EAD Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 Two weeks ago after our off-lead weekend walk Kyla was limping on one of her back legs. I decided to on-lead street walk her for a few days to see if it would settle which it seemed to but after last weekends walk she was limping again. I happened to mention to the homeopathic vet when down for Benjis acupuncture and she said to get her checked in case it was her cruciate ligament which was the cause. Took her to my usual vets last night though they couldnt get a proper feel as Kyla was so hyped at being at the vets (she loves going there) and said they usually sedate dogs to check for cruciate problems. She had an onlead walk this morning and was limping slightly this evening. I have had a good feel of her leg but obviously dont know what im looking for really Has anyone any experience of rips/tears/ruptured cruciate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boosboss Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 Gyp had a partially torn cruciate, which was only identified fully under a general anesthetic. She had been limping intermittently. Rest seemed to work initially, but ultimately she needed an op. That was in January. She responded well, but being a particularly exuberant terrier, she's had a couple of setbacks and has needed more rest each time. She's currently away at my sisters on rest, so we can go on holiday in a couple of weeks time. I don't think you'd necessary feel a partial tear and would say go for the xray option to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EAD Posted October 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 Thanks for that She has to go back to the vets next week for her booster so i'll see about getting her checked then. Meantime we'll stick to the onlead walks. Hope Gyps ok for the hols Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickentikka Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 Barney managed to snap his at the grand old age of 13. He had a lump removed off his left hind leg and on his first offlead walk after that pulled up with his right hind leg tucked underneath him. The vets could tell straight away that his ligament had gone and due to the fact that he had had a GA 10 days before we had to keep him on very little lead walks for a while until they could operate. It was quite a long haul back with 3 x 5 minute walks to start with gradually building up. After about 10 weeks he was right as rain. Hope Kyla will recover without an operation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieandBailey Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 Bailey had a suspected cruciate ligament injury for a while when we were trying to get to the bottom of his limping in his right rear leg. But when we saw the specialist he pretty much ruled it out and instead thinks he's damaged his lower spine (minor disc prolapse to be specific - slipped disc!). We've since been sent down the total house rest for a fortnight route with no walks/stairs/playing etc, and he's now been allowed to start doing three lots of small lead walks a day. He seems a heck of a lot better and there's no sign of any limping, but the real test is when the vet presses firmly down the length of his spine - he's been fine until he reaches just above his hips, when he's obviously in discomfort. Found this on how they can diagnose cruciate ligament injuries: "The diagnosis of a ruptured cruciate ligament is made through observing abnormal movement of the joint. A veterinarian will place one hand around the femur and one around the tibia in a precise manner. By applying pressure on the knee, the veterinarian will feel the bones move abnormally in what is called a 'drawer sign.' It is called that because the movement of the femur in relation to the tibia is similar to pulling and pushing in the drawer of a cabinet. If an animal is in a lot of pain, or very nervous, the muscles near the knee may be so tense that they prevent the drawer movement from occurring. If a veterinarian suspects a ruptured cruciate ligament in a dog but cannot elicit the drawer sign, the dog may be heavily sedated to relax the muscles and then re-examined for the drawer sign." I guess if you don't know what bit is where or what you should be feeling for, there's not much hope of you checking her out yourself! Fingers crossed you get the answers you want - it's a frustrating business figuring out what causes limping and lameness in dogs sometimes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doghouse Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 As has been said above it is the "drawer movement" that the vet will be looking for and this can sometimes only be felt under sedation, X rays don't usually show the ruptured ligament. Our GSD ruptured her cruciate earlier this year but it took 3 months before we got a diagnosis and that was only when it went completly She had intermitant lameness and x rays didn't show any problems, they were even sent to a specialist who couldn't find a cause. When the ligament went completly you could see her knee slipping out of place. She had TPLO surgery in May and is now fine