Old Track Injury Induced Limp?

[Guest WYOwhy]

When I adopted Avery in May, I was told he had a limp related to an old track injury. He only limped a few times in our first week together and not at all after then. My vet initially looked him over and found nothing obviously wrong or injured. So, I teased him about being a smart enough dog to fake a limp in order to find his way into my life.

 

Suddenly, this week, the limp reappeared; much more consistently and more pronounced then it was in May. He is still active and begs for walks and play. His appetite is great. He exhibits no other signs of pain. Could it be that the cooler weather makes his old injury flair up? Should I be worried? I'm feeling a little paranoid since I lost my Salvador years ago to osteosarcoma and his first symptom was an unexplained limp and no other signs of pain or distress.

 

So, do I take Avery in to the vet? Do I add a joint supplement to his diet? Can I assume this is the limp they told me that he had? Maybe all he needs is some jammies (even although he seems to enjoy the cooler temperatures)?

 

Thanks, in advance for all your expert advice. I don't know what I would do without GT.

[Guest Tenderhearts]

May I ask how old Avery is?

 

I've not had experience with prior racing injuries and limping in any of my greys, but I would think a supplement certainly wouldn't hurt if the limping were from the injury.

 

Around here if a limp goes on for more than a couple of days, it's off to the vet's

[Greytlady94]

I would have him checked again by the vet, I don't mess with limping. I also have my greys on glucosamine, chondrotin & msm. I like Fresh Factors and Joint Health from Springtime.

 

Fresh Factors

 

Joint Health

[Chicocat]

Sounds like a vet check is in order. There's really no way we can tell you, because the possibilities are wide ranging. What kind of track injury? If it was a soft tissue injury, ie muscle related, then overextending exercise might make it flair up. But anyone here would just be guessing.

[Guest Cris_M]

Definitely have a vet check it just to be safe.

 

However, Gabriel had an old racing injury that followed the same course you explained with Avery -- except for the cooler weather part. He was fine at home for a few months and then the limp cropped up. He was put on Rimadyl and rest for 1 month. We didn't make it a full month with the rest, but...... We also changed the Rimadyl to Boswellin, a natural substance, that was less problematic with his gut and didn't have the potential of zapping his liver. And, we added Missing Link -- I think any of the joint support meds would work.

 

The result was that off and on Gabriel would have the limp again. While we stayed constant with the Missing Link, we would add the Boswellin back in when the limp occurred and we would limit high activity for a few days. We just accepted it as part of Gabriel.

 

BTW, I think the reason Gabriel was fine for a while and then the limped returned was that he was on enforced rest while waiting to be adopted. Here, he exercised every day and that put stress on the joint.

 

Hope you and Avery find something that works for you.

[Guest WYOwhy]

Thanks! I will try to get into my vet today.

[turbotaina]

Also, check for corns

[Guest WYOwhy]

Pupdate: Three hours, two hundred dollars, and seven xrays later, we don't know why Avery is limping. I'm happy to say his bones look great. And his hips are gorgeous. Absolutely no evidence of Osteosarcoma and only one tiny bit of arthritis. His muscles seem to be in good flexible and pain free condition. Still no evidence of a previous track injury. However, he is clearly limping. Our Dr. prescribed Deramaxx, 50 mg a day for ten days, and then re-evaluate.

 

Any ideas, suggestions, advice?

 

Is there a way for me to further investigate his "track injury" history? I've looked at his race record and didn't see anything that stood out. When I adopted him, all I was told is, "He might limp a little, but it is just a track injury. The vet says he is fine, just give him a little aspirin."

[Guest tiffyks]

We just came from the vet today, because my broken (many years ago) legged track hound, was starting to limp on two legs. Well we found that the right front elbow has arthritis and the rear left knee has a torn MCL in it. He did a steroid injection in the knee and we have duramaxx for the arthritis. She is already feeling a whole lot better. She is playing and rolling and getting around okay. I am waiting for the rest of the injection to kick in because I am sure she is going to feel like a pup again when the meds kick in.

 

I just love my vet. He is such a super guy.

