Patterdale injury advice needed??

[RubyRu 0]

Hi all,

 

Apologies for my very first post being a request for help/advice but here goes!!

 

We have a patterdale bitch just turned one who has had a problem with her front right leg for over 2 months now. It was not an acute/traumatic injury but more of a gradual thing. We started to notice she had a slight limp going on at night time after she had rested up for any period of time. Basically she would get up from her bed after resting/sleeping and limp for the first couple of meters before returning to normal.

Intuition told us to obviously cut back on walks, tug toys etc for a while (she would normally be out for between 1-2 hrs per day on average). This never helped so a trip to vet followed.

After giving the vet the full story he suggested prob just soft tisssue injury and to reduce exercise to 10min lead walks only for week or two and prescribed basic pain relief/anti-inflamatories. Again no joy so another trip to vet and this time told no walks apart from the odd walk round garden. Vet has now said there is slight muscle wastage on afffected leg and has booked her in for x-ray.

So basicaally over 2 months later and she is still the same - no worse but no better!!!

 

To try and pre-empt any questions people may ask:

- We have handled her leg, paws, claws etc many times with no pain response or reaction of any kind. She has full range of movement.

- On a walk she walks normally with no sign of limp (if I was to let her off the lead she would run around all day without sign of limp)... but she would be paying for it later.

- strangely, when she gets up in the morning (after lying all night in bed) no sign of limp??? I also presume it's not life or death based on the fact that she still can walk and run on leg but frustrating all the same.

 

I realise I will have to see what happens following x-rays etc but thought I would post anyway as I'm suffering almost as much as the dog as I'm having to spend my nights in the house watching corrie and eastenders with the mrs instead of being out in the fields with my dog!!!

Thanks in advance for any advice/ideas or any similar scenarios (hopefully with a happy ending!)

Cheers.

[Alli 923]

IDE BE MORE WORRIED ABOUT THE VET BILL THAN THE DOG, THAYLE KEEP TAKING YOUR MONEY. REST IT UP FOR A FEW WEEKS TRY GET SOME METACAM FROM THE VET BEFORE YOU TAKE A BANK LOAN OUT. GOOD LOOK

[MAIN MAN 277]

You should have some good lads reply to this! dont go down the vet root its mostly a rip off, They love things like this that are hard to find and treat fxkin robbers.

[skycat 6,173]

Take the dog to a Greyhound vet. I know it's a terrier, but most pet dog vets are rubbish with soft tissue injuries, and will just keep advising pain killers and rest. If there is tendon or muscle damage a Greyhound vet is much better at diagnosing and advising treatment as they treat canine athletes all the time.

[foxfan 479]

Hope i dont sound harsh but it sounds like you are more anxious about it than the dog, as has been said be very wary of the vet, it would be unusual for a terrier to have prolonged tendon/ muscle injury as unlike a running dog they dont put that much strain on their legs/joints etc.

Give it complete rest (kennelbound) for a couple of weeks and i bet it will be jumping out its skin.

If it was limping all the time i'd be worried, but sounds like it may be babby-assing.

Best of luck.

[dee mac 579]

a strange one but maybe a very simple explantion had something simular with a cocker we had would work all day no prob soon a s he stepped on kennell floor carried his front leg of ground checked joints squeezed pads not a whimper until one evening i seen him stamping his foot on the floor looked at his pad swelled like a balloon it felt very warm so i give it a sharp squeeze pop the puss shot out of it and after a quick rinse low and behold a small shard of glass poking out removed it quick jab and clean up prob was solved also through the years the old time queen ann legged russells as some lads called them had a habit of carrying one leg usually a back one even tho there was dam all wrong with them i also had a black bitch that carried a front leg put her on lead normall let her off she ran about fine but when around kennells to dodge about she carried the front leg also a habit i think but the x rays should show up if there s a prob so you d be safer wait on results of it before you start wrecking your head all the best

[Dirtworm 18]

Not sure if you have any tick born diseases in the UK but if you must go to the vet, I would have a blood screen done to eliminate any chance that the limping isn't the result of some tick bite. Btw, limping (especially on the front leg) is the first sign of some tick born disease. At least here in the states. Good luck.

