# Kodi's X-rays



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Some of you may remember that Kodi had X-rays done when we had our interrupted tooth cleaning, because we wanted to make sure that ALL that was going on with him was the TBD that he had. Well, clearly the month of antibiotics had him feeling fit as a fiddle again, so that, in itself, was a pretty sure sign that the problem was the tick disease. But, I'd paid for the xrays, so I wanted to hear what they looked like. OTOH, there was no urgency.

First my vet was on vacation. Then _I_ was on vacation. Then when my vet and I were back, and I asked her about them, she tried to access them and couldn't find them... And her TECH was on vacation! LOL! So FINALLY, everyone is back, the wayward xrays have been locked in the computer system, and reunited with Kodi's file.

The pretty amazing news is that at over 12, after a life time of sports, she said that his joints look great! She was really surprised! She didn't even see the kind of "normal wear and tear" that she would expect in a dog his age. Great hips, knees, elbow and shoulders! That's a well constructed dog for you!


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

krandall said:


> Some of you may remember that Kodi had X-rays done when we had our interrupted tooth cleaning, because we wanted to make sure that ALL that was going on with him was the TBD that he had. Well, clearly the month of antibiotics had him feeling fit as a fiddle again, so that, in itself, was a pretty sure sign that the problem was the tick disease. But, I'd paid for the xrays, so I wanted to hear what they looked like. OTOH, there was no urgency.
> 
> First my vet was on vacation. Then _I_ was on vacation. Then when my vet and I were back, and I asked her about them, she tried to access them and couldn't find them... And her TECH was on vacation! LOL! So FINALLY, everyone is back, the wayward xrays have been locked in the computer system, and reunited with Kodi's file.
> 
> ...


Go Kodi!! I know you do chiro, and he’s clearly a very well bred dog…. Any other tips?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

LWalks said:


> Go Kodi!! I know you do chiro, and he’s clearly a very well bred dog…. Any other tips?


Well, the chiro has helped keep him in tip-top shape for competition, and I'm sure that keeping the dog over-all healthy and fit also protects their joints. Also not too much heavy exercise before their joints are mature, and no jumping before a year. When I was starting the rule of thumb was not to start weaves before a year either. But I was just listening to a Susan Garrett podcast, and she has changed her recommendation to no weaving AT ALL before 18 months! She says she can get any dog of hers weaving in a couple of weeks, and any client's dog weaving inside a couple of months, and there is just no reason to start pointing on their joints earlier than that.

My vet also recommended that I start all my competition dogs on Glycoflex at maturity, to help protect their joints, as they are all working dogs, so they get that too.

But I TRULY think that the most important thing is that if you are interested in sports, it is REALLY important to buy dogs from people who understand sound structure, NOT those who are JUST breeding pretty show dogs. There are certainly breeders who do both. But there are also show breeders who do NOT understand or breed for sound structure, They only breed for what wins in the ring. And then, of course, there are all those who don't do ANY sort of health testing or checks and balances and just "hope fo the best". I think everyone here tries to educate about the dangers of buying dogs from those sources.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

To add to what Karen said…do NOT remove the dew claws. They serve a purpose.


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## Ditto's Mom (Apr 29, 2007)

Yeah for Kodi! He's healthy, strong and very handsome.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> To add to what Karen said…do NOT remove the dew claws. They serve a purpose.


OMG, no!!! I would NEVER buy a puppy whose dew claws had been removed!


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

krandall said:


> OMG, no!!! I would NEVER buy a puppy whose dew claws had been removed!


I didn’t know if some breeders still remove dew claws, however if getting a puppy I would definitely make sure the breeder does not remove them.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

To keep a dog’s joints healthy, I would also add keeping the dog at a good weight. Good structure or not, carrying excessive weight around is not good for the joints or many other things.


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

mudpuppymama said:


> To keep a dog’s joints healthy, I would also add keeping the dog at a good weight. Good structure or not, carrying excessive weight around is not good for the joints or many other things.


Great point on the weight front. We recently went to a rehab vet to talk about what else we can do to ensure no more IVDD episodes for Charlie (we’re doing some at home core strengthening exercises to start) and she said that, while he’s technically a healthy weight, it wouldn’t hurt him to be just a little slimmer, because it will be less pressure on his back. We’re going to have to be especially careful when puppy comes home, so we’ve preemptively started putting his daily kibble aside, like we did when he was a puppy, and using it in lieu of treats during the day… and then he gets whatever is left over as dinner.


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

krandall said:


> Well, the chiro has helped keep him in tip-top shape for competition, and I'm sure that keeping the dog over-all healthy and fit also protects their joints. Also not too much heavy exercise before their joints are mature, and no jumping before a year. When I was starting the rule of thumb was not to start weaves before a year either. But I was just listening to a Susan Garrett podcast, and she has changed her recommendation to no weaving AT ALL before 18 months! She says she can get any dog of hers weaving in a couple of weeks, and any client's dog weaving inside a couple of months, and there is just no reason to start pointing on their joints earlier than that.
> 
> My vet also recommended that I start all my competition dogs on Glycoflex at maturity, to help protect their joints, as they are all working dogs, so they get that too.
> 
> But I TRULY think that the most important thing is that if you are interested in sports, it is REALLY important to buy dogs from people who understand sound structure, NOT those who are JUST breeding pretty show dogs. There are certainly breeders who do both. But there are also show breeders who do NOT understand or breed for sound structure, They only breed for what wins in the ring. And then, of course, there are all those who don't do ANY sort of health testing or checks and balances and just "hope fo the best". I think everyone here tries to educate about the dangers of buying dogs from those sources.


