Limping - How Long To Wait Before Going To The Vet

[Guest zoolaine]

Briley has started limping. He limped a bit about 10 days ago but it got better in a day or two but then started again Friday. He is now doing a lot of hopping on 3 legs and won't put the sore one down - but besides that is eating well, etc. I would take him in to the vet on Monday, but our normal vet (female) works Wed-Fri so Briley would have to see a male vet. I would have no problem taking any of the others to see this vet but Briley really does better with the females. I have Tramadol left over from Sunny and I have tried 1 (50mg????) 3 times a day and I tried 2 every 12 hours - still lots of limping and hopping. I hate for him to be in pain so I don't know if I should just take him in Monday or wait til Wednesday. Briley is not a greyhound but I am still concerned about cancer - he does have more little fatty tumors popping up. And I am still paying off a ton of vet bills from Sunny so if I knew it was just a strain and will go away in a few days I'd probably just wait. How long do you guys wait to see if a limp goes away?

[Guest barkdogs]

I would think it is time to go to the vet-especially if he is on 3 legs.

[kudzu]

Briley has started limping. He limped a bit about 10 days ago but it got better in a day or two but then started again Friday. He is now doing a lot of hopping on 3 legs and won't put the sore one down - but besides that is eating well, etc. I would take him in to the vet on Monday, but our normal vet (female) works Wed-Fri so Briley would have to see a male vet. I would have no problem taking any of the others to see this vet but Briley really does better with the females. I have Tramadol left over from Sunny and I have tried 1 (50mg????) 3 times a day and I tried 2 every 12 hours - still lots of limping and hopping.

If he were mine, with only the history of limping you have mentioned, I'd get him in soonest but you know your dog best. If he had a history of past injury to the leg in question & I could find no signs of swelling, warmth, fever, manipulation did not bother him, etc. then I may wait. I had a dog who was terrified of ALL vets, like scrambling under furniture & attempting to melt into the floor or sometimes snapping, but vet visits need to be done so we did them anyway. As I said though, you know your dog best.

[Guest Mik]

With the threat of osteo being so (relatively) high in Greys, I take mine to the vet at the first sign of limping. In the 15+ years I've been owned by Greys, it's only been osteo twice, but catching it early is one of the keys to survival.

 

Even though Briley isn't a Greyhound, that much limping and apparent pain could be a sign of something bad. I'd get him in ASAP.

 

~Mik

Edited July 26, 2010 by Mik

[Guest zoolaine]

I will call the vet first thing in the morning. It does make me concerned, especially since just losing his litter mate, Sunny, from cancer.

[JaneW]

That much limping from no known cause--vet sooner rather than later, I think. Greta frequently limps, but not that much and there is almost always an identifiable reason (chased something, slipped while running, stung by a bee,etc.)

[Guest zoolaine]

Briley is at the vet now. He was doing better this morning so I was going to wait a bit longer but once I got to work I felt bad not taking him. So I called up the vet and made an appointment. We went and the vet said his knee was swollen and wants to do x-rays to see if anything is torn. I have to leave him until this afternoon.

[Guest zoolaine]

Back from the vet, diagnosis: partial ACL tear. He has a recheck in 10 days and if still limping will have to have surgery. Vet said 90% likely he will need surgery.

[Guest Smiley]

I'm sorry that surgery may be a possibility, but happy it's not cancer! Many good thoughts coming to your baby! Keep us posted.

[Guest ChasesMum]

blargh but better that osteo.

[grey8greys]

Back from the vet, diagnosis: partial ACL tear. He has a recheck in 10 days and if still limping will have to have surgery. Vet said 90% likely he will need surgery.

 

 

If it is a partial ACL tear, I would start now to limit all activity for the next 10 days, until you go back to your Vet, only out for potty breaks on a leash. No walks, no steps, no getting on the couch, no excitement / moving around, no getting in the car, crate if possible. I know this sounds extreme, but my first Greyhound had a partial tear and this is what the Vet told us to do. We did this for 8 weeks and 4 more weeks of no running and she healed fine with no surgery and no problems later. When you go back in 10 days, ask your Vet about the resting versus surgery.

