We see a lot of arthritis in dogs, and it’s often in their elbows. This reader asked me whether surgery was the right solution for her dog’s pain. Here’s what I had to say.

Q: My Lab was chasing a tennis ball and jumped up to get it. When he landed, he cried out and appeared to be in a lot of pain. The vet says his elbow is really arthritic. What can be done for him?

A: The elbow is a complex joint, and the canine elbow gets quite a workout because a dog’s front legs bear about 60 percent of his body weight. A number of dog breeds, including Labs, can develop elbow dysplasia, an assortment of conditions that can occur when the elbow joint is deformed or doesn’t mature properly. Whatever type of elbow dysplasia a dog has, the eventual result is painful and often crippling osteoarthritis. Common signs include limping, tiring quickly from play or reluctance to play.

Depending on the condition that’s diagnosed, your dog has a couple of options. He may benefit from arthroscopic surgery if he has osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) or fragmented medial coronoid process (FMCP). It’s minimally invasive and involves removing a broken fragment of bone or damaged cartilage. It can improve the condition for a time, but may not be a permanent fix.

A new technique is elbow replacement surgery. The surgery takes two to three hours to complete, and it requires careful attention to detail. A slick new mechanical joint replaces the damaged one. Afterward, the dog may spend five days in the hospital before going home, and require five to six months for complete recovery. The cost is approximately $6,000.

If your dog is not a candidate for surgery, medical management techniques may help reduce pain. They include weight loss, limiting activity, providing pain relief with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and giving nutraceuticals such as glucosamine and chondroitin to protect and build up cartilage. Your dog may also benefit from rehab, such as workouts on an underwater treadmill.

Read more, including how to keep your pets safe in coyote country, in this week’s Pet Connection!

A reader wrote me about an emergency situation: Her puppy had eaten a toy that contained batteries. She got immediate help for her dog, but this is a fairly frequent problem, so I’m sharing my response with you here.

And of course it was a Lab. 😉

Q: Help! My 8-month-old Lab puppy chewed up a toy that contained batteries and swallowed them. What now?

A: We know you have already taken your puppy to the veterinarian for care, but for all the other owners of Lab puppies and other dogs who love to chew, here’s the skinny on swallowing batteries and other potentially dangerous objects.

It’s no surprise that a Lab puppy ate a battery-operated toy. As a veterinarian, I never cease to be amazed by the variety of things dogs will pick up, put in their mouths and send down the hatch. Beyond batteries and internal squeakers, things dogs ingest include dish towels, socks, knives, rocks, wooden skewers and more. Labs, especially, have a reputation for downing anything that looks interesting, but any puppy or dog has the potential to do so. Many dogs outgrow this habit, but I heard just recently about a 10-year-old golden, normally well-behaved, who ate a plastic measuring cup.

Once we confirm that there is indeed something in the belly, we may induce vomiting depending on the type of object. If the item is something sharp or that might otherwise cause damage coming up, veterinarians may take a wait-and-see attitude. A lot of foreign objects will pass without causing an obstruction or other injury.

A high-fiber food and some canned pumpkin will often encase a foreign body and move it out in as little as six to eight hours, but it can take up to three days. If it still hasn’t made an appearance in your dog’s poop and your dog is showing signs of obstruction such as vomiting, regurgitating or just not feeling well (the veterinary term is ADR, or “ain’t doin’ right), then he may have an obstruction that calls for surgical removal.

Read more, including how to prevent a disaster when flying your pets, in Pet Connection!