Mistery Illness

[lauren-elaine]

Hi all,

Before I start, dog was being treated by a vet, but we are grasping for answers as my vet has not got any idea, wondering if anyone has dealt with something similar or has any ideas.

My 3 year old whippet appeared to be sore in the hind end, mostly in one rear leg, at first seemed like she had jumped the fence and landed wrong and strained a muscle, but she became reluctant to move, wont get out of bed on her on unless she has no other choice, at times she yelps and waits for someone to come assist her out of bed/off the couch, she lies around all day, only moves if she has to.

First vet did x-rays and told me part of her spine (sacrum area) hadn't formed correctly on one side, so whenever she over does it she will come up sore, so no running/jumping, gave me pain killers/anti inflammatorys to give her when she has over done it and is visibly sore.

However after 2/3 weeks she had lost 1kg and was in no way better, at times worse so took her to a second vet, she checked the x-rays the first vet had done and thinks that they weren't taken correctly or on the right angles, so took 2 more and ruled out the diagnosis vet number 1 had given, she does have slight spinal problems, but not severe enough to cause the kind of problems the dog has.

So we have taken bloods, a urinalysis and faecal float, all we have found is a high(ish) white blood cell count and she is anemic when tested on a greyhounds scale but completely within the limits when on a "normal dog" scale

She went from being atleast 15 (i think 18) kg's down to 8/9kgs all together

She was given a cortisone injection and she came good and was back to herself for a few days, however declined again once it wore off, she did start to regain her lost weight, she picked up with her walking/getting up a bit better at standing but she still cant run, limps when she first stands, she sleeps all day only gets up to eat/go to the toilet and has once again lost all her gained weight and is skin and bone again

This year she is shedding like crazy, im not sure if it has to do with whats wrong with her but she has not lost hair like this before (not going bald just loosing lots)

I will be taking her back to the vets later this week

sorry for the essay and hope it all makes sense

Edited December 30, 2012 by lauren-elaine

[tdierikx]

Could she have a trapped nerve?

Maybe a dog chiro visit - take your xrays if you can - would be the go?

I'm sure someone here may have a recommendation for a decent chiro...

T.

[Salukifan]

I'd suggest either a visit to a decent veterinary chiropractor or a visit to a veterinary neurologist. Or both. This needs to be taken out of the hands of a "GP" equivalent and needs specialist attention.

Shedding can be a sign of stress. The portrait you paint is of a dog in chronic pain. Is she on any pain relief?

[kayla1]

Not sure where you have taken her already but Ray Ferguson at Monash vet is a very knowledgeable vet chiro.

[CavsRcute]

Definitely see a qualified canine physio Or chiropractor.

She may have sore trigger points which never show up on x ray and aren't helped by anti inflammatories.

My girl would also limp on her front leg when she first stood up . Finally after many $'s the physio found that she had hip dysplasia and because she was compensating for her dicky hips, she developed trigger points in her front leg.

She now has acupuncture every month and trigger point therapy every 3 months. She is now nearly 10 and has only lasted this long because of that treatment. She also has Traumeel, which is a homeopathic anti inflammatory.

Agree that she is shedding because she is in pain.

Good luck. It's incredibly frustrating