[DanaC]

ach he's still a youngun. Four and a half. Certainly very young to be suffering arthritis, but we expected this would be the case once his hip dysplasia was diagnosed. Both his regular vet and his hip specialist said to expect probable arthritis in his hips and back legs by the time he got to four or five, possibly even as young as three and a half

It's difficult to tell when he's in pain with it because it's both hips, so he doesn't limp, and he has always had problems so he just kind of gets on with things - but his walk was definitely looking stiffer to me, with more of a swing to his gait, less of a bend to the leg, and I can see his back doing more work than it should for walking. And I've noticed certain behaviours creeping back in that I haven't seen for a while. When Carrot's hurting it manifests as a slightly aggressive edge. Like when he plays with other dogs, he is usuallly very easy going, but recently he's been a bit bolshy. With me too, there's been a slightly aggressive edge to his responses - he isn't biting or anything, but mouthing and nipping my trouser leg, throwing hissy fits when he doesn't get his own way, much more than usual