Have a 3 year old maiden female lab that is about 35 days pregnant. Co-owner noted that she was getting a pretty big belly pretty fast and had some discharge. I mentioned to watch for any changes as temp was normal and there was no smell to discharge. Overnight she got really swollen joints and was having issues walking/standing. Co-owner took her to the ER vet. Temp was normal, not infection they said it was an immune mediated inflammation of both hock joints. Her 4Dx was negative. Her temperature, pulse and respiration were normal. So tick borne illness and widespread infection unlikely. Appetite and attitude are also normal. Today I have been applying compression wraps and icing the joints. She seems to struggle standing more after a period of sitting or lying down but is able to walk almost normally after several steps. She has no previous health history of any injuries or illnesses. Has anyone experienced or read anything about inflammation of joints in conjunction with pregnancy? She's active and does agility and obedience and is in good condition and weight. Is now doing better and able to move more but not sure. Another forum mentioned hydrops but she doesn't show the main symptoms (swollen vulva) and most of those symptoms are late in pregnancy not this early. Any thoughts or ideas are appreciated! Thank you in advance for any help!
I had a bitch where all four legs swelled, her calcium levels were very low, as was her RBC. My vet called Dr Hutchinson for a consult, which you might also want to do, anyway he recommended monitoring her bloodwork, and doing a c-section, strongly recommended not letting her whelp on her own.
Everything turned out fine, her legs went back to normal the puppies were all normal and healthy and her bloodwork is back to normal. It wasn't that big of a litter, there were 9, but it was her largest litter.
The swelling happened gradually, but in the last week before she was due.
