Leaking joint fluid

[Patri]

Hi Everyone
This is my first time on the forum so let me introduce my friend Kiri.
Kiri is a beautiful girl, nine and a half months old, weighs approx 42kg, and is generally very healthy. She is my first Rotti, though I do have two other dogs, Bassy a springer spaniel aged 6 and Leda, a jack russel aged 8 plus incidentally seven cats.
Apart from discovering that Kiri has a very delicate stomach, compared to my other two dogs, she has been fine except for one recurring problem. She developed, first time when she was about 5 months old, a swelling on one of her front ´elbow´ joints. I took her to the vets who said it was joint fluid leaking due to laying on hard floors, he also said large breeds were prone to it as puppies but that she would outgrow the problem. He then drained the fluid, gave her a cortisone injection and warned me the problem would probably reoccur. He recommended trying to get her to lay on ´padded´ surfaces ie. carpet, cushions etc. We live in Spain so as you can imagine the flooring is not generally carpet, but we acquired large rugs and did our best to persuade Kiri to sleep on these, not exactly successfully but about fifty percent of the time she does now.
The problem has reoccured, several times, which has involved each time a trip to the vets for draining. The problem is Kiri has begun to develop a real phobia about the vets now, and my vet has said that it may be better to leave them undrained as the fluid will eventually be reabsorbed.
As I said before I live in Spain and though I am able to communicate well with the vet I would like to ask whether there are any long term detremental effects to leaving the fluid to ´go away ´on it´s own. I have to say it doesn´t seem to bother her, she doesn´t limp or appear to be affected by the lumps, now both elbows.
Has anyone else come across this problem and has any tips or advice for us.
Kiri and I will be grateful for any helpful comments.
Patri

[Rott-Wiley]

Hi Patri and welcome to the forum. I wish I could be more help with your problem but I can't. I do want to say that this is not a problem we commonly see here. Possibly someone else will have more input for you but if were me, I think I would try to get Kiri to see a vet that specialized in orthopedics. I would think there is some underlying problem causing this fluid to start forming and that is what I would want to treat.

[rottlove]

Hi, I don't have any advice about the joint fluid, but perhaps your girl is looking for a cool place to lie down? In that case there is this product: http://www.soothsoft.com/canine.htm

It might be unreasonable to ship it abroad, though.

Good luck, it sounds frustrating. Hopefully the vet techs on the board can help you.

--Sarah

[Judi W]

It is a hydroma. Not really fluid from the joint, it is fluid that collects when the body wants to cushion an area. Not most common in Rottweilers, but the giant breeds are well acquainted with the problem. Someone who knows Saint or Mastiff breeders might be able to get some good advice on the subject. If I learn something I will pass it on. I know that occasionally surgical intervention is used, but not certain what kind.

[seldown]

I can't provide any info on the medical condition. But, we also do not have carpeting. My 9 month old limps after sleeping on the hard floor, we pulled out an old crib mattress from the childrens' unused youth bed. My dog loves it and it is her favorite resting area. The one we used is covered in a water proof material. She seems much more comfortable after sleeping on it, we are still waiting on a final diagnosis on her limping.

[Patri]

Originally Posted by Judi W

It is a hydroma. Not really fluid from the joint, it is fluid that collects when the body wants to cushion an area. Not most common in Rottweilers, but the giant breeds are well acquainted with the problem. Someone who knows Saint or Mastiff breeders might be able to get some good advice on the subject. If I learn something I will pass it on. I know that occasionally surgical intervention is used, but not certain what kind.

Many thanks for your input, a name is helpful also, if you do discover anything I would be most grateful, me and Kiri.
Regards
Patri