I have a 9 year old yellow Lab, who already had confirmed hip dysplasia at age 4.5 when I adopted him. For the last two years, he has been on Rimadyl 2x per day and seems to have been doing fine with his arthritis. However, in the last 2-3 weeks, his left back leg suddenly began to cause him problems--he will hop or lose strength in it occasionally. I do not know whether he injured himself in any way His vet strictly limited his activity for a week and gave me Tramadol, which he has been getting (2 pills perday). Shortly after that, the limiping and hopping went away, but then he started trembling several times a day (whole body trembling). During the days that he was trembling, oddly, he was not limping at all. The trembling would often start suddenly if I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk. The trembling is accompanied by his ears going back and panting. Once he gets up and we start on the walk, he was fine and even pulled me along on the walk.
I have another appt with his regular vet next week. They have not recommended more hip x-rays as it is very apparent he has bad arthritis and dysplasia (every time he moves his hip, you can hear the bones creaking). His blood work came back fine. He's already on a glucosamine supplement.
Finances is not an issue and I would even consider a hip replacement if it would be helpful. Any suggestions? Is the trembling a pain indicator? It seems to come and go sporatically and is not brought on by anything> It almost seems like anxiety, but he has not had anxiety issues with me before.
Any help is appreciated. He's a very happy and sweet Lab.