This is all such good advice. I wish I’d known what I do now about the need to reduce activity (especially certain kinds of activity) when Charlie was a puppy… and that I’d known the potential for negative impacts of early neuter. Definitely will be doing things differently with the new pup, and thankfully we now know and are able to keep Charlie from doing further damage!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> I didn’t know if some breeders still remove dew claws, however if getting a puppy I would definitely make sure the breeder does not remove them.


I think that less do in our breed, but some still do.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> To keep a dog’s joints healthy, I would also add keeping the dog at a good weight. Good structure or not, carrying excessive weight around is not good for the joints or many other things.


Absolutely! That is such a "given" for me that I forgot to mention it!


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

krandall said:


> Absolutely! That is such a "given" for me that I forgot to mention it!


Yes I always think of this as part of the “keeping a dog healthy” effort, however there are lots of overweight dogs out there and most Havanese love food so good to be careful!!! The weight can creep on gradually sometimes!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

You really need to put your hands on a known, fit dog to tell what one is supposed to be like. They don't get soft, and flabby, like we do. It's surprising how many of our owners show up with one for us to babysit, and they don't realize the dog is overweight.

The belly will still feel tight, but there will be no tuckup. This can be over the whole frame too, and people still think the dog is not overweight.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

My vet mentioned about a dog who gets plenty of exercise having a good resting heart rate. My yorkie who walks many miles per day has a super low resting heart rate for example.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

mudpuppymama said:


> Yes I always think of this as part of the “keeping a dog healthy” effort, however there are lots of overweight dogs out there and most Havanese love food so good to be careful!!! The weight can creep on gradually sometimes!


For sure! I see SO many overweight dogs out and about!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tom King said:


> You really need to put your hands on a known, fit dog to tell what one is supposed to be like. They don't get soft, and flabby, like we do. It's surprising how many of our owners show up with one for us to babysit, and they don't realize the dog is overweight.
> 
> The belly will still feel tight, but there will be no tuckup. This can be over the whole frame too, and people still think the dog is not overweight.


Yes, it’s amazing how “firm” a fat dog can feel… and it’s NOT muscle… it’s all fat!


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Tom King said:


> You really need to put your hands on a known, fit dog to tell what one is supposed to be like. They don't get soft, and flabby, like we do. It's surprising how many of our owners show up with one for us to babysit, and they don't realize the dog is overweight.
> 
> The belly will still feel tight, but there will be no tuckup. This can be over the whole frame too, and people still think the dog is not overweight.


This is exactly why it took me a little while to realize Sundance had gained a little weight. Now I can tell the difference, but since it happens gradually it can be hard to tell. Sundance gained a bit around his neuter then I figured it out and he went back down, and the same thing happened during covid, after he hurt himself and we stopped walking for a while. I noticed he has seemed a little bigger this summer, which is sad since it’s really a reflection of how boring we’ve been! But he never feels flabby, just extra sturdy. It’s still helpful that i practiced feeling his frame regularly, and the vet helped me contextualize what I read, but I can imagine it really makes a difference to have a fit dog as a reference comparison!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I strongly recommend that oeople consider buying themselves a baby scale. They aren’t very expensive, and if you pop your dog(s) on once a month or so, you know EXACTLY where you stand, and don’t have to worry whether you are (subjectively) noticing small changes in thei physique.









Amazon.com: Baby Scale, Pet Scale, Smart Weigh Baby Scale, Weighs [LB/ST/KG], Accurate Digital Scale for Infants, Toddlers, and Babies, Newborn/Puppy, Cat – Animals : Baby


Amazon.com: Baby Scale, Pet Scale, Smart Weigh Baby Scale, Weighs [LB/ST/KG], Accurate Digital Scale for Infants, Toddlers, and Babies, Newborn/Puppy, Cat – Animals : Baby



smile.amazon.com





….and they can be helpful weighing packages for the mail too! Then you can print out your postage on line, and just drop packages off when you get to the PO!


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> This is exactly why it took me a little while to realize Sundance had gained a little weight. Now I can tell the difference, but since it happens gradually it can be hard to tell. Sundance gained a bit around his neuter then I figured it out and he went back down, and the same thing happened during covid, after he hurt himself and we stopped walking for a while. I noticed he has seemed a little bigger this summer, which is sad since it’s really a reflection of how boring we’ve been! But he never feels flabby, just extra sturdy. It’s still helpful that i practiced feeling his frame regularly, and the vet helped me contextualize what I read, but I can imagine it really makes a difference to have a fit dog as a reference comparison!


I have a hard(ish) time when Perry doesn't get groomed ... his hair gets so thick that he feels fatter but he's not really. Right now it's a double whammy - he's not been groomed in 3 months PLUS he's not moving much, so I need to keep his weight down, but it can creep up quickly. And with his leg issues, it's vital that I keep him at a good weight and not let him get chubby. He was under weight at his last regular vet appointment but he's been on crate rest for almost 3 months so trying to keep that balance (getting his weight back up but not too much). I know they weigh him at each ortho appointment, but I keep forgetting to ask where he's at!


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## GoWithTheFlo (Oct 11, 2018)

krandall said:


> Yes, it’s amazing how “firm” a fat dog can feel… and it’s NOT muscle… it’s all fat!


Is there any chance this works in reverse in humans??? Like “it’s amazing how “un-firm” a slim human can feel…and it’s NOT fat…it’s all muscle!” 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🙀


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