Poodles and Legg-Calve-PerthesLegg-Calve-Perthes disease is common in small dogs and poodles. You should be aware of the disease and understand what the diagnosis means for your dog. Knowing the symptoms and, indeed, the disease itself will go a long way in serving to make your dog less susceptible to the disease. You will be able to spot it earlier and minimize the negative impact and both you and your dog will be better able to cope with exactly what is going on and form a more appropriate plan of action to attack it and to ultimately cope with it. Legg-Calve-Perthes disease is common in small breed dogs and affects the hip joints of dogs in the ages of 4 to 12 months old. The hip is joined by the thighbone forming a ball and socket joint. The top of the thighbone is also known as the head of the femur. Legg-Calve-Perthes disease causes the center of the head of the femur to degenerate and die. When this bone degenerates in such a young dog, it is severely painful and causes the dog to be unable to walk. Paying attention to the way your dog walks on a normal routine will go a long way to early detection of the symptoms. Legg-Calve-Perthes disease is considered to be an inherited disease and possibly occurs when dogs are bred inside the same litter. It is most commonly seen in small breed dogs like terriers, miniatures, and toy poodles though no one is, at this point, sure why the smaller breeds of dogs are targeted more than the larger ones. Most people think that if their dog is diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease then they will have to put their animal to sleep. Actually, this is not the case anymore because there is treatment for your animal now. The pain for your animal can be extremely severe and they will even have muscle shrinkage in their legs due in part to them not wanting to be as active as they otherwise would be. The disease can be treated with surgery and your animal can live a pain-free life without the disease returning. Not all cases of this disease even require surgery if it is caught early enough, which again goes back to the owner being educated and observant and noticing the early signs of the disease and taking action in the initial stages. If you suspect a change in your dog, you should contact your veterinarian as soon as possible and let them know that you suspect your animal has Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. In the alternative, if your veterinarian tells you there is a chance that your animal has the disease, then you should listen to them. If your animal shows signs of pain in one of their hind legs or they seem to be walking funny or not exercising much at all, then you should take it to the vet and have it checked out. A veterinarian can take x-rays to prove the characteristics of the disease and verify if any degeneration has occurred with the bones. A veterinarian can also diagnose and confirm the disease by performing a biopsy on the bone tissue of the dog. If your poodle is diagnosed when the disease is still in early stages, then it can be treated without surgery. Your dog will most likely be prescribed pain relievers and its hind leg will be put in a sling so there is no weight bearing down on the bone that is degenerating. If the pain and the degeneration of the bone are too severe, then the dog will need surgery to repair the bone. Surgery will be able to mend the bone so the dog can have a healthy and happy life. The most important thing that will affect the out come, again, is early detection. The sooner you see it, the sooner he is going to be back to normal. It is also important to remember if you have a dog that has had Legg-Calves-Perthes disease then you should not breed it. If any family member of the animal has had the disease then they should not be used for breeding so the disease is not passed on to other generations of dogs, since it is believed to be hereditary. Legg-Calves-Perthes disease is a very painful bone disease in the hind legs of small dogs like poodles. It can be treated and your pet can live a happy life without having to put them to sleep.
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