So, what do I do with this? ?

[FinnishLapphund]

I totally agree with you FL and Fankino - if I know what it is that is being treated (whatever “it” might be) then I can cope? It’s when they keep saying ‘well we don’t really know....’ that I get stressed!

But I’ve tried to give myself a talking to! He isn’t going to die, he is incredibly happy and bouncy in himself, he is thoroughly enjoying life even if he does wish there was more running around - so he will just have to wait a while ? And I will still keep checking for corns, Aquafresh might lie!

I didn’t ask about calmer to be honest FL, I’m still traumatised by a lurcher I got out of rescue many years ago who was dosed up hugely on Tramadol to mask the pain of the bone cancer he had.... it was horrible seeing him existing but not living, my own vets were furious with the rescue charity and PTS the first role they saw him, I just wish I’d taken him away from the charity sooner but they wouldn’t let me ?

That is terrible, and they call/called (?) themselves a rescue!? How awfully sad.

Oh well, as long as Ace isn't climbing the walls, without coping with the inactivity, he doesn't need any calmer. You could always call the veterinarian, and ask about it later, if things changes.

 

[Chiffy]

Sorry I haven’t commented before Levrier , and sorry you are going through this. We have been through similar with our greyhoun/whippet cross rescue. She has been a wimp all her life so that didn‘t help diagnosis. In typical long dog fashion she has run too hard and fast and often been lame but a couple of years ago now, the lameness didn’t clear up. She had every test under the sun and every type of pain relief. Nothing worked. In the end my daughter let them amputate a toe that was ‘down’ , I wasn’t in favour as we had many a lurcher over the years with a toe down and it caused no problems. Anyway the toe removal didn’t help and has just made her hate roads and paths!
She now is pretty sound most of the time on Riaflex Joint aid and their green lipped mussel. Never have found out what the real problem is when she gets up stiffly from time to time. She is 12 now and can still run like the wind when she wants to!
Do hope you get sorted, it’s difficult.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I’m tempted to try him swimming just for the amusement factor (is that really awful? Probably!) - my lurchers have always loved water but the greyhounds all think I’m trying to kill them if I ask them to swim ? Their little stick-like bodies aren’t great at displacing water either

I’m sure I’ve had aloe Vera cream, I think it was for humans? I used it for the horse years ago ?

ETA A normal life jacket without shark fin would also be just fine if he needs a bit of help with the buoyancy.

 

[{97702}]

ETA A normal life jacket without shark fin would also be just fine if he needs a bit of help with the buoyancy.

OMG I love it ???

 

[{97702}]

Sorry I haven’t commented before Levrier , and sorry you are going through this. We have been through similar with our greyhoun/whippet cross rescue. She has been a wimp all her life so that didn‘t help diagnosis. In typical long dog fashion she has run too hard and fast and often been lame but a couple of years ago now, the lameness didn’t clear up. She had every test under the sun and every type of pain relief. Nothing worked. In the end my daughter let them amputate a toe that was ‘down’ , I wasn’t in favour as we had many a lurcher over the years with a toe down and it caused no problems. Anyway the toe removal didn’t help and has just made her hate roads and paths!
She now is pretty sound most of the time on Riaflex Joint aid and their green lipped mussel. Never have found out what the real problem is when she gets up stiffly from time to time. She is 12 now and can still run like the wind when she wants to!
Do hope you get sorted, it’s difficult.

Thank you very much Chiffy ? - I didn’t really want to ‘like’ your post, so the ‘like’ is there to indicate ‘thank you for your reply and understanding, I’m sorry to hear you have been in a similar position’

Poor Ace will be 6 tomorrow but I know he had a very hard racing career with a horrible trainer - his racing record shows him running week after week at Belle Vue in Manchester for the syndicate who owned him, nobody seemed to care less about his actual welfare as long as he could run ?

