Limping In An Oldie

[Guest bigorangedog]

Hey all --

 

So Tanner will be 13 in 2 weeks. For the past several months, he has had small episodes of limping on his left rear leg. The first one was this Summer. They come on rather suddenly, where out of the blue he does not want to put much weight on that leg, and seems stressed about it. The first time it happened, we took him to the e-vet (these things always happen in the middle of the night or on weekends, right?). They did x-rays, and did not see anything. We decided to hope he had pulled a muscle outside or strained it in some way. Treated with pain meds for a few days, and it disappeared!

 

Since then, it has happened once or twice more. If we give Deramaxx for a couple days, it goes away and he is fine afterward. There never seems to be a precipitating event, but then again he does trot around quite a bit for an old guy, and regularly jumps out of the car (which always makes me cringe because it looks like he hits the ground hard, but he never falls or hesitates).

 

He's having an episode of it right now. Which means he paces around quite a bit. He is one who has to spin at least a dozen times before lying down, and apparently it hurts to spin, so he can't lie down without a great deal of effort. So he'll stand there staring at me, waiting for me to fix it. If I feel around, push on, rub, or otherwise mess with that leg, I get no reaction from him at all. But he definitely limps on it.

 

So does anyone have any ideas about what is going on here, and why it keeps recurring like this? Could osteo look like this (recurring in small episodes over several months)? Or do you think he has some arthritis and keeps aggravating it? I just have no idea and the vet really doesn't either.

 

Thanks!!

Jen and Tanner

[heartdogs]

Shadrach was limping like this except it's a front foot. When took him to the vet last weekshe noticed he's flat footed on that foot & walks on the very back of the pad so it's sore. I've kept him in & not let him run the yard like he loves (easy to do when it's in the 20-30s) and it is better. Have your vet check that & give him some Hip & Joint in case it is old "arthur".

[GeorgeofNE]

Sadly, in old dogs, arthritis is pretty prevalent.

 

Come to think of it, it's pretty prevalent in old people too!

 

I'd discuss keeping him on an NSAID at that age to help eliminate the pain and stiffness. My last dog had terrible arthritis starting when he was about 9 years old (he had had a major orthopedic surgery with complications). The medication helped tremendously. He took Rimadyl at first, and gradually that wasn't enough, so he got to share my Tramadol for the last 2 years.

[Guest CaroleWithRunningDogs]

So much can be referred pain as well. Limping can be from a spinal issue, and the situation can get exacerbated and then he gets medication that brings down the swelling in his spine until the next time - because he isn't healing up fast like a younger dog will. I'm guessing, but having my big boy had temporary paralysis after darting off after a cat yet once again - well, I'm learning about spinal issues in older dogs. Chances are the bigger the dog the more likely it is a disc situation - or so our vet tells us and he is considered a greyhound specialist. Like with people I notice if my boy is tired, he doesn't jump into the van, but rather slowly gets in. I try to make sure that if it is a car day that I limit the number of times he will be getting in and out of the car, or if he has to go in and out a lot then make other accommodations, like less walking. Good luck. Anti-inflammtory, natural varieties would be highly recommended.

Carole

[Guest EmilyAnne]

I would do chiropractic and acupuncture if you can afford it, or/and keep him on an NSAID to keep arthritis from flaring up and getting worse. As they get older, it takes longer for them to heal and chances of complete recovery are less. So preventing another flare up is important.

[FountainLady]

When was the last set of X-Rays?

 

I don't want to scare you .... but this sounds like what my Pup went through. X-Rays looked clear and the vet thought he was getting arthritis. But the limping got more often/worse over time, and even with arthritis pain meds it wasn't going away.

 

He even stopped using the leg for short periods of time .... The next set of X-Rays (8 weeks later) shown very aggressive Ostersarcoma cancer of the bone. To the point that even I could see it on the X-Rays.

 

Limping that doesn't go away is something that you need to really keep a watch for in Greyhounds. If it's been more than a month since the bones in that leg were X-Rayed, I would have them done again. By the time we figured out what the cause of the limp was (after a half dozen vet trips over a couple months) - the cancer had not only consumed a big piece of the bone, but had gone to his lungs too ..... so it was too late to do an amp and chemo with any hope of any success.

 

I ended up seeing a specialist at MSU (who took the second set of X-Rays) when my regular vet couldn't figure out what the problem was .... if he just would have X-Rayed Pup again a month after the first set, we might have caught the bone cancer in time to do something for my dog.

 

 

[Guest bigorangedog]

Hey all,

Thought I would post an update and another question...

 

After snooping around on the internet and thinking about it some more, I became more and more convinced that what we're dealing with is Lumbosacral Stenosis. Took him to the vet on Monday, and vet (a longtime greyhound owner herself, with one of her own dogs currently suffering from osteo) agreed. We gave him the Depo-Medrol injections that day.

