Very lame puppy, help please

Luci07

Luci07

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 October 2009
Messages
9,380
Location
Dorking
Visit site
I will preface by saying the pup is under vet treatment but we are at a loss. Pup is a 6 month old Stafford or Stafford x bitch. Bad start to life. To date she has been to the vets 3 times, had 2 courses of rimadyl, been Xrayed and had the x rays looked at by a specialist. There is no bony damage. The drugs cause an almost immediate relief but this time round we have tried 4 days off them. I am crating the pup when she starts to get too boisterous to try to restrict her. Vets have really prodded her paw and leg and she isn't that bothered.

Next step will be to open up her paw to look. Before we do that... Any other ideas? Heading back to the vets again this pm. Many thanks in advance guys.
 
what makes the vet think the lameness is coming from the paw? 2 thoughts - ask for referral to specialist again and ask for a full work up by them ,not just looking over your own vet’s xrays. They may take their own and should be able to offer scans also. 2nd thought, ask for a physio referral.
 
Shoulder rotation is fine and pup didn't react at all hence thinking its in the paw. Many thanks for these suggestions, I will talk about this to my vet this afternoon.
 
Luci07 said:
Shoulder rotation is fine and pup didn't react at all hence thinking its in the paw. Many thanks for these suggestions, I will talk about this to my vet this afternoon.
Click to expand...

still a million and one other things it could be really, Id not have a huge amount of faith in a vet who assumed it was paw related on the basis shoulder rotation was fine, sorry :/ what was xrayed exactly? sounds like a proper work up with a specialist is needed. good luck.
 
lexiedhb said:
What about her back? Was that manipulated?
Click to expand...

This. Saffie (Rottie x lab) had to go to the vet on Tuesday and I can't say I was that impressed. He's just said it could be spine damage or bowel irritation. Gave her IV painkillers and sent us home with metacam. We won't be going back. I know enough to know there is nothing seriously wrong with her. He wanted to spend most of the time lecturing us on her weight because she is far too heavy for a lab. She looks like a lab as black all over but is built like a big rottie. I'd say she's about 2-3k over her ideal weight at the moment, but he was saying she needed to lose 10-15k. I even pointed out her classic rottie build and frame to him and his reply was, "but she's lab so should be half that size". Anyway, she's fine now but you do need to be careful, not all vets are amazing.

As for your dog, the paw is a possibility but I would seriously question putting the dog through a GA and a very painful exploratory operation on a guess. I can speak from experience on this as my own collie had his outside toe amputated following a foreign object causing infected arthritis. It was obvious his lameness was in the foot from day one because he reacted to his paw being checked. The x ray couldn't show a foreign object because there was too much inflammation, so what it showed instead was an area of cloudy white. Not enough to diagnose or treat with any confidence, but enough to know where the issue was. Put on meds and sent home for a week. Another x ray, more inflammation. Drugs ramped up and sent away for 3 weeks. Xrayed again and the inflammation had gone down enough to see which joint in the toe the issue was closest to, but not make out an object. That week he had the first of 4 exploratory operations. They are not small operations let me tell you. They may not last long or be on vital organs, but they require a vet to basically take a stab in the dark...cut into and around all of the very small tissues in the foot, open tissues up, basically butcher the area in the hope of coming across something. Nothing was found in all 4 exploratory operations. After the 4th op in 12 weeks, we gave him a month off on huge anti inflammatory dose and he required a lot of pain killers. The final x ray showed the object as being a little piece of metal, like a filing that was approx 1 x 0.5mm so absolutely tiny. It also showed that he was developing fast onset infected arthritis in the third joint and would need to go onto steroids for the rest of his life to keep it from hurting him or affecting his movement too much. I was amazed that this was my only option given by the vet. I said, "he's an 18 month old collie, can you not just take the toe off". He said, "Oh yes, of course, that would be much better for him, just most owners wouldn't go for that". Unbelievable!

Anyway, there's my story, it was obvious from first x ray that there was something wrong in the paw, even though it was such an absolutely tiny object.

And let me tell you, after his toe amputation, he was hardly in pain at all. So much so I took him off the metacam early as he'd been on it so long. He was fine. However...after each of the exploratory ops, he was in so much pain he would cry through all hours of the day and night despite being on the biggest dose of pain control he could have. The vet might as well have put a drill in his foot on full speed and wiggled it about such is the way they have to "search" and it caused so much pain that I would say exploratory ops of this nature should be a last resort with leading evidence, not a hope on a whim.

I agree with the other posters, I would take her to a different vet and get a second opinion. It could easily be up in her back somewhere and it could also be something internal. A dog with a UTI can present lame on one hind when there is nothing at all wrong with the leg. I would hope that any vet you took her to would do a full exam and not just look at the leg.

Do get a second opinion and please do let us know how you get on.
 
Luci07 said:
I will preface by saying the pup is under vet treatment but we are at a loss. Pup is a 6 month old Stafford or Stafford x bitch. Bad start to life. To date she has been to the vets 3 times, had 2 courses of rimadyl, been Xrayed and had the x rays looked at by a specialist. There is no bony damage. The drugs cause an almost immediate relief but this time round we have tried 4 days off them. I am crating the pup when she starts to get too boisterous to try to restrict her. Vets have really prodded her paw and leg and she isn't that bothered.

Next step will be to open up her paw to look. Before we do that... Any other ideas? Heading back to the vets again this pm. Many thanks in advance guys.
Click to expand...

Just read this again. Please cancel this afternoons appointment with your current vet and book an appointment with another.
 
Would say I have always been happy with my vets and used them for years. Have put my thinking cap on as was not happy about surgery. I really appreciate you all taking the time to share your experience and thoughts.
 
Luci07 said:
Would say I have always been happy with my vets and used them for years. Have put my thinking cap on as was not happy about surgery. I really appreciate you all taking the time to share your experience and thoughts.
Click to expand...

It's not saying your vet is necessarily a bad vet, but I find exploratory surgery to be a bit of a blind lead when nothing has shown up on x ray. What is he thinking he will find in the foot if the x ray is clear? It's costly and very painful and it sounds like he wants to do it before looking into the other possible causes so I would be concerned. For the cost of a second opinion with an unrelated vet, I think it's worth it. Your vet doesn't need to know. X
 
Long talk with a good friend who rates her vets very highly and I am thinking of taking mine up there. It's a long way but her vets are a very specialised practise. Thank you SO much for warning me off exploratory surgery at this stage. I don't want to put this little dog through something unnecessary and painful x
 
FWIW, if you have a good veterinary physiotherapist nearby, I would ask for your vet to refer you. Might be some soft tissue issue that your vet is not able to find.

My pup had a mystery lameness which really knocked her for six for about 2 weeks. She wasn't eating, spent all her time in bed and was so out of character for her that I had her back and forth. The vet was unable to pinpoint exactly where and what and why. Had my physio lady come check her out - found a small tear inside of a hind leg (we thought there might be a lower back issue).

Physio'd, some rest and painkiller and brand new.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top