[PhilProp 51]

Hi mate i had my lircher do this but he wud run all day n nite n no sign of limp but after was home n restin hed b in pain but his lasted a day or two dependin how hard he ran. I took him to a boneman/greyhound vet i know who does alot of big dog racing tracks and he saw it straight away and he had dislocated his second toe and as it was healin it was settin funny. And it flares up and inflames after excercise. Dont know y it didnt cause pain whilst dislocated or anything but i never noticed it till had healed funny. I dont know it is cud be the same. As we did the checks you did etc

[CillianF 1]

I recently got a Parson Russell he's 3 and a half months now and the mother suddenly decides hes ready for a walk! So without saying anything to me brings him for about a 500m walk. Now the dog has a limp and is holding his back right leg up and limping on it. I could be wrong but I think a pup of this age should never taken on a walk. He was looking like a great dog but could this have handicapped him for good or do ye think he will shake it of as he grows up??? Also its not the first Russell I've seen limping so maby its a thing to do with the breed??

[skycat 6,173]

I recently got a Parson Russell he's 3 and a half months now and the mother suddenly decides hes ready for a walk! So without saying anything to me brings him for about a 500m walk. Now the dog has a limp and is holding his back right leg up and limping on it. I could be wrong but I think a pup of this age should never taken on a walk. He was looking like a great dog but could this have handicapped him for good or do ye think he will shake it of as he grows up??? Also its not the first Russell I've seen limping so maby its a thing to do with the breed??

 

There are several inherited faults/diseases in some lines of terriers. Firstly there is Perthe's Disease, which is where the hip joint crumbles away. There is also an inherited form of arthritis which can strike at a very early age. If any pup remains lame for more than a few days I'd get it checked out by a vet.

[CillianF 1]

I recently got a Parson Russell he's 3 and a half months now and the mother suddenly decides hes ready for a walk! So without saying anything to me brings him for about a 500m walk. Now the dog has a limp and is holding his back right leg up and limping on it. I could be wrong but I think a pup of this age should never taken on a walk. He was looking like a great dog but could this have handicapped him for good or do ye think he will shake it of as he grows up??? Also its not the first Russell I've seen limping so maby its a thing to do with the breed??

 

There are several inherited faults/diseases in some lines of terriers. Firstly there is Perthe's Disease, which is where the hip joint crumbles away. There is also an inherited form of arthritis which can strike at a very early age. If any pup remains lame for more than a few days I'd get it checked out by a vet.

Thanks for the advise! The pup doesn't seem to be in any pain as of now so hopefully its just a habit and not a vet visit!

[sallie 67]

Pups learn quickly especially the terrier variety take care it hasnt learnt that it gets attention by limping and is playing you.

[RubyRu 0]

Hi all,

 

Cheers for the comments and advice so far, much appreciated. few interesting ones there that I will look into. she's getting x-rays in the morning so will post results as and when I get them! hopefully will shed some light.

 

Thanks again

[Alli 923]

Hi all,

 

Cheers for the comments and advice so far, much appreciated. few interesting ones there that I will look into. she's getting x-rays in the morning so will post results as and when I get them! hopefully will shed some light.

 

Thanks again

would be intresting to no the amount you have bin charged all together, not that ime tight but i no vets,

[RubyRu 0]

just a little update - had x-rays done and took them to different vet who says he's pretty sure it's a fragment of cartlidge broke off in her elbow. Said it fitted in with history so far and suggested key hole/arthroscopy type investigation and if confirmed repair at same time involving removel of fragment/ tidy up etc with full recovery expected within 4-6wks!

 

just thought may be useful info in case anyone comes accross something similar in the furure!

 

Thanks again to those who replied and fingers crossed will be back in the fields sooner rather than later!