Limping - Page 1

Okay, before you all jump on me for not taking her in sooner, just either hear me out and help, or just ignore it...okay, its that simple, no need to be nasty, I don't need nastiness right now.

My 13 month old bitch has been limping (back right leg) the past 4 days or so. I didn't see her injure it, and when I stretch the leg, paw, knee, she doesn't pull away, nor yelp in pain.

When she walks, she just carries it, and won't let it touch the ground.

YES, I did check for cuts/abrasions, thorns, or any outside influence that may cause her pain, and I found nothing wrong. It is not swollen, or anything, she just carries it.

I am calling the vet on Monday to take her in, but I do NOT want to do xrays, I want them to examine her first.

I started today giving her 100mg of Rymadil, for pain and inflamation, I gave her the first dose about 30mins ago, so we'll see.

Any suggestions, any reasons she might be doing this?

Please private email/Private Message me if you have anything you want to keep private. Thank you,

Krista
blueskyek9@charter.net 

 Pano most likely but check her pads again but I think it's pano. Can you palpate her long bones? Watch for subtle signs of pain such as ear position. 

If she isn't putting weight on it, or just toe touching, I would think first, cruciate. I see a LOT of those at work, so it is usually my first thought. Second thought, sometimes if there is a tweak in the back, the dog will left a back leg. Third thought, lymes.  Then again, it could be none of those things and she just had a charlie horse.

Have you checked her nails? Sometimes a cracked nail is hard to see. Is she doing any licking of her foot? If so it would indicate a nail, pad, or thorn in the foot. I know you said you checked and she shows no pain, but sometimes they just  can be to darn stoic .

Yes my thoughts are posible cruciate or double check pads especially if the weather has been dry and the ground is hard. My dogs are always getting cracks in their pads, not that stops them from fence running.

Krista, keep us posted please.  Good luck with her.

 All good thoughts especially to check the nail. I missed that one and did have one with a nail injury that was in discomfort but not lame. It could be any of the above. I hope she'll be ok soon.

Hello All,

Nope, no broken nails, no foot licking, so I'm pretty sure its not the pad...

I don't mean to sound stupid here, but what the heck is cruciate???

Is Lymes short for Lyme Disease, as in the tick caused disease?

In my area (I've been here for 11 years) and never once have I seen a tick, nor pulled a tick from my dogs...

Now, Pano is growth plate changes, right???

Are ANY of these conditions genetic or hereditary? Are they common? (I think I've heard a bit about Pano being common in Shepherds)

Thanks, sorry if I seem ignorant...What are the tests required to rule out these issues?

 Cruciate is a ligament. pano is growing pains in the long bones, lymes is short for lyme disease.

I think it is perhaps nothing more than a sprain, but those are very painful for a dog and take a long time to heal. Pano tends to come on more slowly and of course it leaves slowly. And, while it normally affects the long front leg bones of older male puppies, it can move to the rear or begin on the rear and it can affect females as well. It is not common in females because their bones grow more slowly and grow less.

I do not say this to cause alarm, but I once had a young bitch that incurred a tick-bourne disease and it caused a severe inflammation of a knee joint. While I am sure there was pain associated with it, her joint suddenly swelled and became very stiff. She was fine one (1) day, and became very stiff and started limping the next day. She was much younger than your girl-I think she was fourteen (14) to sixteen (16) weeks old at the time. I remember that it took very strong antibiotics to penetrate the membrane around her knee joint and eventually destroy the infection.

I do not remember the name of the disease/organism, but it was a surprise for the veterinarian. It is one that is not normally associated with dogs, and most often diagnosed in horses and cattle. In all cases, it is transmitted by a tick bite.

But, I really think it is but a sprain of a leg tendon/muscle or perhaps one in her lower back. Dogs cannot tell us exactly where it hurts. I hope that your veterinarian finds nothing and just gives her a mild pain reliever and mandatory rest.

Good Luck!

Bob-O