Lulu

 

 

 

 

 
 

Hi,  I got a Boxer Black Lab mix.  Her name is LuLu. She is 4 months old.  So Adorable, sweet, full of energy.  She bounces around.  Her brindle color is the prettiest and her face is so soft!  Just wanted to show her off.
 

Lulu came to us when she was 3 months old.  She is boxer/black lab, dark brindle.  We got her from a friend who had no room in her apartment for such an energetic dog.  The only reason my friend took her was to save her from going to the pound.  When we got her she was on regular puppy chow.  A week after we got her she started acting sick.  Laying around, walking very stiffly when she had to go out.  This started happening on Thursday.  I thought she had a stomach problem, except for there was no difference in her poo and no vomit.  She started getting a high fever Saturday, stopped eating and barely drank.  By the time we realized how sick she was it was the weekend.  By Sunday night her sides were sunken in and all she could do was lay there with these sad eyes.  I had to carry her out to go potty, then she would try to limp back into the house, but she could barely make it to the door.  I could tell she was in severe pain.  I called the emergency number for the vet because at that point I wasn't sure she would make it through the night.  He didn't know what was going on, but knew because she had not been eating or drinking she was probably very dehydrated.  I nursed her through the night, giving her teaspoons of water at a time, and carrying her out to go potty.  She whimpered and stiffened up every time I had to move her.  It was so sad looking into her eyes.  So, Monday morning we went to the vet and discovered she had a condition that some large breed puppies have that is called Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy.  It causes a dogs growth plates to swell up and become painfully inflamed if they have a quick growth spurt.  So, she had these swollen areas on her front legs that were so painful she stopped eating, became lethargic and was feverish.  So, the vet put her on pain medication, I had to switch her to large breed puppy food, which encourages slow growth instead of quick spurts, and after a week and a half of resting she is as energetic as any normal pup.

 

I cannot imagine our family without her now.  I feel horribly that I didn't know to put her on large breed food in the beginning, but I have never had a big dog before.  I am just glad she made it through.  After researching the condition she has I found that some owners choose to put the dog down because they don't want to deal with it.  That is the most horrible thing you could do.  There is little chance the condition will flare up if you feed your dog properly.  No nutritional supplements, no table scraps and do not overfeed.  It couldn't be easier and you could have a healthy, loving companion. 
 

Amber

Rogue River, Oregon