Elderly Great Dane - Arthritis Support

Please help, this girl means the world to me! Good Evening, Vets. I am looking for a second opinion and help with a plan for the future with my elderly girl... It's a bit of a story, please bear with me, I just want the absolute best for her! Maisie is a 6-year, 9-month-old Harlequin European Great Dane, born 08/26/2018. Typically, she acts like she is still a 2-year-old Great Dane, very active, but also happy to be a couch potato, very affectionate, just an all-around excellent, well-mannered dog. About a month and a half ago, we traveled to my parents' home a 1.5-hour drive. Maisie did what she always does, ran around the yard like a crazy girl, but in short bursts... nothing of major concern or out of the ordinary. We spent 3 days at my parents, most of her time consisted of lounging on the couch, with occasional bursts of energy and play with her siblings (basset hound and corgi) and my parents' two large dogs. When we left, Maisie began limping (front, right leg)... we attributed it to the running and playing that she did, as she is older for a Great Dane. The limp settled throughout the week, then we traveled back to my parents' the following weekend, and stayed for three days... I made attempts to control Maisie's play this weekend, to support her so that she would hopefully stop limping. Fast forward, approximately two weeks later... the limp slows when we get back home in the first week, and then ramps up in the second week... We try a bit of gabapentin that we have on hand, 600mg... this does not work, she begins limping on both legs, and tries not to put weight on her right leg. She's lame, exhausted, and doesn't want to get out of bed. Still eating, but not acting like her usual self at all. Right elbow is very swollen. I call our usual vet who wants us to wait 2 weeks, then call 4 vets local to us on a Wednesday and one that we use on occasion gets us in on that Friday. Maisie gets sedated, X-rays of her legs and chest, and bloodwork... the vet is VERY suspicious for Osteosarcoma... my husband and I are as well.. The bloodwork all comes back completely fine. The X-Rays come back with Ununited Aconeal Process (see X-rays below)... The vet states she has had this her whole life and that the plates in her elbows did not fully form when she was a puppy. She states that she has SEVERE arthritis in both elbows, the right being worse than the left. The right being one of the worst she's ever seen and she's retiring this month... so she's seen a lot. She gets a 150mg injection of Carprofen on-site. Then we decide on a medication regimen for the future. We decided on Deracoxib 100mg daily and Gabapentin as needed, 600mg 2-3 times daily as needed (she's currently taking 2 daily). I also purchased Nutramax Cosequin for Dogs (w/ Glucosamine, plus Chondroitin and MSM) she began those last night. Swelling is gone, and the limping has slowed but is still slightly there. Vet told me don't stop her from being a dog, let her play, she will have her good days and bad days... partake in low-impact activities, keep walks to 3 miles or less. So my thought process is and why I am here... I understand that you are not allowed to chat about meds but I want to ensure that she is getting the best possible pain management plan to support her in these last few years of her life... so is this plan sufficient for her? Can I expect her to limp ALL the time now or will it come and go? I would like to create a schedule for low-impact activities. I'm hoping to alternate between swimming and short walks... but how often should she be doing this weekly and for how long each time? Given her diagnosis - how long do I have with this dog - she is my soulmate, but I want to be realistic about her care and quality of life... is this going to get progressively worse over a matter of months, years? We are going to be changing around our house to add ramps to the couch and bed, as well as our car... and adding rugs to our hardwood floors to help with slipping, but is there ANYTHING else we should be doing? Would a sling or sleeve help support her elbows, relieve some of the pressure or weight off of them, to alleviate some of her pain? We are in NYS... it gets VERY cold here... how will the cold weather affect her? How does the hot weather affect her? Tell me everything I need to/should know about this... I did ask the vet a few similar questions... but I would love the support from many more doctors as well to ensure I am doing her right.

Hello and what a beautiful golden oldie.  I can help you a little bit, but the most important thing is to be honest about what service we do and don't provide, as this question - quite understandably - approaches a delicate line.   Importantly, I am not an orthopaedic surgeon.  I do not know enough about this case; I have not examined the patient.  A second opinion should come from somebody with either a) more experience and expertise than your own vet (eg a specialist) or b) someone with more information available to them ( such as a scan).  I have none of this - indeed I have less information than your vet has - so am thereby not qualified to give a second opinion on your dog.  However, there will be pain specialists and arthritis specialists or orthopaedic experts near to you; for peace of mind I feel that it would be worth your while to ask for a referal to one.

A limp is an expression of pain; if an animal is limping, they are usually (some rare exceptions) in pain.  What you want to know is how well that pain is being controlled, whether there is a way of quantifying it (in order that it can be measured and a 'reasonable' amount of pain - and way to decide if and when things are unacceptable - identified) and finally, whether things can be improved.   A second opinion from an expert would answer these questions for you and we would strongly reccommend it.