?? here hope someone can help

[SAMSON'S DAD]

(Sams mom,)thanks for trying to help me make my point on here.and for the understanding. and for (Brunies Mom), i'm trying not to think it's bone cancer of some kind.no they didn't do an x-ray on the knee he just felt of it and said he thought it was a sprain.my vet is really good,and altho people tend to be and can be wrong at times i want to believe it's just a sprain.does anyone know how long a sprained knee wpould take to heal?? and thanks to everyone for your replies

[Sam's Mom]

In answer to your question...
My boy was 10 yrs. old when he was diagnosed with a sprain...(no xray) given meds and I was told to restrict his exercise i.e. pen or crate him and that it would take about 4 to 6 weeks to heal. After two weeks we went back again because I did not think he was getting better and the Vet said "you are not keeping him off his leg enough" (still no xray taken). Over the course of the next couple weeks I did some research (I was actually looking for a brace to help support and keep the weight off his leg so it would heal) A lady at the company that makes the braces urged me to see a ortho/rehab Vet and even found a local specialist for me. It was then that I got the dreaded OS (bone cancer) diagnosis.

I had no idea at the time that bone cancer was so previlent in our breed. I believe our Vet should have at least mentioned the possiblity of bone cancer (did your's?) and I would have "demanded" an xray right then and there! I still feel my boy experienced weeks of pain that could have been treated had he been diagnosed properly. BTW...I no longer go to that Vet.

So what I am trying to say...often regular Vets don't have the experience to properly diagnose and I "urge" you to consider an orth/rehab Vet "especially" since your boy is a senior at 9 yrs old. If your boy's "limping, swelling or discomfort" increases he should be seen right away or if he is not improving with rest in the next 10 days.

Hoping for the best...Take Care.

[SAMSON'S DAD]

Originally Posted by Sam's Mom

In answer to your question...
My boy was 10 yrs. old when he was diagnosed with a sprain...(no xray) given meds and I was told to restrict his exercise i.e. pen or crate him and that it would take about 4 to 6 weeks to heal. After two weeks we went back again because I did not think he was getting better and the Vet said "you are not keeping him off his leg enough" (still no xray taken). Over the course of the next couple weeks I did some research (I was actually looking for a brace to help support and keep the weight off his leg so it would heal) A lady at the company that makes the braces urged me to see a ortho/rehab Vet and even found a local specialist for me. It was then that I got the dreaded OS (bone cancer) diagnosis.

I had no idea at the time that bone cancer was so previlent in our breed. I believe our Vet should have at least mentioned the possiblity of bone cancer (did your's?) and I would have "demanded" an xray right then and there! I still feel my boy experienced weeks of pain that could have been treated had he been diagnosed properly. BTW...I no longer go to that Vet.

So what I am trying to say...often regular Vets don't have the experience to properly diagnose and I "urge" you to consider an orth/rehab Vet "especially" since your boy is a senior at 9 yrs old. If your boy's "limping, swelling or discomfort" increases he should be seen right away or if he is not improving with rest in the next 10 days.

Hoping for the best...Take Care.

thanks for the advice,and i forgot to mention he's actually carrying his leg not limping on it.sorry to have put it wrong.he is carrying his leg and won't put it down.and no they didn't mention bone cancer at all

[jlaack]

(Sams mom,)thanks for trying to help me make my point on here.and for the understanding. and for (Brunies Mom), i'm trying not to think it's bone cancer of some kind.no they didn't do an x-ray on the knee he just felt of it and said he thought it was a sprain.my vet is really good,and altho people tend to be and can be wrong at times i want to believe it's just a sprain.does anyone know how long a sprained knee wpould take to heal?? and thanks to everyone for your replies

Since they did not do an xray and he is packing the leg take him back to the vet for an xray. There is a huge difference between limping and packing. The later where the dog is carrying the leg is an indication the dog is in so much pain that he'd rather carry it than put it down. This is a very classic sign of bone cancer and since the vet did not perform xrays there is absolutely no way that bone cancer can be ruled out. You have a 9 yo Rott that is lame. With bone cancer being so common in the breed diagnostic xrays are a must. Without an xray (at a minimum) your vet cannot possibly say that the dog does not have bone cancer.

[Sam's Mom]

Originally Posted by jlaack

Since they did not do an xray and he is packing the leg take him back to the vet for an xray. There is a huge difference between limping and packing. The later where the dog is carrying the leg is an indication the dog is in so much pain that he'd rather carry it than put it down. This is a very classic sign of bone cancer and since the vet did not perform xrays there is absolutely no way that bone cancer can be ruled out. You have a 9 yo Rott that is lame. With bone cancer being so common in the breed diagnostic xrays are a must. Without an xray (at a minimum) your vet cannot possibly say that the dog does not have bone cancer.

I MUST SAY I...100%...AGREE WITH THE ABOVE ADVISE.
Bone cancer is so excruciatingly painful...you surely do not want to find out down the road your boy experienced added pain and feel you didn't do enough soon enough
Many here are haunted by thoughts of "not soon enough" Please...please listen to this heart felt hard to hear advise.

Added thought...makes me feel very uneasy that your Vet (like mine) did not even mention bone cancer.

[TrinaJ]

In a young dog the vet may say its an infection in the bone but as your dog is 9 it could possibly be bone cancer. I too am very surprised the vet didn't x-ray to rule it out. Its a very quick growing and painful cancer. I hope that i am wrong but i urge you to take your dog back to the vet for some pain treatment. He is hodling his leg up which means that its too sore to even limp on and he's in lots of pain.

My last dog had an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his leg, this was so painful that he couldn't put his paw down at all. We thought it was his paw that was sore, but we couldn't see any evidence of something wrong with his paw so we took him immediately to the vet. This is very very common in large breed dogs.

Hope it is just a sprained knee. Did the vet give you any advice as to how to manage his pain (ie ice, heat pad etc? like we would do to ourselves if we sprained our knee)?