Non-Grey Limping - How To Help?

[Roo]

Daisy the 12 year old rat terrier came to me with a bum leg - the vets think she was hit by a car long ago. Her shoulder is chronically dislocated and her leg has kind of adjusted - she walks on the sides of her toes but does pretty well considering. One vet said it was really "crunchy" sounding in the joint and the only reason she's probably still using it is because she's a terrier. Her back hips move funny so I'm pretty sure she just has arthritis to some extent in every joint.

 

She's always had a sort of limp-waddle, but for the past few days she's been limping much worse. My guess is she slipped on the ice and tweaked something, except she seems to be limping on her good leg, which is a bit odd. I took the liberty of examining her paws and maneuvering her legs around and she doesn't react to anything, so it's hard to tell what's actually bugging her. She did well on our walk today and wasn't limping at all when we were going at a good clip (I was watching her the whole time to make sure she was alright - planning to carry her home if she started acting like she was hurting - the benefits of having a 20-pounder), but as soon as we got home she started limping around the house again. I'm pretty sure it's not her 'faking it' (though I firmly believe she's smart enough to pull it off!) because she usually hates her walks and would certainly act up during them to get me to go home, not once we get home.

 

Is there something I can give her to maybe help? Perhaps a supplement of some sort? Or just something I can do for her? I gave her a gentle massage on both shoulders this morning and she seemed to enjoy it (but this dog melts if you touch her anyway, so it's hard to tell!). I'm hesitant to try antiinflammatories without taking her to the vet first, which I can't really afford till next week (gotta love the end of the month...), since she has a progressing heart murmur (grade 3 when I got her, grade 4 now). But watching her hobble around is breaking my heart so I wanted to ask Oh Knowledgable Greytalkers for advice

[tbhounds]

Rest is an effective and very inexpensive medication. I wouldn't walk with her until she's evaluated by your vet. Lameness can stem from her neck so, if she's walked lightly to relieve herself I would use a harness while doing so.

Don't give any aspirin products as it will limit to what your vet may want to prescribe.

[Roo]

She can't wear a harness - I can't find one that fits! The small is too small to fit over her fatty tumors and the medium is too big and she comes right out of it. But she's gentle on a leash and never pulls or puts any strain on it, so I suppose we're alright.

 

And I can't not walk her - I tried that and she spent literally all night sitting there staring at me because the terrier in her is saying "Go!!! Move!! Do things!!" We take gentle, slow walks around the block or she can't relax. She was doing more vigorous walks before she started limping, but we've stopped those for now.

[greysmom]

You might try hot and cold packs, alternating, on her neck/shoulder. If you see one giving more relief than the other, I would switch to all that kind. If she's bathable at home, a nice long, warm soak could also help.

 

When you have more flexibility cash-wise, acupuncture might be a good thing to try.

[smurfette]

I would recommend a physio when you can financially afford it. But in the meantime you can always give arnica and hypericum.

[Roo]

I'll give the bath and hot/cold a try! She's bathable - I just get stink eye and death glares from her I had also thought about acupuncture but I've never heard of a doggy acupuncturist around here so it'll take a bit of googling to find one.

 

I'll look into arnica and hypericum - thanks!

[smurfette]

Around here the physiotherapists do cold laser accupuncture.