Jingleballs
Well-Known Member
Looking for a bit of advice. My 4 1/2 year old lurcher has been limping for a few months now. It's only when she first gets up after resting and is always a bit worse if she's been lying on the floor vs. on a raised bed.
I took her to the vet in early August and there was no sign of the limp during the appointment. Vet said she had good range of motion, no tenderness/inflamation - nothing obvious but said to keep an eye on it as lameness in a young dog is a worry. I'd suggested it might be linked to an injury she sustained in May - she was attacked by another dog and had to have an operation to stitch together the muscle on her left shoulder although I think it's her front right she's limping on (although I'm crap at identifying the source of lameness!)
Since that appointment I'd say the limp has lessened in that she still limps but only for a few steps after getting up whereas previously she was limping for a bit longer.
I've booked another appointment for tomorrow after finally managing to catch some video footage of it. My worry is that they still won't find any obvious cause I'll be sent away with some metacalm and told to keep an eye on it ( personally I don't think vets are brilliant and dealing with musculoskeletal issues).
So I'm considering the options as I do have some concerns due to her breed - bone cancer is pretty common and can first show itself as mild, intermittent lameness.
Can I request x rays or does the vet need to agree with this? Would x raying the leg require the dog to be sedated/put under anesthetic? Would it be better to get an appointment with a canine physio to see if they can find anything?
I'm keen to get to the bottom of it sooner rather than later even just to put my mind at ease that it's not something like bone cancer or arthritis.
I took her to the vet in early August and there was no sign of the limp during the appointment. Vet said she had good range of motion, no tenderness/inflamation - nothing obvious but said to keep an eye on it as lameness in a young dog is a worry. I'd suggested it might be linked to an injury she sustained in May - she was attacked by another dog and had to have an operation to stitch together the muscle on her left shoulder although I think it's her front right she's limping on (although I'm crap at identifying the source of lameness!)
Since that appointment I'd say the limp has lessened in that she still limps but only for a few steps after getting up whereas previously she was limping for a bit longer.
I've booked another appointment for tomorrow after finally managing to catch some video footage of it. My worry is that they still won't find any obvious cause I'll be sent away with some metacalm and told to keep an eye on it ( personally I don't think vets are brilliant and dealing with musculoskeletal issues).
So I'm considering the options as I do have some concerns due to her breed - bone cancer is pretty common and can first show itself as mild, intermittent lameness.
Can I request x rays or does the vet need to agree with this? Would x raying the leg require the dog to be sedated/put under anesthetic? Would it be better to get an appointment with a canine physio to see if they can find anything?
I'm keen to get to the bottom of it sooner rather than later even just to put my mind at ease that it's not something like bone cancer or arthritis.