Unrelated Symptoms?

[Guest Latch]

Ok, we have had Latch (turned four years old in Jan.) about 3 months now and he has been fine up until recently. Well, I hope he's still fine and I'm just paranoid

 

I took him to the vet three days ago and found out that he has a staph infection and tape worms. I got medicine for both and I'm pretty sure the tape worms are all gone. There are some other things that worry me though:

 

He has a slight limp on his back hock (the one where I believe he had a previous injury - the bone sticks out bigger than the other leg - like it healed funny or something). One of his hips sits a slight bit lower than the other too. The problem is, I can't seem to remember if he's had the limp all along or if it just now came up since I'm paying more attention.

 

Since giving him the medicine for his staph infection, I have noticed that he acts sort of funny...it's hard to explain.

 

Sometimes he will let out a tiny whine and then circle and lay down - he would sometimes do this when he was anxious to go outside (looking out the window and whining), but now he seems to do it because he's uncomfortable - I can't find any sore spots on him or anything that makes him wince.

 

Last night he was lying in his bed panting very heavily and his nose was running - I mean literally dripping out liquid. He wasn't panting because he was tired because we didn't even walk yesterday since it was raining. I watched him closely and eventually he stopped the panting and the nose stopped running and he went to sleep. He seemed fine this morning.

 

I should also add that he sprinted around the yard yesterday no problem - didn't show any sign of discomfort on his back leg or anything.

 

Any thoughts?? The vet said he looked fine other than the staph and the tape worms. Could his AB be causing his weird behavior? I feed him his meal with the medicine so hopefully it won't cause his stomach to hurt...I just don't know...I’m kind of worried though.

 

[Jiffer]

If he has a healed hock from a break, then limping and having it look slightly off is normal.

Atlas broke his in his last race and it healed horribly. It's a huge knob almost twice as wide as his other leg at the break site and it's at an angle (at least 30º where there shouldn't be one).

His hip on that side is lower, because his leg isn't straight. He walks with a slightly limp... or as DH calls it a "hitch in his step". It varies in severity too, depending on the weather. If it's really cold or damp out, he limps more than if it's dry and warm. We give him glucosamine for this reason. It keeps him more consistent.

 

As for his odd behaviour of panting and such, I'd be talking to the vet, if it was me. Maybe something about the medication is bothering him?

[Guest Latch]

If he has a healed hock from a break, then limping and having it look slightly off is normal.

Atlas broke his in his last race and it healed horribly. It's a huge knob almost twice as wide as his other leg at the break site and it's at an angle (at least 30º where there shouldn't be one).

His hip on that side is lower, because his leg isn't straight. He walks with a slightly limp... or as DH calls it a "hitch in his step". It varies in severity too, depending on the weather. If it's really cold or damp out, he limps more than if it's dry and warm. We give him glucosamine for this reason. It keeps him more consistent.

 

As for his odd behaviour of panting and such, I'd be talking to the vet, if it was me. Maybe something about the medication is bothering him?

 

Thanks for the input about his hock. It sounds like Atlas's looks just like Latch's does. I am probably going to call the vet today too.

 

Thanks again!!

 

(I thought this was cute)

[Greytlady94]

Panting can be a sign of pain and/or anxiety. A limp at our house means a trip to the vet for exam and x-rays.

[Guest michael_roberts]

I don't have any experience with hock problems, but Noza would often whine as she circled to lie down. Our vet never found anything wrong. Prior owners (she had been adopted and returned 2 other times before we adopted her) had noted she did the same thing. I came to think of it as "So many naps, so little time" whining.

[Jiffer]

Just to give you an idea of what Atlas' leg looked like and looks like:

 

Here's Atlas when he was not yet adopted by us. Take in April 2004. You can see his broken leg (rear left).

 

This is a shot of his leg taken last March (07). It's hard to tell, but his toes are more flexible now and bend well.

[seeh2o]

Is he developing some arthritis at the site of the injury? That can surely cause pain (it does me!). Maybe make sure his food contains glucosamin and chondroitin. Also add a supplement with both, like Longevity by Springtime.

[Guest Juliesmom]

Panting and nose dripping is a definite sign of pain. I also have a hound with a hock injury that was never operated on and self healed. She has developed a ball on the back of her hock and has arthritis to boot. Depending on the weather depends on her pain level. I ordered some S.O.D. Boswellia on line. the S.O.D. is the doggy aspirin part the Boswellia is to promote healthy joints. It works like a charm and it totally holistic. Do a google search for it and check it out- real good stuff to have around the house to help our retiring athletes with their arthritis and pains.

[DaisyDoodle]

Is Latch taking prednisone by any chance? That could cause the panting, and probably the whining and dripping as well. Also increased water intake and peeing.

 

What meds is he taking? Name of antibiotic, anything else?

[Guest Latch]

Is Latch taking prednisone by any chance? That could cause the panting, and probably the whining and dripping as well. Also increased water intake and peeing.

 

What meds is he taking? Name of antibiotic, anything else?

 

 

The only medicine he is taking is Simplicef - 200mg for his staph infection. He hasn't been panting very badly today, but he is still slightly limping on his leg with the old injury...Im going to try and post pictures, but I haven't been able to take the time to figure it out yet!

 

Just to give you an idea of what Atlas' leg looked like and looks like:

 

Here's Atlas when he was not yet adopted by us. Take in April 2004. You can see his broken leg (rear left).

 

This is a shot of his leg taken last March (07). It's hard to tell, but his toes are more flexible now and bend well.

 

Yep, that looks almost just like Latch's foot. I also noticed that when I pick up his paws, he won't let me pick up the back one opposite of the injured one (basically he can't put a lot of pressure to balance using the leg with the old injury).

[Guest Latch]

I am attempting to post pics of Latch's foot...hope this works!

 

 

 

I hope the pictures aren't too big...

 

 

[Guest houndlover]

I am attempting to post pics of Latch's foot...hope this works!

 

 

 

I hope the pictures aren't too big...

 

 

What happened to his tail? Does he have the typical grey happy tail and he whacked it on something?

[Guest Latch]

I am attempting to post pics of Latch's foot...hope this works!

 

 

 

I hope the pictures aren't too big...

 

 

What happened to his tail? Does he have the typical grey happy tail and he whacked it on something?

 

YEP! He has the worst happy tail! We had one sore cured completely and then we had to put him in the crate a couple of times - and bam! There goes another sore - so now Im working on curing the new ones! We can't put him in his crate at all because it always leads to him wacking it because he's happy to see us and then we have a new sore to heal

 

[Guest LindsaySF]

Do you know when the hock was injured and if it was surgically repaired? Has it been x-rayed?

 

The whining, panting, circling to lay down, etc, are all signs of pain and discomfort. His leg might be bothering him. I noticed that he displayed these signs after sprinting in the yard, so he probably strained his leg by too much activity. If the break was somewhat recent he might still have to be leash-walked until it is more healed. I would want a vet's opinion on it though.