 

[winnie]

I"m glad to hear that nothing appears to be seriously wrong with Avery. Just curious... does Avery's limp switch from one leg to the other?

 

Our grey Celeste had a limp that alternated between her front legs. We took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with a compressed disc in her neck (one of the ladies in our adoption group calls it "greyhound neck"). This type of injury does not usually show-up on X-rays. Our vet gave us 10 days worth of Rimadyl and a muscle relaxant. We also didn't let Celeste run loose for about a month. The limp is gone for now, but we continue to proceed with caution. We only let her run loose in our yard once in awhile and for short periods of time. We also switched from using a martingale collar to a harness for walks. Finally, we started giving Celeste Synovi-G3 soft chews - which we were already giving our other grey Darcy with good results.

 

 

[Guest WYOwhy]

I"m glad to hear that nothing appears to be seriously wrong with Avery. Just curious... does Avery's limp switch from one leg to the other?

 

Our grey Celeste had a limp that alternated between her front legs. We took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with a compressed disc in her neck (one of the ladies in our adoption group calls it "greyhound neck"). This type of injury does not usually show-up on X-rays. Our vet gave us 10 days worth of Rimadyl and a muscle relaxant. We also didn't let Celeste run loose for about a month. The limp is gone for now, but we continue to proceed with caution. We only let her run loose in our yard once in awhile and for short periods of time. We also switched from using a martingale collar to a harness for walks. Finally, we started giving Celeste Synovi-G3 soft chews - which we were already giving our other grey Darcy with good results.

 

Yes! How did you guess it? That is one of the things that has both the vet and I baffled, we can't tell for sure which leg he is limping on as it appears to switch from front right to back right to back left.

 

My vet said he thought it might be a pinched nerve because the one movement Avery didn't like being manipulated in was a deep neck turn. I am definitely going to bring up a compressed disc as a possible problem.

 

Will the Deramaxx help with a disc issue?

 

I've never seen a harness on a grey, do you have one that is specially made for those deep chests, or will any old dog harness work? Was the switch from the martingale to the harness difficult for Celeste?

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with me! Hopefully that will help us get to the bottom of Avery's limp.

[winnie]

I"m glad to hear that nothing appears to be seriously wrong with Avery. Just curious... does Avery's limp switch from one leg to the other?

 

Our grey Celeste had a limp that alternated between her front legs. We took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with a compressed disc in her neck (one of the ladies in our adoption group calls it "greyhound neck"). This type of injury does not usually show-up on X-rays. Our vet gave us 10 days worth of Rimadyl and a muscle relaxant. We also didn't let Celeste run loose for about a month. The limp is gone for now, but we continue to proceed with caution. We only let her run loose in our yard once in awhile and for short periods of time. We also switched from using a martingale collar to a harness for walks. Finally, we started giving Celeste Synovi-G3 soft chews - which we were already giving our other grey Darcy with good results.

 

Yes! How did you guess it? That is one of the things that has both the vet and I baffled, we can't tell for sure which leg he is limping on as it appears to switch from front right to back right to back left.

 

My vet said he thought it might be a pinched nerve because the one movement Avery didn't like being manipulated in was a deep neck turn. I am definitely going to bring up a compressed disc as a possible problem.

 

Will the Deramaxx help with a disc issue?

 

I've never seen a harness on a grey, do you have one that is specially made for those deep chests, or will any old dog harness work? Was the switch from the martingale to the harness difficult for Celeste?

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with me! Hopefully that will help us get to the bottom of Avery's limp.

 

Our vet asked all sorts of questions about Celeste, felt her legs, etc. She wasn't showing any problems until she tried bending Celeste's neck from side-to-side and front-to-back. At that point, Celeste started yelping. She said that most greyhounds have no problem with what she was doing which led her to the compressed disc diagnosis. Our vet said it's very common for this type of problem not to appear on x-rays - although she took some anyway. They do show up on MRI's, but those are very costly. Our vet didn't recommend doing one unless Celeste continued to have problems.

 

I'm not sure what Deramaxx is to be able to advise there.

