question on rear leg limp

[clastala]

My nine month old puppy Roxie, has been limping for two weeks. She cut a corner and hit her hip pretty hard. We have been resting her and the limp seemed to be getting better until Thanksgiving. I looked out in the back yard and to my horror my nephew had taken her out of the kennel and was running her all over the back yard. It was worse for a few days and now seems to be back to where we were.

I took her to the vet today. She tried to check her leg out but it was tough to get her to hold still. She heard her knee pop she thought. Is that a symptom of damage?

She does not seem to be in pain and did not cry out when she hurt herself. She also uses her leg. The vet wants to sedate her and check out her leg and I will do that as soon as possible but I want to speak to my breeder first.

I did a search and found alot of info I just wondered if anyone had anymore info for me or anything similar.

Thanks, Carol

[lblax]

i would have the vet sedate her and check her right away. and dont do to much research on the web you'll have her crippled and every other known ortho injury in the world. some time a person can just look up toooo much info if you know what i mean

[Anne]

Why don't you want the vet to sedate her and look at the knee, it's the only way you are going to find out exactly what is wrong. Researching on the net is a good thing if you KNOW what is wrong but can lead you right up the garden path if you have no idea. She can not be diagnosed via the computer and if she has a definite problem apart from muscle strain, which it doesn't sound like after all this time, then delaying the treatment will do more harm than good. Please take her back to the vet and find out what the problem is so it can be dealt with.

[clastala]

I will take her in to have her x-rayed. I was just trying to gather info. You are right. I do need to know what is going on before I can proceed.

Thanks

[Sharon Marples]

This could possibly be a torn cruciate. I've never had to have a dog sedated for a vet to be able to determine if this is the problem. Do you have a problem in getting her to be quiet for the vet to examine her? Or is your vet afraid of her and that's why he/she wants to sedate her? Just curious.

I would have the ACL looked at.

Sharon Marples

[clastala]

I think this vet is afraid of doing anything to her. I am making the appointment with a different vet since this one would barely touch her. She was wiggling around and the vet did not try too hard to check her. My dog is very people friendly but I think she was intimidated.

[Anne]

I think I would be seeing a different vet too if this one is afraid of a 9 month old puppy. I have trained my dog to stand still and then drop and roll for a veterinary examination. The time put into this training pays off when you have to see the vet. However if the vet is afraid of the dog I guess it wouldn't make any difference. The trouble with these fearful vets is that they don't examine the dog properly and you have to pay again for another consultation with yet another vet. Must admit I am lucky with my vet.
Re the ACL yes, that's what I thought too. My girl had the TPLO op done at 18 months. She is recovering nicely.

[clastala]

I took Roxie to the Vet that my breeder recommended. He was wonderful. She does not have a problem with her knees. I am so relieved. She has just strained a muscle. I will rest her and I feel very lucky.

[clastala]

Has anyone heard of giving this for a limp which is a muscle pull? Does anyone have experience of prednisone? Thanks Carol

[spidey]

Prednisone is a steroid, it will reduce the inflammation in the area. I'd discuss it with the vet, if it were my dog, since I'd rather not put a dog on fairly serious meds for a mild injury which will heal itself with appropriate care. I'd ask what his rationale for using the steroid was, or if just controlled exercise would work (or controlled exercise and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory like aspirin). Most pulled muscles are pretty minor injuries (some are more serious than others), steroids are pretty major meds with all kinds of side effects. They're appropriate for use in many situations, but I'd want to discuss their use for a minor muscle strain on my dog. JMHO.

And just a quick comment about the other vet, it's entirely possible that he wasn't afraid of the puppy, but was afraid of causing additional injury by trying to check the knee of a dog who wouldn't hold still.