and has even started to do flyball again despite having a massive plate and 12 screws in her leg. The worst bit for us was that she caught MRSA when having surgery and the treatment for that badly damaged her kidneys, but despite lots of low points and us thinking we would lose her she defied the odds and is bouncing round like a pup and even with every thing she went through her leg healed perfectly If your dog has ruptured the cruciate and they advise surgery look up the Bella Moss foundation to see what precautions you should take to guard against MRSA as it's always better to be informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EAD Posted October 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Poor Barney going through all that at such a grand old age....glad to hear he came though it ok Rosie (is that your name ) was Bailey limping all the time or just on and off? It sounds very annoying trying to get it sorted. Doghouse the vet had no chance of really feeling anything properly as Kyla just wriggles and then lies on her back with her legs sprawling and kicking I also didnt even know dogs could get MRSA so i'll have a read up on that. Glad to hear your girl is fine now. She had an on-lead walk today though I think shes limping ever so slightly again......maybe walked a bit too far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieandBailey Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Yes my names Rosie Bailey was limping intermittently - seemed to be worse/stiffer after he'd had a particularly vigorous bout of off lead bounding about and then rested for a bit. When he was really bad he would have to sort of pull himself up from a lying position using his front legs, rather than pushing up with his hind legs like wot dogs would normally do. He also used to sit with his hips out to the side and his little back legs stretched out straight (looked like a little old man!). Sometimes he'd even hold his foot off the ground. He saw a number of different vets at the same practice over several months and we got a multitude of suspected diagnoses from a sore foot (for which we were offered steroid cream!?) to hip dysplacia to arthritis to cruciate ligament injury. It was this last suggestion that got us referred to the specialist who we're seeing now, but after he spent a while examining his hind legs (guess he was doing that drawer sign thingy) he pretty much dismissed it as a possibility. I'm assuming the vet's got it right and it is his spine that's to blame. We'll have to see how much better he thinks he is when we go back for his check up on 7th November. I think if Kyla has injured herself somehow, in order for her to heal herself properly she'd need the sort of rest treatment we've been giving Bailey as per the vets instructions. Which are: 1-14 days total rest and no walks, 14-20 days start with 3 x 5 min walks building up by a couple of mins per on lead walk each day and then 30-45 days stay at 3 x 35 mins on lead walk and then apparently 45 days plus exercise is unrestricted. Pretty hardcore stuff, especially when you've got a bouncy bundle of energy that doesn't think there's anything wrong with them and can't understand why you're carrying them up and down stairs Is she showing any other kinds of symptoms at all? Sitting strangely, reluctance to jump up etc. Think any additional information you can give the vet when you visit will help. Do hope you you get her better soon Rosie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EAD Posted October 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 (edited) Oh bloomin heck that sounds a total nightmare Kyla sounds the same as Bailey in that she seems to be worse after the offlead vigorous walks then not so bad when kept onlead. She is definitely sitting straight with leg tucked under her but I will keep an eye on how she get up. On the weekends after the offlead exercise she was holding her foot slightly off the floor. She is jumping on the off the bed as normal. I cant even start to imagine giving her so little exercise but she is a very chilled out dog who will settle if need be (will stock the chest freezer with frozen kongs) Am I wrong to take her on longer onlead walks until we find out for sure Edited to say I hope you get positive news on the 7th Edited October 21, 2007 by EAD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 For some reason I seem to be plagued by cruciate ligament injuries, Spud has one just now, and I would say don't walk her farther than you need to, the shorter the better as every time she bends that joint it is using the ligament and potentially aggravating the injury more, it's a complete pain in the butt but as much rest as possible is crucial, I've done this so many times now, the worst bit is you think it's ok, let them off the lead as normal and PING, it's gone again and your back to square one, you might want to try homeopathy Ruta I think is the one to use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EAD Posted October 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 Celeste I hope Spud is on the mend Kyla got examined by the vet who doesnt think its torn/ripped but shes on 