 

As for the harness, there are MANY made for greyhounds. We use the Premier harness which we got from our GPA chapter. They sell them online too - http://www.gpa-nova.org/store/index.php/cat_4. It wasn't too difficult transitioning from a martingale collar to harness either.

 

Good luck!

 

[RobinM]

Chloe has an old racing injury in one of her legs that flares up from time to time and the vet showed us exactly where it is. We can feel the scar tissue.

 

In fact, right now it is acting up and I will take her in if it is not better in the next day or so.

 

She ran like a banchee on Friday, was on feet all day at a GH picnic and woke up with it on Sunday. I am keeping the walks to a minimum.

 

The old racing injuries do tend to come and go.

[inugrey]

I would also run a tick panel, limping that switches legs can also be indicative of a TBD.

 

OSU this link is the greyhound wellness program at OSU and that should help explain the TBD thing better than me.

 

good luck.

[winnie]

I would also run a tick panel, limping that switches legs can also be indicative of a TBD.

 

OSU this link is the greyhound wellness program at OSU and that should help explain the TBD thing better than me.

 

good luck.

 

This is true. Our vet ruled out TBD in Celeste because she had the panel done when we got her last year and is current on all vaccinations - including Lyme.

[Guest RosiesMom]

Wow. I need to take Rosie back in and talk about disks. She has "chronic rotating limp" in spite of lovely bones and joints. Hers rotate back to front as well, though...that is how we got the Pano diagnosis from the Oteologist...

 

Hmmm.

[Guest smarthound]

Pupdate: Three hours, two hundred dollars, and seven xrays later, we don't know why Avery is limping. I'm happy to say his bones look great. And his hips are gorgeous. Absolutely no evidence of Osteosarcoma and only one tiny bit of arthritis. His muscles seem to be in good flexible and pain free condition. Still no evidence of a previous track injury. However, he is clearly limping. Our Dr. prescribed Deramaxx, 50 mg a day for ten days, and then re-evaluate.

 

Any ideas, suggestions, advice?

 

Is there a way for me to further investigate his "track injury" history? I've looked at his race record and didn't see anything that stood out. When I adopted him, all I was told is, "He might limp a little, but it is just a track injury. The vet says he is fine, just give him a little aspirin."

 

Your adoption group may have more details about his track injury. It would certainly be helpful to know what the injury was.

 

About the aspirin recommendation, if you decide to use aspirin, it should be the buffered kind.

[Guest jsk4x]

Chewie has an old track injury that acts up on one of his back legs. After various tick panels and x-rays, he was put on an anti-inflammatory when it was acting up badly. He isn't on anything except glucosomine and similar supplements. He doesn't limp anymore except after really long walks. During his check-up, our vet recommended two treatment options that could help. She suggested either a course of accupuncture, which would be several initial appointments in a one month period and then treatments 2-3 times a year. Her other suggestion was supplement similar to glucosomine that is injected. I forget the name, but the injections would be regular over a long period of time. She said both treatments were natural and she's seen dogs regain their energy afterwards. We are considering the accupuncture. We're going on vacation soon, and I'll make a decision then.

[Guest CaroleWithRunningDogs]

I have 2 girls with cervical disc disease, both of them in harnesses. Limping was our first sign that something wasn't right. My big boy had 2 broken toes from speeding through a dog park, and it was discovered a year later that the fractures did not heal properly, though he had been in a cast for 6 weeks. So he too now wears a harness. At the time of their diagnoses, 30 days of "rest" is important, meaning absolutely no playing, walks only. We have since progressed to where they are allowed 2 minutes of play at a time, but that is it. We are known for marathon walks, and taking lovely car rides. In fact we organize group walks for our adoption group. Having my dogs exhausted from other activities, has allowed our not being able to do lots of playing be not a hardship. ANY time I see limping, activity levels are reduced and then Epsom salt soaks are started. This has worked for over five years now.

