Tracy Collins wrote 03/31/2012 01:20 PM Question about limping #358124 - 03/31/2012 01:20 PM
Tracy Collins Webboard User Reg: 10-09-2008 Posts: 1917 Loc: St. Louis, Missouri Offline	Cinco, 12 month old pit mix is a wild Indian. Constantly scraping himself or jumping off of something he shouldn't. For the las 5 days he's been limping, favoring one front leg. I've examined him thoroughly--nails, pads, palpated and tested every joint, and can't find anything wrong, or elicit any acute pain from him. So I figure he pulled something. Some kind of soft tissue injury. So he's been on crate rest and leash walks only to go out and pee/poop. I've been trying to keep him as quiet as possible (for a wild Indian), but he acts as if nothing's wrong and would be going full tilt if I let him. No other issues. Eating, drinking, peeing, pooping normally. So the question is: how long is it appropriate to continue a "watch and wait" approach, limiting activity, before a trip to the vet is in order? My instinct is that this is some kid of strain/sprain and I'd end up paying the vet 70 bucks to tell me to do what I'm already doing. How long does it usually take for these simple injuries to resolve? Cinco | Jack | Fanny | Ellie | Chip | Deacon
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Connie Sutherland wrote 03/31/2012 01:45 PM Re: Question about limping [Re: Tracy Collins ] #358125 - 03/31/2012 01:45 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Do you feel any heat (warmer than elsewhere) anywhere on/around that leg? No swelling, right?
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Tracy Collins wrote 03/31/2012 04:01 PM Re: Question about limping [Re: Tracy Collins ] #358130 - 03/31/2012 04:01 PM
Tracy Collins Webboard User Reg: 10-09-2008 Posts: 1917 Loc: St. Louis, Missouri Offline	Nope. No noticeable swelling or heat. Just the limp. And it's not the kind of limp where he's holding the leg up and not putting any weight on it. He's using the leg. But clearly favoring it. I've flexed every joint from shoulder down and tested range of motion, applied pressure down the length of the whole leg. Nuttin'. No reaction. Like every rambunctious puppy, he's had little injuries before-- but they usually didn't last this long. There's a stone wall around our yard that he climbs on and jumps from. He's still wanting to jump up and down off the bed like a fool (so it can't hurt much) but I'm trying to keep him from it. He's mostly back to being tethered to me in the house. He stayed home from agility this week, and just missed out on a long hike with the other dogs, so he's got pent up energy to burn! Cinco | Jack | Fanny | Ellie | Chip | Deacon
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Connie Sutherland wrote 03/31/2012 04:24 PM Re: Question about limping [Re: Tracy Collins ] #358135 - 03/31/2012 04:24 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	And even if you enfold the paw in your hand and softly squeeze it, no reaction (no hidden splinter, etc.)? (Although the fact that he's not holding up the paw while he walks kinda rules that out anyway.) Then IMO, you are doing the right thing, and a week to ten days probably isn't unusual, from what I've read of so-called stretch injuries. I guess uppermost would be, does it seem to be getting better, or worse? You already know about mind games to help burn off a little bit of pent-up energy. I don't suppose he'll do a little sailor's hornpipe dancing on his hind legs while that foreleg mends?
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Cheri Grissom wrote 03/31/2012 05:42 PM Re: Question about limping [Re: Connie Sutherland ] #358140 - 03/31/2012 05:42 PM
Cheri Grissom Webboard User Reg: 09-30-2010 Posts: 2609 Loc: Michigan Offline	I'm wondering if there's any chance this could be panosteitis? He's the right age. I've only had pano experience with one dog, and he was about 14 months or so. As I remember it, he was favoring one front leg for a week or maybe a little longer, absolutely no other symptoms. I recall thinking it was time to take him to the vet when it spontaneously went away. But a week or so later, he was favoring the other front leg, again, for a week or so. I mentioned it to the vet the next time I saw her and she thought it could have been a mild case of pano. I'm not sure how prevalent it is in the pit breeds, but I know it can affect pretty much any large breed (and some smaller breeds like Bassets).
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Tracy Collins wrote 03/31/2012 06:03 PM Re: Question about limping [Re: Tracy Collins ] #358142 - 03/31/2012 06:03 PM
Tracy Collins Webboard User Reg: 10-09-2008 Posts: 1917 Loc: St. Louis, Missouri Offline	I guess it could be pano. I've only ever had one dog with pano (Ellie) and it was about this age, and similar limp. If I recall, the vet gave her some pain meds for it. We'll start working on the hornpipe. He's already pretty good at standing on his hind legs to investigate the kitchen counters, so we can shape it from that. Cinco | Jack | Fanny | Ellie | Chip | Deacon
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Connie Sutherland wrote 03/31/2012 06:19 PM Re: Question about limping [Re: Tracy Collins ] #358144 - 03/31/2012 06:19 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Oh, gosh, I totally missed the age, even with it being the first sentence! This is the first event? No similar instance in another leg? http://leerburg.com/pano.htm
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Tracy Collins wrote 03/31/2012 06:37 PM Re: Question about limping [Re: Tracy Collins ] #358145 - 03/31/2012 06:37 PM
Tracy Collins Webboard User Reg: 10-09-2008 Posts: 1917 Loc: St. Louis, Missouri Offline	No other instances like this. In the past he's had 1-day (or ahorter) limps from jumping or something but nothing that lasted a week. Read the pano article. He is raw fed, and quite lean. I suppose I could reduce his food, but his weight looks good to me. Thoughts on giving him half an aspirin? He's approx 50 pounds. Cinco | Jack | Fanny | Ellie | Chip | Deacon
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Connie Sutherland wrote 03/31/2012 07:12 PM Re: Question about limping [Re: Tracy Collins ] #358146 - 03/31/2012 07:12 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Quote: Tracy Collins .... Thoughts on giving him half an aspirin? He's approx 50 pounds. Don't forget that aspirin is an NSAID and requires the same vigilance when given to a dog as any other NSAID. (Dogs are not like humans with regard to aspirin tolerance; we often see it recommended casually, almost like "give some ester C" or "increase the fish oil," but it's not in that category.) That said, though, yes, I would consider aspirin for a pup with pano. I'd check with the vet if the dog was taking any other med or if there had ever been any kidney or liver anomaly in his blood work results. And I'd watch him for GI distress. But I'd probably give it, after going through the precautions and carefully determining the dose. Dosage and safety: http://www.vetinfo.com/aspirin-common-poisoner.html#b And I have a saved Mary Straus page about using buffered aspirin/Ascripton. All JMO! As you know, I'm not a health professional. I'll dig up that Mary Straus page.
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Tracy Collins wrote 03/31/2012 07:13 PM Re: Question about limping [Re: Tracy Collins ] #358147 - 03/31/2012 07:13 PM
Tracy Collins Webboard User Reg: 10-09-2008 Posts: 1917 Loc: St. Louis, Missouri Offline	Thanks. I'll call the vets office on Monday and ask about a half aspirin. The only med he's on is daily liquid ivermectin for demodex (which is working). I'll keep monitoring him and keep him as quiet as possible. Cinco | Jack | Fanny | Ellie | Chip | Deacon
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