My rott has been limping for a month

[JohnButler]

Hi Rott lovers, i need some advise. I have a 3yrold male Rott, and for the past month he has been limping. I took him to his Vet and x-rayed the both legs. The vet told me he has an early stage of Arthritis and prescribed Rimadyl and Consequin DS, I took him to a specialist for 2nd opinion and told me that he might just have a joint inflimation and based on the x-ray no Arthritis found. he told me to continue giving both medication, it has been a month but my poor Rott is still limping. ***He usually run with me now his only exercise is swimming in the lake. We live in Chicago downtown area, please if you know a Vet specializing in Rott, give me some feedbacks. Thank you.

[Hope]

My Max started limping in early july this last summer. Initial radiographs also showed mild arthritis and early signs of elbow dysplasia. Two months and ten radiographs later, he still showed no signs of recovery, and instead radiographs from another vet diagnosed nothing wrong. He died of bone cancer a couple of days later at the tender age of two.

Don't mean to scare you, but you may want to keep on your vet's back about the radiogrpahs, and if those don't work, maybe a bone scan would help if the limping does not go away. I am not a vet, and this does not mean that your dog is fatally ill, but I did not know how many things could hide in radiographs, until that is, my baby, Max died in my arms.

[degarber]

Our Pitbull hurt one of his front legs and limped for about 3 months. We had him x-rayed and the films didn't show any damage. Our vet recommended one aspirin tablet a day and try to keep him from playing too rough with our Rottweiler. I thought he would never quit limping, but finally he healed and he is fine now. Maybe your story will turn out the same as Buddy's.

[AngelBunny]

JohnButler:

I'm with Hope on this. My Otto at 7 started limping; his right hind leg was involved. The vet could find nothing wrong; suggested I give him an aspirin/day.

My Otto had osteosarcoma.

Based on my experience, I think you should keep pushing your vet.

[Eliza]

I would ask for further tests/xrays. My Rotti died of Osteosarcoma in July and I had no idea prior to the Xrays. He had been limping but not all the time.
Good Luck.

[TahoeRott]

Are you going to an orthopedic specialist or just your regular vet? If you haven't seen a specialist, you might consider spending the money for a consultation. Keep us posted.

Hilary

[JohnButler]

I am so overwhelmed on sharing your thoughts and experiences, I am going to see another ortho specialist next week, and with your advise I will surely push my regular vet to figure out what's going on with Mozart(rott).
Thank you much and I will update you on his situation, I am hoping for the best.

[cbresnah]

I really don't like to hear of our babies limping - but I too have the same experience with the limping. Gretta started limping on July 29 and was diagnosed with osteosarcoma by Aug. 2 by an orthopedic specialist. Please keep us posted. By the way Gretta is doing wonderfully well. I maybe one of the lucky ones to have her longer than 4 to 6 mos. We care!

[Lil E]

John,
My girl limped on her hind leg and her regular vet gave her ligament replacement but she didn't get better so he sent us to an ortho and she had a TPLO surgery. What they do is level out the top of the tibia so there isn't as much strain on the ligament. The only way to tell is x-rays and manipulation of the leg under anesthetic.She got better but now has to have the other leg done.

[Dizzyloo]

John - what is the latest with your Rott and his limping? My 5 yr. old male just got diagnosed with osteosarcoma after the first vet said he looked "structurally strong". I hope it has turned out to be something else.



------------------
Cheryl
Disney's mom

[MEDIC]

You might want to try to see a orthropedic they might can put him on some arthritis meds.

[Mrs Coke]

Has he jumped off of anything lately?? When my Maggie started limping last year it took me a few days...after x-rays and all that fun stuff to find out she had fractured her foreleg....to figure out that she had jumped off our waterbed the wrong way. It took a few months for her to get healed up. Now every great once in a while she limps for a few days when she stresses that leg. She hates it but I stick her in some vet wrap when she limps and it gives her the extra she needs to get back to normal. Good Luck to you!!!

[Briar Rose]

Here's some NON-fatal causes of limping your Rott may have---we've experienced both.

1. Allergy to Heartgard (heartworm prevention.) We noticed the limps were real bad after we'd given the pill, slowly got better during the month, was just fine a few days before time for the next pill----and as soon as he got the next pill, we had a 3 legged dog again! Solution---vet put him on Interceptor instead, which was ok.

2. ALLERGY TO PREPARED DOG FOODS. Trust me on this! Take your pup off ALL canned & dry food, all dog treats, all human "prepared" foods like pizza scraps, crackers, etc.

FOR 1 WEEK TO 10 DAYS, FEED ONLY MEAT. Chicken or turkey you have boiled up yourself (not a "basted" turkey, its loaded with allergens---get a "natural" turkey) also raw or boiled beef chuck, liver, etc.
Go "back to nature." DON'T bother buying any of the so-called hypoallergic dog foods---for most dogs with food allergies, "hypoallergic dogfoods" DON'T WORK.

This trial will only take 7-10 days, and you should see significant improvement in that time if it's going to work. I know it sounds dumb, but what have you got to lose except some of your time? As the hippies used to say, "You are what you eat." If we ate what we feed our dogs---food that is so loaded with preservatives that it can sit on a shelf for years without going "bad" we'd have plenty of physical problems, too!

[Diane Heller-Vaccaro]

Has your dog been checked for Lymes. Even when vaccinated it is only 40% effective.

[shadraq]

Could be a back problem. I had a dog once that was limping terribly. I must have taken him to the vet 3-4 times until one vet gave him a thorough exam and found an injury to his spine. Once I heard that, I thought to myself, "how could I have been so blind". He had all the symtoms of a back injury, tiring easily, could not stand for long periods, limping, not jumping nor playing.

If you can not locate the problem try a canine acupuncturists.