Accepted Answer

Hello Heidi:

There are a few joint diseases that come to mind. These diseases are either infectious or immune related. There are also inflammatory disease and noninflammatory disease. With Inflammatory disease there will be fever, lethargy, and a high white blood cell count. Here are some examples of some conditions that are a possibility: erosive polyarthritis, non erosive polyarthritis, Idiopathic polyarthritis, canine rheumatoid arthritis (usually smaller dogs), SLE, and lymphocytic plasmocytic synovitis. Polyarthritis occurs in dogs that are less than five years old. Symptoms of polyarthritis are fever, lethargy, anorexia, and pain and lameness most often in the lower joints. These symptoms may be present alone or combined and also not occurring all the time. Regardless of which it could be, the diagnostic route would be to pursue arthrocentesis where the synovial (joint fluid) could be analyzed. Very high levels of protein in the fluid are indicitive of joint disease. Xrays of the affected joints are a good idea. If joint destruction or degeneration is found usually this is characteristic of septic joints or rheumatoid arthritis. It could hurt to ask about this for further evaluation. I hope this has been helpful. Let me know if I can help you further. Good Luck and let me know how things turn out.

Thanks,

Jill

 

Jill Dufour Dai CCBC39205.6118670139