Yes. That is also what happened to my beloved junk yard chow, Red Dog.
I believe he lead a rough life before he came in off the streets of New Orleans and adopted me. He had 10 good years of daily walks, ball fetching, squirrel chasing, begging strips and rib bones before he became unable to lift himself at the rear. He lost control of his business at that time as well and then went blind. All of this happened inside of 2 months or so. He had to be sent home then.
Grainger’s hind quarters are still solid. It is my hope that our daily walks keep them strong as long as possible. I don’t want to face any days without him.
We adopted an nine-year-old Australian Shepherd mix about a year and a half ago and he is the most solid old guy you’d ever meet. When he gets running he is like a rolling bag of quik-crete! Strider has a bum knee/hip, vets don’t know why, but arthritis has set in. We have a monthly appointment with our holistic vet who does acupuncture, chiropratic adjustments and prescribes Chinese herbs to slow the progression of the arthritis and relieve his pain. We aso have physcal therapy exercises to do with (on) him. It really works and he comes back from his appointments frisking around like a puppy.
I just wish this stuff had been an option 20 years ago, when we had to put down our first dog (lab), after his hips went out.