My Border Collie Is Limping - Not Much Anymore!

[Lollipup]

Thank you, Staranais

[Lollipup]

Just an update, Chester is booked in to VSS at the Gold Coast on Monday. Seeing Dr Gordon Corfield. Most likely going straight for arthroscopy. I have a huge list of questions to ask the specialist. Also kicking myself for not getting him insured in time to cover this and now both his elbows are excluded from any cover. Hoping so badly that he doesn't get any problems in the other elbow!

I can't wait until all this is over!

[Tassie]

Best wishes for a successful procedure and a good outcome.

[Staranais]

Just an update, Chester is booked in to VSS at the Gold Coast on Monday. Seeing Dr Gordon Corfield. Most likely going straight for arthroscopy. I have a huge list of questions to ask the specialist. Also kicking myself for not getting him insured in time to cover this and now both his elbows are excluded from any cover. Hoping so badly that he doesn't get any problems in the other elbow!

I can't wait until all this is over!

We did the same thing with shoulders - it sucks, doesn't it? Next puppy I get is going to be insured from day one!

Hope the operation goes well.

[Erny]

Only just caught this thread - sorry to hear of Chester's elbow woes, Lollipup. All the best with the arthroscope - I hope you receive news of the best possible outcome from it.

[Lollipup]

Just an update, Chester is booked in to VSS at the Gold Coast on Monday. Seeing Dr Gordon Corfield. Most likely going straight for arthroscopy. I have a huge list of questions to ask the specialist. Also kicking myself for not getting him insured in time to cover this and now both his elbows are excluded from any cover. Hoping so badly that he doesn't get any problems in the other elbow!

I can't wait until all this is over!

We did the same thing with shoulders - it sucks, doesn't it? Next puppy I get is going to be insured from day one!

Hope the operation goes well.

Definately! Next puppy will be insured the day before I pick it up!! I hate learning things the hard way.

[Lollipup]

Video of Chester's limp today, after a short run on the long line:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TPeB9JysR8

[Lollipup]

I've been slack and haven't come to update this until now. We took Chester to the specialist on 20th December. We could hardly get him to show any sign of liping for the specialist, it was so slight. There was pain on manipulation and they decided to do more xrays. The new xrays show a very slight progression but still a very mild case. The specialist recommended that we do not go ahead with the surgery at this stage. He said because Chester's case is so mild, surgery would likely not make any improvement. The diagnosis is coronoid process disease caused by a growth problem in that limb.

Also because Chester is still growing, he recommended we wait until he has finished developing and continue with conservative management until he is 12-15 months old. He said that the strict crate rest has helped him stay a mild case until this point. We don't have to be quite as strict but Chester is still only allowed on leash exercise, and he is allowed to swim. We have to let them know if Chester gets worse and if he goes lame during exercise, he has to stop and rest. he only has to have anti-inflams as required.

Chester has been doing well since the specialist visit, although yesterday we let him overdo it running in the back yard and his limp was worse. so i gave him the first dose of anti-inflams since the specialist visit. We were getting too lenient so now we have to be strict again for a while. I am trying to organise building him a pen so he can have a bit more space during the day, and be outside. I can't stand locking him in the crate anymore.

Has anyone heard of coronoid process disease improving with growth?

[sallyandtex]

Hey all, well the four weeks is up tomorrow and we go to the vet tomorrow night to see where to go from here. I took Chester outside for some training and a bit of a walk around today. He also had a short spurt of a run in the back yard. I thought all was well until we came inside and a few minutes later watching him walk I noticed a limp again :D

I want to ask the vet tomorrow about some natural supplements we may be able to try. But it is looking like he will need the surgery

Just my 2c worth.

Our (now) 15month Kelpie had lots of limpy problems when a bit younger. She would limp after resting (after an earlier walk or play).

Vet recommended Joint Guard to strenghten the joints as she was a rescue pup. A bit of a sceptic I am, but I tried it and it really made a difference. So much so, that when we stopped it (after a few days lag) she started the limping again. We put her back on it, and the vet said now she's fully grown we can take her off.

Apparently some dogs benefit from this supplement lifetime, so if she starts again I will reintroduce it.

For now I am giving her an Omega 3 each day and some tuna every few days.

Good luck with it, and please post back in a few months to let us all know how your pup went and what treatment you followed

[Lollipup]

Hey all, well the four weeks is up tomorrow and we go to the vet tomorrow night to see where to go from here. I took Chester outside for some training and a bit of a walk around today. He also had a short spurt of a run in the back yard. I thought all was well until we came inside and a few minutes later watching him walk I noticed a limp again :D

I want to ask the vet tomorrow about some natural supplements we may be able to try. But it is looking like he will need the surgery

Just my 2c worth.

