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Lame On Back Leg


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Tracker started limping during his morning walk yesterday. It was a gentle at first, but throughout the course of the day it got worse. Whenever he'd get up, he'd hop the first two steps and as he kept walking, the gait became a bit smoother, but it's obvious he's in pain. He saw the vet today, and she took X-rays; fortunately they're all clear. She can't feel any swelling anywhere. He didn't yelp or make a peep during her moving his leg around. So now he's on Metacam and Tramadol. She feels it might be a sprain that hopefully clear up on its own.

 

Do Greyhounds tend more towards sprains than other breeds? Tracker has had a false alarm on one of the front legs 2 years back with dramatic limping, and within 24 hours it was completely gone.

 

Does anyone have suggestions for what this might be? I saw the thread about the possible connection between hypothyroidism and limping; Tracker was on the low side of normal when checked over a year ago. If this doesn't clear up, I'm thinking go getting his levels checked again. He's totally asymptomatic otherwise.

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Guest klipper

Did you check the pads for corns? When Echo's get bad that's the first sign...few limps as she started walking and then smoothed out.

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I don't know why I didn't think of it, since he has a corn on his front foot, so I'm really glad you pointed that out. I just checked. I wiped the pads off with a wet cloth, and on one pad there is a slightly darker, small area. When I pushed that gently, he lifted his head and stared at me, so maybe that is it? I have Therapaw booties for the front foot, so I'll put one on him for his evening walk and see how he does. I also have the cushioned indoor Therapaw slippers that I'll put on him right now. If that were it, it would solve the mystery, but of course it would be an ongoing, potentially awful battle...

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Minimally. We're in the SF Bay Area. It's mostly the American Black Legged Tick, but that's not supposed to carry LD (can anyone be sure?), and a little bit of Deer Tick, which does. I read it's very difficult to test for LD for some reason.

 

One thing I don't get: while at the vet, she gave him Buprenex or some similar sounding drug, a mild opiate. This doesn't seem to help his pain, or not much. Is that indicative of something? And it still hasn't worn off, after 7 hours--he's still high, just isn't himself, whines occasionally which he never does otherwise and won't eat. Is this normal?

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I think his reaction to the opiate is typical for greyhounds.

 

See if his limp is better on grass, worse on concrete/asphalt. That's helpful in determining whether it's a corn or not. And since it doesn't appear to have been painful when your vet manipulated the leg, that's another reason to suspect a corn. Your vet might try applying a nerve block to the questionable toe. If your boy stops limping, it's the corn (or, at least, the toe). If he keeps limping, it's more likely to be his foot or his leg. Also, dogs sometimes limp when the pain is elsewhere--say, a neck injury (for a front-leg limp) or back trouble for a hind-leg limp. The dog will walk strangely to try to minimize painful twinges along the spine, and that strange walk results in a limp.

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Kathy and Q (CRT Qadeer from Fuzzy's Cannon and CRT Bonnie) and
Jane (WW's Aunt Jane from Trent Lee and Aunt M); photos to come.

Missing Silver (5.19.2005-10.27.2016), Tigger (4.5.2007-3.18.2016),
darling Sam (5.10.2000-8.8.2013), Jacey-Kasey (5.19.2003-8.22.2011), and Oreo (1997-3.30.2006)

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I'll check for difference on asphalt vs grass. I just applied duct tape to what I think might well be a corn there. Question: I have a Therapaw for his front foot, but when I try this on his back leg, it sits on the foot so much more awkwardly than on the front (the way it has a hard time bending), that he hardly wants to put his foot down. Are there special rear leg booties that someone makes?

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