My boy isnt walking (X-rays inside) - Page 6

Okay, I am used to watching horses and diagnosing lameness. I've been lucky with my dogs, though - never had a serious issue with lameness. There is something wrong with the right hip or knee.

A friend's dog recently put his hip right out of the socket when he slipped on the ice. He bunny-hopped like that, with the legs very close together, to take the weight off the injured hip.

I still think it's a hip problem. I'd take him to the university, and get him seen by a competent orthopedic vet.

And yes, he is a little 'knock-kneed' (cowhocked is the usual term for it) but part of that may be him trying to take the weight off the sore leg.

 

PS He looks to me as if the joints in his elbows are
okay, but I don't like the apparent stiffness in his R.
shoulder. This could be a soft tissue injury; or it
might be Panosteitis. Either way he is, as others
already pointed out, a hefty sort of lump, while not
actually fat, and that just may be growth spurts being
made worse by his carrying a lot of weight before he is
old enough to cope. That may be where the pain was
coming from, I assume he yelped when this first all
came about ?
Whatever the actual cause you may find that resting
him (not easy, I know) leads to an improvement.

I would not rule out Pano but the video leaves some doubts about Pano.  The video shows a restricted range of motion and weakness with both rear legs .. does not look like Pano in the leg or legs to me but Pano is a very difficult syndrome that no one understands .. appears to be a back problem affecting range of motion and the ability of the dog to sense the position of the legs or control them. Pano normally affects long bones but there is no reason to think it could not occur in other bones such as the hip pelvic bone structure itself. Weakness and loss of muscle mass indicates the problem has been going on for some time .. could be a re-injury of a previous injury or problem that has now resurfaced .. ie the puppy was injured and recovered partially but still had reduced range of motion in the rear legs which over time led to reduced muscle mass. Re-injury of the back or joints could then make the condition worsen rapidly due to the puppy being much larger and heavier. Muscle tears and improper healing of torn muscles can cause muscle mass losses since the dog takes weight off of and reduces range of motion in the leg that feels bad which results in muscle atrophy. Muscle atrophy and reduced muscle mass can present very fast in a young and rapidly growing puppy. The good news is that it is not likely joint structure related .. ie the joints are correctly made. The bad news is that pain or loss of nerve sensation is causing the problems ... see if the dog will tell you where it hurts. Massaging and touching all over the dog may get the dog to tell you where the pain is coming from ( back, leg, pelvic structures ). Maybe a little pin pricking on both legs will tell you about how much the dog can feel in either leg.  Then there are the combination injuries such as a muscle, tendon, or ligament injury in a combination of two or three of the possibilities simultaneously.  Muscle tears and the improper healing of them can also lead to reduced range of motion due to the muscles not sliding over each other as they are supposed to ( muscles can adhere to each other and bind up ).   ACL injuries can not be ruled out from the video and they spread as the increased weight and use of the unaffected leg can cause it to often be injured as well

I did a little feeling around on him. While he doesn't like me messing around with his leg at all, I managed to get him to yelp and almost snap as I was messing with the Illiac area. It almost seems as if he did possibly have an injury or tear somewhere in that region. I'm not sure if anyone knows of any reputable vets in the OKC area if not we do have the University about 30 miles from base.

Ok, short on time so I'm extra blunt (don't get mad, Nick- I'm trying to help!)

The dog is absolutely huge for his age, and he's fat and soft. He has the roly-poly appearance that I absolutely dread ever seeing in a large breed male puppy. His physique alone suggests pano a likely culprit, also the lack of weight on the right hind, can be pano (I have seen both of these several times in pano) but I also am concerned about a possible nerve/back/spinal issue or something with a neuro manifestation (like the TBD we have already discussed).

I don't see anything as horrible as I expected. Have you tried anti-inflammatories? Do you have Rimadyl or Deramaxx or something like that? Did the vet give you any? Does it make a difference? If it's pano, relief from the pain might improve his gait and that would give you a clue. The other problem with pano, is that longterm, it causes muscle atrophy which predisposes to more injuries, both now and in the near future.

I truly do not feel there is a thing wrong with his joints that would cause this. The hip that appears somewhat subluxated is not rotated correctly and you can see the patella way on the outside. I have seen far far worse in perfectly normal dogs.

The gait could be a combination of pano, being way too big, way too fat, and having awkward conformation (both from genetics and rapid growth). His nerves and brain are simply not able to accommodate that gigantic body at this stage of maturity, otherwise known as "teenage boy syndrome." :)

If he were mine, after a better vet exam, I would immediately decrease his food (what exactly is he eating?) and put him on an appropriate LBP food. Fromm large breed puppy is one that has helped pano in a few of mine. One of mine got it when my fiance was feeding him the wrong food for a few weeks; he was non-weight bearing. In 5 days on Fromm, he was putting weight on it, then in 10 days the limp was gone. Also, he needs more exercise, but gentle exercise. Hills, sand, etc. No running on asphalt or concrete.

If you squeeze the long bones in each leg, does he cry?

Jenni, I prefer people to be blunt. To answer your questions. I took him off of dog food diamond naturals and moved him to a raw diet. Now he is mainly whole chickens about a pound and a half a day and seeing about a 6 pound weight loss since I started about 2 weeks ago. I have tried antinflamatories and there hasn't been any luck as far as better movement. And he will let me squeeze his long bones in his hind quarters with no reaction as soon as I get in the soft tissue he yelps and snaps.

I think we have already been to this rodeo but blood flow restrictions could also explain the symptoms and that could be due to an injury or a clot .. see below .. check the temperature of both hind legs and if one is colder then reduced blood flow to the cooler leg is suspected.  Given that you have had lab work done a blockage seems unlikely although an injury and swelling could restrict blood flow.  A heart artery blockage is more common in dogs but the earlier lab work should have caught that.  A localized blockage could however perhaps go unnoticed based on lab results.  Again a restriction on arterial blood flow to a leg could be internal ( clotting ) or external ( something pressing on and restricting the artery ).  Given all that you have done I think this is a low probability possibility but I thought it should be mentioned.

 

http://championofmyheart.com/2013/10/30/canine-blood-clots-ahoy/

Sorry double post somehow

Ok, great. I knew you were going to implement raw but didn't realize you'd gone full-force already. Good news.

Do you have a good chiropractor near you, if the vet can't find anything? I had a dog with a bizarre limp once and I spent about $2k before I took him to the chiro and saw dramatic improvement in one visit...kept going and it just got better and better. It won't cost you that much, either. Around me (Chicago area- high cost of living) I paid $40/visit. Definitely affordable and they take a more "big picture" approach which might be exactly what is needed. My guy pinpointed the issue in seconds. The dog was limping on the right hind but it was actually an issue behind his shoulder, believe it or not. Anyway...another thing I would try if all else fails (TBD tests, ortho, etc.) A neuro exam would be great, but I know they're incredibly costly and a good chiro with neuro experience might be able to tell you nearly as much if not as much.

I thought I read in here that you are close to a vet school? Have you asked the vet school if they have a military personnel discount?   I sure hope this can be dianosed soon so that your dog can get some treatment/relief.