Spondylosis in my 3yr old boxer

Yesterday my dog went to the vets for xrays on a possible cruiciate ligament rupture, when i picked him up i was told there is extrememely early signs that his cruiciate ligaments will both tear in the near future and this cant be stopped. however more alarmingly they found severe spondylosis of his spine. i was shown the xrays and told the vet has never seen this in a dog so young. the lower part of the spine has totally fused togehter, he described it as being rock solid, the top end of his spine has also fused not as thickly,which leaves only the middle section.there is early signs this has begun. we are hoping with fingers crossed the condition is now static as his muscles have built up slightly and he is not lame at all. I was told if the condition carries on he will become parylised. I can send him into high risk spinal surgey but was advised to wait to see if the condition is static for now,as it is extremely risky. He is a boxer dog full of beans and the joys of life and is only 3yrs.has anyone else ever heard of this in such a young dog, and is there any more advice out there, as im devestated about this news.
thankyou

My eldest girl has it, she was diagnosed during a Scan for something else, her whole spine is fused, vets said they had never seen a dog so bad with it.

She is now 10 1/2 years old and although stiff can still manage to get about, she has other health issues as well so the spondylosis is not the main issue. She has adapted so that when she turns round, she turns with her whole body.

I would question very thoroughly what they intend / plan to do surgically if the whole spine is fused. Othopaedic surgery is not something to go into lightly - I work in a Orthopaedic hospital

There are other folk on here with dogs that have it or had dogs that had it. It can be managed - massaging helps plus your dog will love you for it

My previous girl ws diagnosed with this condition when she was 4, she also had mild HD....she was put on Cosequin and we made a few differences to her lifestyle, like, flat walking her, but always off lead, letting her do basically what she could, we got a raised food bowl, thick soft bed, did not let her climb on couches ,in cars etc always lifted her...She still had a good quality of life, she was not put on painkillers till she was 9...
Lost her last year to cancer...Its just a case of managing the condition...
Good luck with your boy.......

I found glucosamine & chondroitin supplements and acupuncture helped my dog. And keeping him warm - and massage as has been said. My dog was diagnosed at age 7 and was so bad at first I considered PTS, but alternative treatments and NSAIDs kept him trotting happily on till he died last year aged 15. I found they get good days and bad ones, so don`t do anything in haste.
x

thankyou all for your comments, i will talk again with my vet mentioning theses things. how old was your dog velvetboxers when she was first diagnosed. mine was found while looking for something else as well.it was totally unexpected. the bottom half of his spine is solid but the middle is still fairly normal.thankyou

She was 6. They suspected a bladder tumour after x rays & did a scan. It was the scan that showed how bad her spine was/is fused. It also showed her left hip had quite bad hip, she has it in the right one as well, although it wasnt quite so bad.

The better thing about finding out these tbings at a younger age is that you can make a plan for the future. When theyre older the damage is already there so you manage the problem as best you can.

Let us know how you get on at the vets.

We have recently been given the news tobys spine is completely fused, he has a daily dose of metacam and no real signs of pain.
He can be a bit stiff sometimes, limps on the odd time but i think thats more down to cramp than his spine.
I was alarmed at 1st, but to look at him you wouldn't really know he has a back issue.
I think the only thing you can do is monitor any pain and give them more time to get up / move around etc.

Has anyone had their dog operated on for severe spondylosis.
One of my friends has been told that this is a possibility for her dog in the future.
Apparently, they remove the spurs which cause the majority of the problem, however, they have said that this will only alleviate it for about 12 months