2 weeks of 2 x 15 minute walks per day and home with Previcox. I also bought her a Bioflow collar yesterday, hopefully that will help too. Keeping her calm in the house is proving a problem atm as we have a rather energetic little chap staying with us and they just want to play. She does spend most of her time rolling about on her back mind you with him on top going for her throat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted October 28, 2007 Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 You have my sympathies we're pretty much in the same boat as Daisy my other Staff is like a monkey on piece of elastic and trying to stop them being to mad is just about impossible Spud got an x ray last week just to check there was no under lying problem and he does have arthritis in both knees (he only 5) he is a very jumpy dog and although I've always been aware and tried to be careful about wear and tear on his joints he's still managed to do enough damage to cause problems, so he's going to try hydrotherapy next week to see if it helps with his recovery, his right knee is slightly worse than the left so the vet thinks he's been protecting that leg so thats why it's always the left cruciate that gets damaged, hey ho, it never rains.............................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safneo Posted October 28, 2007 Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 (edited) Yes my names Rosie Bailey was limping intermittently - seemed to be worse/stiffer after he'd had a particularly vigorous bout of off lead bounding about and then rested for a bit. When he was really bad he would have to sort of pull himself up from a lying position using his front legs, rather than pushing up with his hind legs like wot dogs would normally do. He also used to sit with his hips out to the side and his little back legs stretched out straight (looked like a little old man!). Sometimes he'd even hold his foot off the ground. He saw a number of different vets at the same practice over several months and we got a multitude of suspected diagnoses from a sore foot (for which we were offered steroid cream!?) to hip dysplacia to arthritis to cruciate ligament injury. It was this last suggestion that got us referred to the specialist who we're seeing now, but after he spent a while examining his hind legs (guess he was doing that drawer sign thingy) he pretty much dismissed it as a possibility. I'm assuming the vet's got it right and it is his spine that's to blame. We'll have to see how much better he thinks he is when we go back for his check up on 7th November. Rosie, those symptoms sound the same as Saffy. She has been diagnosed now as HD. Vet originally thought cruciate too and treated as so, with metacam and complete rest, then short walks for a couple of weeks. We had to have GA and xrays a few weeks ago when problem wasnt resolved. Sorry to OP for hogging the thread EAD, I hope it turns out to be nothing too serious. Doesnt sound like its bothering her too much anyway if she can still keep up with her little playmate Edited October 28, 2007 by safneo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieandBailey Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 Rosie, those symptoms sound the same as Saffy. She has been diagnosed now as HD. Vet originally thought cruciate too and treated as so, with metacam and complete rest, then short walks for a couple of weeks. We had to have GA and xrays a few weeks ago when problem wasnt resolved. Sorry to OP for hogging the thread EAD, I hope it turns out to be nothing too serious. Doesnt sound like its bothering her too much anyway if she can still keep up with her little playmate Oh no Andrea, I didn't realise Saffy had been diagnosed with HD Really sorry to hear that I'm so hopeful Bailey's problems aren't/weren't anything more serious than the minor disc prolapse the vet thinks it is/was - he's almost at the end of his rest period (see the vet again a week on Weds) and he totally seems back to his normal boingy self (although of course he's still being walked on lead), but around the house he's full of beans and sits straight and properly now and has even sneaked up onto the sofa when we've not been looking, so he obviously feels better and he's not on any metacam or steroids now or anything, just Synoquin glucosomine tablets. Am hoping he says he's all better when we go back and doesn't want to have him in for scary xrays wot show up nasty things.... Sorry EAD for also hijacking your thread Do hope Kyla improves with a bit of rest ('bit' being the operative word with her little friend about!!) - fingers crossed for you that she's just overdone it a bit too. Rosie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moundysmate Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 Our Zak is going in for a GA and X-rays tomorrow morning as the vet thinks he either has a cruciate problem or HD. His symptoms sound so like Bailey and Saffy's. I have to say I'm wibbling! Andrea have you found anywhere in the West Mids that offers hydrotherapy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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