 

Our first vet was not greyhound savvy which is probably why they didn't get the fractures taken care of correctly. One of my dogs has a tendency to ligament laxity on her front paw, so she too gets soaks if she has played too hard. You'd be surprised how exhausted they can be after a 2 minute romp around the yard. They all do get modest amounts of glucosamine and chondroitin with their supper and I use Tahitiian Noni juice daily as well. None of my dogs did well with pain medications, and have faired quite well without it. Thank doG, because one dog had explosive diarrhea on Deramaxx, and one had kidney issues on the Previcox. We do aspirin if we need something immediately with the Epsom soaks. Our vet is OK with this, saving NSAIDS to when we might really need it, feeling a bit of discomfort is OK when we don't want them to be playing so much anyway.

 

We haven't had any issues for a few years now. Good luck. It is hard if you have greyhound friends who want to zoom/zoom and you can't allow your dogs to, but there are so many other wonderful activities you can explore instead. Carole

[Guest jessiesmom]

Hi everyone: I'm new to the group - found this site by searching for greyhound neck -- my cutie dark brindle Jessie 10-12 years started all of a sudden with this strange muscle twitching on her left shoulder area - you could see the muscle quivering and she would raise her paw and limp. I'd massage it and then it would go away and not bother her. Vet put her on Rimadyl for 8 days when we went off - 3 days later, she developed issues with limping and shaking her rear legs especially the right one. Back to doc. more rimadyl and not much info. Jessie has mod. heart valve disease - no meds though and the vets kept saying that to do xrays they needed to sedate her...The other day her rear leg went out and she began limpling and having a problem navigating for about 1/2. Back to vet given pain meds and no real info. He did find that her neck was stiff etc. and you all describe similar problems associated with "greyhound neck" I am going to take her to ortho for an eval. but it is so weird - one minute she is wobbling on her rear legs the next minute she is going around the house and wanting to play with no signs of stress or problems. Thanks for the info here and I hope to be part of future discussions. I'v been through a lot with my sweetie and if I can ever help with Clostridium questions, heart questions, etc., please feel free to ask me --- BTW she is on Glucosime/MSM/Chondrotin........

[Guest WYOwhy]

Hi everyone: I'm new to the group - found this site by searching for greyhound neck -- my cutie dark brindle Jessie 10-12 years started all of a sudden with this strange muscle twitching on her left shoulder area - you could see the muscle quivering and she would raise her paw and limp. I'd massage it and then it would go away and not bother her. Vet put her on Rimadyl for 8 days when we went off - 3 days later, she developed issues with limping and shaking her rear legs especially the right one. Back to doc. more rimadyl and not much info. Jessie has mod. heart valve disease - no meds though and the vets kept saying that to do xrays they needed to sedate her...The other day her rear leg went out and she began limpling and having a problem navigating for about 1/2. Back to vet given pain meds and no real info. He did find that her neck was stiff etc. and you all describe similar problems associated with "greyhound neck" I am going to take her to ortho for an eval. but it is so weird - one minute she is wobbling on her rear legs the next minute she is going around the house and wanting to play with no signs of stress or problems. Thanks for the info here and I hope to be part of future discussions. I'v been through a lot with my sweetie and if I can ever help with Clostridium questions, heart questions, etc., please feel free to ask me --- BTW she is on Glucosime/MSM/Chondrotin........

 

Hi Jessiesmom! Welcome to GreyTalk! I love this site, and like you, I first discovered it when I needed help with a "health and medical" question. Stick around, you'll soon find all sorts of other perks of being a part of this amazing online community.

 

As to the limp and quiver in Jessie, I'll pray that you soon find the source of it. I am by no means an expert but for what it is worth, I did not have Avery sedated for xrays. I know they often sedate dogs because it can be difficult to position them while they are fully alert, but my vet is gentle and patient and agreed to try xrays without sedation. Unless Jessie is a spook or vet-agressive, you might request that your vet at least attempt to xray her while she is alert. It really wasn't too tough on Avery. They didn't even twist him into too many odd positions, basically just lie down and roach.

 

Hope that helps a little. Also, you'll find you get more people answering your questions if you start a new topic. Keep us updated on Jessie, and join us in some of the other rooms too. We'd love to see Jessie's picture!