I do feel more relaxed now I’ve firmly told myself that - although I hate him being lame - he is very well in himself and is full of happiness & enjoyment in life. Of course he would love to run and play but I think he can wait a few more weeks to see what happens before we try anything more - of course I’m tempted to go for a CT scan, but the vet was marvellously pragmatic in explaining that it might very well show nothing at all!

It is odd that he seems equally lame on hard ground or grass/carpet (although granted the lawn is baked pretty hard at the moment), it would almost be easier if he was more lame on hard ground, gravel etc?

I’m trying to adopt the approach that something will transpire eventually, and I am absolutely confident that he has total quality of life in the meantime which is always the vital thing for me ?

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Yep that’s all they could say.... I feel so hopeless about it all. Vet explained it could be a minor stress fracture or something like that which wasn’t 100% clear on the original X-rays? Or it could be ligament or tendon damage, which would need that much rest before it heals properly.

Vet said a CT scan is an option, but if it simply shows something like a stress fracture or ligament/tendon damage..... they will just tell me to rest him!!!! As there is no heat/swelling/pain reaction she thinks it’s not anything sinister still, if it was bone cancer there would be swelling etc by now apparently.

Bloody greyhounds!!!! ???

Both lurchers we’ve had with bone cancer, the xrays and swelling has been very, very obvious. I’d really think it couldn’t be that from the diagnostics taken x

 

[{97702}]

Both lurchers we’ve had with bone cancer, the xrays and swelling has been very, very obvious. I’d really think it couldn’t be that from the diagnostics taken x

I’m so very sorry you’ve had go through that, it has always been my worst nightmare and I know it is only a matter of time until I encounter it with the number of hounds I’ve had

But I’m also incredibly grateful for your reassurance, it has brought tears to my eyes this evening - I worry so much about this lad, he doesn’t owe anything to anyone and I just want him to be happy and enjoy life, so I really appreciate your post xx

 

[HufflyPuffly]

I’m so very sorry you’ve had go through that, it has always been my worst nightmare and I know it is only a matter of time until I encounter it with the number of hounds I’ve had

But I’m also incredibly grateful for your reassurance, it has brought tears to my eyes this evening - I worry so much about this lad, he doesn’t owe anything to anyone and I just want him to be happy and enjoy life, so I really appreciate your post xx

It’s been devastating both times and we’re pretty concerned for our remaining girl ? as she’s had a couple of lameness episode’s.

However, honestly both times it has been acute lameness with joint swelling and then obvious xrays. Our first they gave him 6 weeks and he had 6 months in the end, until we couldn’t manage his pain anymore ( never gave up eating mind ?).

 

[paisley]

In a 'I've tried everything' approach, it might be worth booking in a canine massage session (if its allowed). I'm only suggesting it, as I attended a course back in Feb, and they assess your dog.

Mildly surprised to be told he had neck issues and not surprised to be told there were some tight spots by his bum, most likely old injury. Was told if he ever went lame, this would be where the problem would most likely be.

They also aged him 2 years younger as he is fit and healthy looking, so not all bad! And he was much more free in his action afterwards. Mind you, if I had a day of getting a back rub, I'd be more sprightly afterwards as well!

 

[jenniehodges2001]

I was wondering about nerve blocking to find out where the pain was, to be honest I have no idea if they do it with dogs but I am going to ask!

Well it appears that nerve blocks are better in joints than nerves for some strange reason which is beyond my understanding.

Summary from a paper on the subject

'Lameness in dogs may be difficult to localize because of mild pathologic changes or inconclusive clinical findings. Intra-articular anaesthesia is proposed as a diagnostic method to localize the source of lameness. After a description of the preparation, technique and puncture sites, an overview is given of a series of patients admitted for different joint problems. Intra-articular anaesthesia proved to be applicable in any joint, provided that the clinician was experienced and the dog was under sedation. In 87% intra-articular anaesthesia was positive. Medial coronoid disease of the elbow joint was the most frequent indication for intra-articular anaesthesia'

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/55853111.pdf

 

[{97702}]

In a 'I've tried everything' approach, it might be worth booking in a canine massage session (if its allowed). I'm only suggesting it, as I attended a course back in Feb, and they assess your dog.

