aging greyhound

[billearly]

We have a greyhound he will be 12years old in April,he is an ex racer we have had him since he was 2years old.Recently he has been having touble with his back legs,and gets pain when moving around,he is not incontinent and is still eating well .We have a very good vet we live in Spain but unfortunately cannot at the moment get him in the car to take him for an Xray.Has anyone experienced the same with aging greyhounds as it is a very tricky situation.

[Eels]

An xray may not be necessary - if he's in pain then your vet should be willing to treat him symptomatically with one of the many drugs that are available for this purpose. He IS an old man now, and greyhounds, particularly ex-racers, generally will become arthritic with age. Please have a frank chat with your vet regarding some medication to keep his twilight years comfortable and happy. And I would also add that the Spanish sometimes have a different appreciation of animals and welfare standards in comparison to the British, so don't be afraid to press for meds or get in touch with a different if you feel it is necessary.

[orange-gnome]

I mostly agree with what Eels has said and it sounds to me that the problem is most likely to be a touch of arthritis, however ageing Greyhounds can have quite brittle bones and a quick x ray is the best way to make sure he hasn't done himself an injury, if you are worried about your dog having an anaesthetic at his age, it can be done with your dog conscious. Anaesthetics are generally very safe these days but of course carry risks especially as your dog is 12 and also a greyhound - the anaesthetic drug is mostly metabolised in fat and of course greyhounds hardly have any.
Anyway, I think that if you get an x ray done this will be the best way to ensure that he recieves the right treatment.

[billearly]

Thankyou so much for your answers,but unfortunately the poor old chap couldnt last any longer so last night our vet came and sent him to the racetrack in the sky.Ihave to say our vet is the best,he had already put him on drugs and has been out to him 3 times this week,so we were very lucky having such a lovely man looking after our boy,thanks once again.