Elbow dyspasia

Animal activity is ratcheting up in our forest as our big snow and wind pack has melted over a few days of warm weather. A small herd of deer, including both does and bucks, visited several cameras. Here, the doe meticulously sniffed a scent post that has been marked by a bobcat, mountain lion, bear, and coyote. This is another example of how scent posts are not used by only one species. However, this one has never been marked by a deer, only sniffed.

Then, the doe stared into the forest with both of her mule-like ears pointed forward.

Then, using my favorite trick, she swiveled her right ear to monitor the forest behind her.

My favorite animals to photograph with my trail cameras are predators. However, if prey animals aren't around, the predators also don't visit. Thus, the appearance of deer and rabbits at my cameras recently bodes well for having their predators visit.

The Duo and I had a wonderful time playing in the forest yesterday afternoon. The snow had melted and refrozen into a state where walking was possible! You have no idea how happy that made all of us!

We started in the meadow where brown grass as tall as me in places still sways in the wind above the snow.

I planned a longer than usual hike because a certain jet black labrador had been getting in mischief all afternoon. His cup of energy spills over.

R has astounded us over the past couple of years by showing no signs of his elbow dysplasia problems. He was diagnosed with it just before his first birthday, and he had surgery on his birthday. His form of elbow dysplasia was a badly formed bone with a divot in it. The cartilage over top of that hole in his bone had collapsed into it, shattering like a hard boiled egg shell.

We had an awesome surgeon fix it arthroscopically. Then, we had a interminable period of extreme rest for R. He was so agitated with excess energy during those months that we had to drug him to keep him quiet.

But, to our utter amazement, after many months of healing and gradually building up his strength, he ran again. As you all know from my photos, he runs like a maniac these days!

The followup was very interesting. R came from an extremely ethical and highly regarded breeder who helped pay for his surgery and offered us another puppy (for free) in addition to R. She was 100% enthusiastic about getting R's elbow dysplasia registered in the health records of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Her goal is to breed healthier Labs, and if we don't keep records of genetic problems, that goal is unattainable.

To everyone's amazement, when we sent in R's xrays for evaluation by the OFA, they declared that he had "normal" elbows. Our vet called and explained that we "knew for a fact" that there was a major genetic defect in his elbow based on CAT scans and surgery. Our vet offered to send any additional records that they might need to correctly evaluate R's elbows. The OFA refused. They said that they must do all cases the same way... and they don't reevaluate on request. So, contrary to what the breeder, the vet, and we wanted, R appears in the database as having "normal" elbows.

It shows me that I shouldn't place too much weight on the OFA records when I choose a dog or a breeder in the future. My respect for that organization plummeted due to how they handled R's elbow dysplasia.

Despite the OFA's erroneous declaration, the breeder is not breeding R's mother or father again to avoid this problem in future puppies. The breeder has acted with the highest ethics possible given the situation.

Back to yesterday's hike... We climbed up out of the grassy meadow onto a slope of boulders and shrubs. R was vibrating with excess energy so I was playing training games with the Duo every few minutes to keep R focused on me.

A sit stay...

And, a recall out of a sit stay...

I wasn't even thinking about R's elbow because it hasn't given him problems in so long. We climbed up toward Hug Hill and the snow got deeper. Off the trail, the snow was up to my knees and a tough crust covered it. As we climbed, I spotted our mountains.

Just as we arrived atop Hug Hill, R came porpoising out of some bottomless snow limping dramatically. I thought that he was badly injured as we walked the last few meters to the summit under an awe-inspiring sky.

As we stood on the summit, he held his "bad" leg up, letting it hang limply from his shoulder. My heart was in my throat. Oh no.

Under a tumultuous sunset, I checked his paw for a cut pad or a broken nail, actually hoping that I'd find one of those curable and inevitable injuries of a very active dog. My exam was hindered by my goofy R wriggling and play-biting me incessantly. Unfortunately, his paw looked fine.

So, I decided that, while we stood on the summit, I'd pretend that nothing was wrong. The little girl in me was hoping that, by covering my eyes, I could make the limp go away.

It didn't work. He limped home on leash and limped through the evening. But, overnight, a small miracle occurred. He did not limp this morning during an easy walk. He did not limp when he clambered to his feet after a long nap later in the day. Maybe we dodged a small catastrophe. Only time will tell.