 

I do think it has made a difference, although not as dramatic a difference as I had hoped. He will still occasionally limp a little, especially after lying down for a long time. But he does seem to be walking better and is not hesitating as much with the 3 steps to outside. He will run a little happy dance after he poops (this is his trademark move), and seems to feel well enough.

 

Questions: I'd love to hear others' personal experiences with LS, especially with the Depo-Medrol injections. Can I expect any further improvement above what we have seen these first 48 hrs? Or is it 'downhill' from here as they wear off?

 

Would trying acupuncture (assuming I can find an acupuncture vet in the Twin Cities) be likely to help?

 

He has been panting quite a bit since the injections. Is that related to any of the side effects? (He's also peeing more, but we expected that.)

 

Thanks!

Jen

[Wonder]

Hey Jen

Sparks has LS but doesn't limp. You can't even tell he has it other than he's slowing down and when you turn his foot in, it's slow to right it self.

He has pain meds that he can take as needed but now that he's on FF and Joint Health, he's like a new hound.

 

Good luck and hope the depo works

[RobinM]

Has he had another set of x-rays since the summer? If possible, I would do that to rule out anything funky going on in the leg as someone said- it doesn't always show up the 1st time around.

 

THat was the case for my Polli- it didn't show up till one year later.

 

Hope he feels better soon and it's an easy fix.

 

ETA in the interim I would keep him on the deramaxx.

Edited December 24, 2008 by RobinM

[Guest bigorangedog]

We were told that because he had the Depo-Medrol shot he could not have any more Deramaxx....

 

No, he has not had a new set of x-rays... I'll mention it to the vet again, but she did not seem to think it was warranted. He apparently has a pretty 'classic' case of LS....

 

ETA in the interim I would keep him on the deramaxx.

 

ETA It is clear from various poking and prodding that the locus of the pain is in his lower back, not in his leg at all. My husband actually has this same exact thing...."referred" pain from a pinched nerve in his back that causes one leg to hurt. He had a steroid shot in his back too, a few years ago.

Edited December 24, 2008 by bigorangedog

[RobinM]

Well, then that is good and treatable. Hope he can be kept comfortable for a good long time.

[Guest SusanP]

For what it's worth, my own arthritis is much worse some days than others, without apparent rhyme or reason. If it turns out that arthritis is at least part of the problem, our vet told us Adequan injections are very helpful in some dogs. They didn't help our angel hound Simon, but some they do. She did reasonably well on Previcox and Tramadol when it interfered with her lifestyle.

[queenwinniesmom]

Hi Jen, Poor Tanner! Wish I had some experience or advice for you, but I don't---just wanted to say I hope he feels better. I know you'll do everything you can for him.

And a small hijack---though I'm sorry to see you posting in H and M, I can take the opportunity to thank you for the Burpdog! Lydia was ecstatic, as were Polly and Tess. You and Crisco are the best! We sent you some pics. Give the sweet boy a hug from me and a smooch from his sweetie.

And let us know how Tanner is doing.

[greyhndz]

Jen, I do think that these pups often experience sciatica. My Dandi has intervertebral disc disease, and when he's circling and finally lies down, he may jump right up again. He occasionally will limp for a few steps on his right hind. I've found acupuncture has been tremendously helpful for this, together with an NSAID and chinese herbs prescribed by the veterinary acupuncturist.

 

I hope Tanner responds well to the steroids. It may take at least several days before there's a noticeable difference. Do keep us posted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest bigorangedog]

Hi Jen, Poor Tanner! Wish I had some experience or advice for you, but I don't---just wanted to say I hope he feels better. I know you'll do everything you can for him.

And a small hijack---though I'm sorry to see you posting in H and M, I can take the opportunity to thank you for the Burpdog! Lydia was ecstatic, as were Polly and Tess. You and Crisco are the best! We sent you some pics. Give the sweet boy a hug from me and a smooch from his sweetie.

And let us know how Tanner is doing.

 

Hi Nancy! Good to hear from you! I'm glad Lydia got her burpdog! Crisco would love some photos... I'll let you know when we get them. I keep meaning to post the new family photos we had taken to the GRTB board. One of these days! Some cute ones of Crisco. He is doing good. Probably seeing a little LS with him, too, unfortunately. But he will turn 13 next week! And it's also his Gotcha Day on New Year's Day -- 6 years! Hard to believe. He sends kisses and tail wags to Lydia. :-)

 

[Guest longdogs]

Angel has episodes like this, so did William. I was on the point of taking her to the vet just before Christmas when she improved again. The vet never finds anything definite but suspects arthritis, as do I. A course of rimadyl or metacam quickly makes a difference and the problem fades away for a while.

[tbhounds]

Is true--no NSAIDS (Deramaxx, Rimadyl, Metacam...) while steroids are being used but, you can add Tramadol to your medication protocol safely