Our (now) 15month Kelpie had lots of limpy problems when a bit younger. She would limp after resting (after an earlier walk or play).

Vet recommended Joint Guard to strenghten the joints as she was a rescue pup. A bit of a sceptic I am, but I tried it and it really made a difference. So much so, that when we stopped it (after a few days lag) she started the limping again. We put her back on it, and the vet said now she's fully grown we can take her off.

Apparently some dogs benefit from this supplement lifetime, so if she starts again I will reintroduce it.

For now I am giving her an Omega 3 each day and some tuna every few days.

Good luck with it, and please post back in a few months to let us all know how your pup went and what treatment you followed

Thanks. Glad to hear your kelpie turned out okay. I have put him on Joint Guard too, two weeks ago. I am sceptical with these things sometimes too, but I will try whatever may help. Time will tell I gues but the waiting is the hard part!

[Lollipup]

For anyone still following Chester's story, he is doing great. I can hardly tell if he is limping anymore, even after he has a run around the yard. We have been taking him for big swims in the inlet and he loves it and its doing him the world of good. I have him on joint guard too, don't know if its what is helping or not but he has definately been so much better. I'm so glad we didn't get the surgery done. Thank goodness we got such a great specialist!

Chester is 9 months old now so we'll still be taking it easy for a while longer until he has finished growing. Here he is after a bath yesterday

DSCF3724 by Lola & Chester, on Flickr

DSCF3728 by Lola & Chester, on Flickr

Edited January 30, 2011 by Lollipup

[dancinbcs]

For anyone still following Chester's stpry, he is doing great. I can hardly tell if he is limping anymore, even after he has a run around the yard. We have been taking him for big swims in the inlet and he loves it and its doing him the world of good. I have him on joint guard too, don't know if its what is helping or not but he has definately been so much better. I'm so glad we didn't get the surgery done. Thank goodness we got such a great specialist!

Chester is 9 months old now so we'll still be taking it easy for a while longer until he has finished growing. Here he is after a bath yesterday

Great news. So glad you found a really good specialist that was prepared to give rest and time a chance to heal him. He should be over the riskiest growth stage but good idea to monitor him carefully until he really is finished growing.

[Lollipup]

For anyone still following Chester's stpry, he is doing great. I can hardly tell if he is limping anymore, even after he has a run around the yard. We have been taking him for big swims in the inlet and he loves it and its doing him the world of good. I have him on joint guard too, don't know if its what is helping or not but he has definately been so much better. I'm so glad we didn't get the surgery done. Thank goodness we got such a great specialist!

Chester is 9 months old now so we'll still be taking it easy for a while longer until he has finished growing. Here he is after a bath yesterday

Great news. So glad you found a really good specialist that was prepared to give rest and time a chance to heal him. He should be over the riskiest growth stage but good idea to monitor him carefully until he really is finished growing.

Thank you dancinbcs for your advice and support through this, you have been most helpful

[JulesP]

Great news! He is very cute.

[Lollipup]

Great news! He is very cute.

Thank you. I was thinking his face looks kind of weird in that last photo, squished into the floor. Makes him look like a gecko.

[Rottifan]

So glad to hear Chester has recovered. If he starts to limp again definitely see an animal chiropractor. The mobile chiropractor I use in S/east Qld has treated alot of dogs referred from vets including VSS. Xrays dont show nerves so will not correctly define this (being out of alignment with pinched nerves) as the problem! Symptoms will sometimes go away (inflamation might reduce or with adrenalin their pain threshold is high) HOWEVER if the cause of the problem hasnt been addressed then the problem is sometimes still there. It might not be until a big play time or winter, rough play or a slip/fall that the problem flares up again and muscles spasm to protect pinched nerves and it is all triggered back off again. Good luck, you have a very beautiful one - I just wish i'd learnt earlier to see a chiro before my dog had the reoccuring problem late in life and by that time had developed really bad muscle wastage and I hadnt realised

[BesiBoo]

Long shot that anyone is still on this thread! 

 

I know this is years after the last post but I wondered how things went  with Chester after you posted last?

Or if anyone has any more recent advice / experience with front leg limps? 

 

Our lovely lively 8 month old Collie Lab X Alys has been limping for 2 months now seen a couple of vets and been referred for physio before going for xrays

 

Cage lockdown is fun.

She reacted badly to anti - inflammatories so is on paracetamol codeine tablets - knocking her out. 

 

[jemappelle]

I would have thought that x-rays would have been taken before referring to physio.  Perhaps you should ask that they be done as they may show a problem that is growth related at her age.  Good luck with her!