Fragile Greyhound On/off Lameness Issues

[Guest Amber]

OK so my 5 yo greyhound came to be as a (seemingly) sound 2 year old. Before I adopted her I saw her playing hard with other greyhounds at the kennels, and she came to me with no lameness. However, she was only lightly raced , 24 races in 6 months and after she won her first race, came last or second last.

 

So I wonder if she was retired due to weak ligaments. She started being wristy about 6 months in (from the point where she was off leash running more). Then came corns; then came a bust ligament in a toe; then came a toe dislocation; and just recently, that same toe dislocated again (after 2 years of behaving itself)

 

So we have long spells of leash walks, no running, playing or agility training. No ball chasing. No fun for her or for me .

 

She has been lead only for past 4 weeks so I let her have a little off leash time and she seemed to be sore on her front leg for a day...this passed quickly and today she had a run and her toe dislocated (her boot came flying off) and her OTHER toe that is bust up also seemed sore .

 

When she is sound she is fine to flat out run, normally, but how can I fitten her up for off lead gradually? Since being a greyhound, she goes flat out gallop?

 

She presents with no lameness at all with walking (apart from the corn).

 

I was wondering if lengthening the leash walking for another few weeks and then maybe going jogging with me for short runs would strengthen up the ligaments?

 

I'm not sure if she is just getting a bit stiff and so on when she does have a run, because she has been out of action as well.

 

I'm not really happy that she can never run about and enjoy herself ever again, as she is only 5

 

I have to be super careful about her playing with other dogs and chasing balls, as these activities seem to cause more problems than just sprinting.

 

Anyone else had a fragile grey like this? Any suggestions?

Edited May 20, 2017 by Amber

[Time4ANap]

I'd check to see if there's Vet Physical Therapy Practice with a water treadmill anywhere near you. They can probably design a program based on the issues, and the water will add some resistance for gentle exercise. Just a thought - hopefully others have some ideas as well.

[JohnF]

Yes, Amber. Peggy is something like that with a weak wrist on the left. As she's gotten older she does seem to be in better control of not causing it, though all it takes is another dog for to show off to and there can be problems with cornering on what I call ridiculously extreme running. Sudden stops will also cause it, but not so bad as the hard cornering. It's the eccentric exercize that is the problem (slowing down and like a human walking down a very steep hillside). If she has a corn then she doesn't run so hard, but it isn't the corns that cause it, though if there was one on the opposite foot it would upset her muscle balance and gait. It's just something that has to be managed and once I learned not to stop her doing zoomies in the garden things got easier... if she stops of her own volition she does it much more sensibly

 

It took about 3 weeks of long-lead walking and not letting her show off to other dogs to get it better when she was a lot younger. Now at 9 1/2 its a week or so longer. She can stay good afterwards for up to six months until autumn rains make the ground slippery again. I deliberately picked a food for her that has plenty of glucosamine and chondroitin in it.

 

So I sympathise with you entirely. You can't keep them in cotton wool as their life would be so boring, so all you can do is watch for potential challenges as best you can. All I guess I've 'learned' is that you have to take that recovery month steady and give the tendons, muscles and joints time to heal.

[Guest Amber]

Thanks both. It's just so frustrating when she is going sound and then bam, for no known reason, back to square 1

 

As far as i can recall we've had spells of lameness on 3 legs and 2 toes. Plus the stubborn corn. First couple of hopping lame episodes we had x rays done but thereafter my vet just says rest and metacam when needed. Tried laser too but didn't help. Also had one toe steroid injected.

 

Well all that pushed up her insurance so much that i cancelled it, so unfortunately no insurance.

 

The swimming sounds a good idea except she is scared of getting out of her depth in water lol so could be more trauma!

Edited May 21, 2017 by Amber