Staffyluv Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 A few days ago I noticed Zig was favouring one of his back legs when he runs. He doesn't seem to put it down as much as the other one. When he was about 8 months old we had a foster girl here and she grabbed him by the leg as he went to jump up on a chair and when he fell down (cause he didn't make it to the chair) he yelped and didn't put the leg down for a few minutes.. He seemed fine and I had him checked out. The vet said he had full range of movement of his leg and it seemed fine. This is the same leg. I haven't seen him hurt it - he just carries it, without putting it on the ground when he runs. He also holds it up when he turns while running. I will make a vet appointment for him on Monday but anyone have any ideas? It doesn't seem to be sore to touch or move up and down but he is licking the 'knee' area and he was actually chewing it last night. I rubbed it a bit for him and he seems fine today - just still carrying it when he runs or turns while running.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diva Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I see you are in Quangers, if he were mine I woukd take him to Sandra Hassett at the vet clinic in Phillip, she is both a vet and a chiropractor and is very good for this kind of issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 Thanks Diva, I usually take him up to Hamish at West Queanbeyan vets. I will ask if he thinks Zig will benefit from a chiro - if he thinks so, I will give her a call. There was another one recommended to me out at Hall years ago but honestly, I didn't get a good feeling about her at all and didn't go back after the first visit. It's nice to know there is another one close by (especially with an active dog) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diva Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Hamish is great. I only rec Sandra because she spans both chiro and medical which can be useful when you are not sure which it is. The way he is favouring the knee would worry me, cruciate maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 You don't need to discuss with a vet if your dog will benefit from a trip to the chiro. If he's never been to a chiro he's going to benefit anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 (edited) 1. Rest the dog. Whatever is going on, it won't be improved by exercise. 2. If its not a pain response and he is simply 'nursing' it, I'd immediately be concerned about a ACL tear. Option B is a patella injury. 3. Hamish is an excellent vet. Start there and get a diagnosis. Chiro won't help a torn ligament BUT it can help prevent such an injury becoming chronic. Edited April 13, 2013 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 Thanks guys. WW he has never been to a chiro - curious, why would he benefit if he doesn't need to see one? I thought the first point of call would be the vet. Don't get me wrong, if there is a reason it would be beneficial I am more than happy to do so. HW he does seem to be just nursing it (better description than mine - thanks). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 (edited) Thanks guys. WW he has never been to a chiro - curious, why would he benefit if he doesn't need to see one? I thought the first point of call would be the vet. Don't get me wrong, if there is a reason it would be beneficial I am more than happy to do so. HW he does seem to be just nursing it (better description than mine - thanks). Why? Because by the time your dog is demonstrating symptoms of skeletal related issues the ability to 'fix' them may be limited or non-existant. Think of it as using chiropracty to prevent issues, rather than cure them. Every single one of my dogs sees the chiro monthly. That level of care is described as 'optimal' by those who believe in chiropracty because regular, minor skeletal adjustments prevent major misalignments in bones that can see stress placed on muscles and ligaments and may delay the onset of age related issues such as arthritis or spondylosis of joints. If you wanted a living example of a regularly chiropracted dog vs one that has never seen treatment you could compare my 15 year old poodle boy to his six month younger half brother. Ted (my boy) can still run, jump and moves pretty freely. His brother can no longer jump up the smallest height and is basically as stiff as a board. Certainly there would be other issues involved but basically IMO a skeletal system kept aligned lasts longer. Issues such as chronic anal gland infections and ruptured ACLs can be prevented on occasions by such treatments. Edited April 13, 2013 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 That is interesting HW, thanks. I have only ever been to a chiro when I needed to go, so just figured it would be the same for a dog.. That is what I love about DOL, I am still learning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted April 15, 2013 Author Share Posted April 15, 2013 The lad got the all clear at the vets. He thinks it is probably just a sprain as he can't feel anything out of the ordinary. So he has some anti inflams and he is only getting on lead walks for a couple of weeks to rest the leg. Then I can give him a bit of a run to see how he goes, if he pulls up favouring the leg again then they will do x-rays and we will go from there. He went right over him, feeling his spine, pulling and pushing his back legs and even checked his ears etc out and he was happy that Zig seems to be very healthy. Zig showed no signs of his leg being sore at all with all this pulling and pushing.. Hopefully that is the end of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 (edited) There's also the animal physios working out of the emergency clinic in Fyshwick. They don't work at the clinic, they just work from there. I'd see them before I'd take a dog to a chiro. Edited April 15, 2013 by Sheridan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted April 15, 2013 Author Share Posted April 15, 2013 Thanks Sheridan, I am just going to wait and see how he goes for a couple of weeks with no heavy exercise.. Hamish said he didn't seem to show any discomfort at all with the manipulation he did today, so hopefully it is just a simple sprain. Looks like we will be doing lots of training and it might be time to learn a trick or two.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Hamish did send an email to the physio people when I talked to him about taking Grumpy there, advising them of his health issues. Hamish also said in the email Grumpy was grumpy, which gave me a good giggle when the physio read it out to me. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted April 16, 2013 Author Share Posted April 16, 2013 Hamish did send an email to the physio people when I talked to him about taking Grumpy there, advising them of his health issues. Hamish also said in the email Grumpy was grumpy, which gave me a good giggle when the physio read it out to me. :laugh: Haha, he is a great vet. He seems to really like Zig, he is always patting him and saying what a nice boy he is. He was awesome with Ollie and everything we went through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 It's kind of weird cos I was there generally once a week during Grumpy's last year and now I haven't been there since Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted April 16, 2013 Author Share Posted April 16, 2013 It's kind of weird cos I was there generally once a week during Grumpy's last year and now I haven't been there since Christmas. Same, I used to joke with him every time I took Ollie up there that I was adding to our West Queanbeyan Vets share portfolio.. Now I am hardly ever there - I think Zig has been 3 or 4 times since being desexed in November 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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