5-Year-Old Dog Speech

Your 5-year-old German Shepard is not as active as he has once been. Of course he 's getting older, we all are, but something isn 't right with him. It isn 't that same energetic pup who was excited to greet you at the door, bark at the delivery guy, and chase squirrels through the window. He 's starting to move slower, doesn 't really bother following you around when you 're having a snack for yourself, and his stride isn 't as proud as it has once been. Even though you figure it is just his old age, you still have a small thought in your mind that it may also be something else. Like any concern parent would, you take him to see his veterinarian. After a number of x-rays and CT scans, your companion is diagnosed with DJD (Degenerative Joint Disease). Of course this is the first you 've ever heard of this, but your vet says it isn 't something that should be taken lightly. That it will be in your best interest to make your pet comfortable as possible, because this isn 't a …show more content…
Young dogs are affected within the first year of life, affected with pain from the dislocation of the hip, whereas older dogs suffer from pain because of the development of osteoarthritis of the hip. An article titles, Genetic Basis of Secondary Osteoarthritis in Dogs with Joint Dysplasia, states that the development of hip dysplasia in dogs is affected by nutritional status, genetics, and hormonal factors. Breed variations exist, with a higher frequency of disease observed in large and giant breeds, such as German Shepherd Dogs and Labrador Retrievers. Breed differences in the tolerance threshold of passive laxity for the development of osteoarthritis of the canine hip joint shows that genetic differences do exist among dogs. Besides hip dysplasia, stress and heavy work on joints also are causing factors of DJD. Along with age, splitting of cartilage layers, elbow dysplasia, floating kneecap, weight, and death of