[Guest zoolaine]

Yeah, he is on rest/limited activity until we go back on August 5th. Hopefully that will fix it. He didn't sedate Briley all the way and said if he was totally out, there could be even more instability evident. I am very happy it is not osteo but worry about future arthritis in that knee. Briley does have insurance so I would have to pay 20% if my vet does it or 30% if he is referred out to a specialist (what I would prefer I think). We will see how he heals up. Thanks for all the good thoughts

[Guest PiagetsMom]

Back from the vet, diagnosis: partial ACL tear. He has a recheck in 10 days and if still limping will have to have surgery. Vet said 90% likely he will need surgery.

 

 

If it is a partial ACL tear, I would start now to limit all activity for the next 10 days, until you go back to your Vet, only out for potty breaks on a leash. No walks, no steps, no getting on the couch, no excitement / moving around, no getting in the car, crate if possible. I know this sounds extreme, but my first Greyhound had a partial tear and this is what the Vet told us to do. We did this for 8 weeks and 4 more weeks of no running and she healed fine with no surgery and no problems later. When you go back in 10 days, ask your Vet about the resting versus surgery.

 

Ditto....I posted in your "SoapBox" thread before I saw this, but our experience has been similar.

[Guest Heehoo]

This is good news...

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Vikki (my senior that just had her dental and tumors removed) has an ACL tear from god knows when (definitely before I ever met her), and I wouldn't dream of putting her through the surgery, even if it was free. In my experience, it's not all that effective, and in an older dog, the threat of arthritis developing later is not as big of a concern. I would do limited activity (crate rest) for a few weeks, and then swimming to build up muscle. I've had dogs go on to be more or less normal after an ACL injury with just doing this. Of course, it's personal choice... I lean to less is more in situations like these, but I do not judge those who approach differently.

[lovinggreysslp]

We went through something very similar a week ago with Holmes. His limping started right after being outside. He too did not want to weight bear on one of his legs. Vet visit lead to tramadol, restricted activity and check in a weeks time if he was not any better. Our vet thought it was a partial ACL tear or strain. Knock on wood, we saw Holmes using the leg shortly after the first tramadol dose. One week later, he is off the tramadol and no signs at all of limping or favoring the leg. Hoping rest and meds help your hound too.

[MP_the4pack]

 

Sorry. I know a torn ACL is not something to cheer about. But there have been so many OS pups just these past couple weeks that I just had to cheer for a torn ACL.

 

Now I hope he doesn't need surgery.

[Bevd]

I'm 'happy' to hear about the ACL too

 

Get better soon!

[Guest zoolaine]

You are not going to believe this but when I got home from work Briley was holding up his good leg and is now limping on both! makes me wonder if maybe it isn't coming from his back???? The x-ray did show inflammation in his left knee though.

[grey8greys]

You are not going to believe this but when I got home from work Briley was holding up his good leg and is now limping on both! makes me wonder if maybe it isn't coming from his back???? The x-ray did show inflammation in his left knee though.

 

 

I had x-rays done on my girl with the partial ACL tear, it didn't really show anything but the Vet, buy feeling her knee could tell it was spongy and had me feel it also, you could tell the difference in the good knee and the torn knee. The good knee felt hard.

[Guest PiagetsMom]

Maybe it's just from the stress of bearing extra weight on the good leg? I know when Mirage was tripoding his good hind leg was very stressed, and other than leashed potty breaks we kept him off his feet as much as possible. Like grey8greys pup, Mirage's initial xray wasn't conclusive and didn't show a definite tear. His diagnosis was made by his reaction to a physical exam on his knee - his lameness and exam was typical of a partial tear to the ligament/ACL.

 

Sending good thoughts for Briley

[greyhead]

Well, I too am glad it's not worse than it is, but I'm sorry both of you are going through it. Good thoughts for good rest and a quick complete recovery. I feel like we're both members of the It's Always Something Club!