases that could be responsible.

Sampling might reveal either a bacterial cause, a yeast infection or, more rarely, a fungal infection.

Also quite rare, but something that needs to be considered, is an autoimmune skin disease such as pemphigus, although this is the least likely cause.

Almost any illness can reduce the immune system’s ability to ward off infection and your vet may do a biochemical profile, depending on the results of a physical examination.

This will look for problems with the liver and kidney, for example, or feline immunodeficiency virus.

This may sound alarming but treatment for bacteria or yeasts often improves the situation, giving time to investigate and treat any underlying causes.

You can expect outcome in most cases.