Mildly surprised to be told he had neck issues and not surprised to be told there were some tight spots by his bum, most likely old injury. Was told if he ever went lame, this would be where the problem would most likely be.

They also aged him 2 years younger as he is fit and healthy looking, so not all bad! And he was much more free in his action afterwards. Mind you, if I had a day of getting a back rub, I'd be more sprightly afterwards as well!

Yes they have canine massage available at the surgery too - nobody has suggested it as yet, they don’t appear to be taking a very holistic approach to be honest? My greyhound friend has suggested physio as well for the same reason, but it’s getting a referral....?

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Hope Ace wasn't sore this morning after the veterinary examinations yesterday.

 

[{97702}]

Hope Ace wasn't sore this morning after the veterinary examinations yesterday.

It is his birthday today, he is 6 ???

He has spent most of the day asleep on my bed, he got up at tea time to bounce enthusiastically all over the garden ? asking to go for a walk.....whilst being extremely lame! He was placated with extra birthday tea which he thought was a perfectly acceptable alternative to a walk ?

He really is the sweetest dog, such a joy to own

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Sounds as if Ace had an as great birthday as possible. Hopefully the extra rest suggested by the vets will fix the lameness problem.

Happy birthday Ace!

 

[tiggipop]

just a thought.. my big lurcher boy had a horrific accident lure racing .. as part of his rehab once the initial injury healed he had lots and lots of physio sessions -still has the odd session now when he tweaks himself and is then loading other bits of his body....

i was also recommended a "back on track" (https://backontrack-uk.com/collections/dog-braces-accessories ) wrap for his leg and he wore a mild leg support "zoomadog" (https://www.zoomadog.co.uk/products/c60-leg-supports-and-splints/ ) when out walking.. honestly think these helped enormously with his recovery

hope your boy is feeling better soon x

 

[misst]

OK this is probably not the problem but, in the "any port in a storm" view is it worth considering a nerve problem?
Many years ago my little old JRT who was only 6 at the time started limping. Weeks and xrays and bills later she could not weight bear on the leg and we could not find the proper source of pain. She was clearly distressed. I was starting to lose hope as she was refusing to even try and walk. She was treated with anti inflamatory meds, tramadol, gabapentin and metacam etc. She just got worse.
She was sent to Fitzpatricks ( yes I know you don't like him but sometimes it's worth it). Noel looked at her and did not even touch her and asked some questions which had not been asked. He pointed out some atrophy in her shoulder and asked how long it had been there. No one had noticed it before.
She had a CT/contrast scan and it showed inflamation of her radial nerve and a tiny tiny nodule on the nerve. He was reasonably sure it was benign and put her on huge doses of steroid for 6 weeks. She then reduced the dosage over another 6 or 8 weeks. She was sound in 4 weeks and never looked back. The nerve regained all use as did the leg and shoulder. It cost me £1500 but I had already spent over £800 at my own vets. There was no invasive or fancy surgery and it was worth every penny. I lost her at 14 to dementia. It took a year to get the weight off her that the steroids and inactivity had put on!!
I know this is unlikely to be the problem but as I say, any port in a storm, sometimes it is not the obvious. Xrays can show things at times that are incidental and not the cause of the problem.
Happy Birthday Ace and get well soon.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Reading Tiggipop's reply, I also want to recommend the Back on Track supports. I have some myself, but they're for humans, not dogs, which I suppose is why I forgot to think about them.

My mum loves her Back on Track knee supports, which she uses when she gets too much water in her knees. I have 2 different types of neck covers (which I use when I get a cold left shoulder), and I also bought a back brace when I had problems with my back 2 years ago.

I know some physiotherapist for humans doesn't like supports because you should use your muscles, but I've also tried an old normal back brace we had at home, and I felt that one only worked as support, whereas the Back on Track back brace makes my muscles feel warmer.