Feel Like A Bad Mum!

[Melo]

Hi all,

I have not been posting on dogzonline for sometime, just got attacked a few times and felt deflated. But after reading a few posts under the health section I am panicking and just feel bad.

As some may know I have a 6yo female samoyed that has had a limp for the last couple of months, she had been on Sasha's Blend as she was showing slight stiffness beforehand, but she got to the point where she did not like putting weight on one of her front legs. We had to go to the vet for another problem she was having and mentioned the slight limp (was only slight at that stage) and they thought it sounded like arthritis, so she had the course of injections (name escapes me right now) and overtime we have tried 3 different medications (metacalm & rimadryl (sp?) and none of them seem to have helped her with much relief.

She is happy in herself and insists on her daily walks (try telling a samoyed no walk today) and during the walks you can barely see the limp, I know its there cause I am aware which leg, but to get up after resting, before the walk and after the walk she has varying degrees of limp.

After reading some of the posts here, I rang the vet again today and said 'right time for the x-rays as the drugs are not working', so next Tuesday she is booked in. Arggghhh I am so scared that I: 1. Left her for too long (although my vet was never worried about the limp each time she went in) 2. That I might lose my girl (devastation is too mild a word for how I would feel) and I could go on with my list.

Sorry about this long post, but my hubby is away at the moment and I am freaking out.

Edited June 8, 2006 by Melo

[wolfgirl]

Hi Melo,

I am fairly new here so I don't know what happened as to why you left DOL but I'm glad that you're decided to come back, hopefully everything will be fine but it is a trying time waiting till next Tuesday to get the Xrays done. I'm sure if your vet was concerned he would have suggested this earlier, could be arthritis as the weather has gone so cold so quick but the Xray is the best way to get things checked and this would also show if and exactly where the arthritis is. I have always made a habit of running my hands down my dog's legs each week when I do a health check so if there are any lumps or bumps that shouldn't be there they get picked up early, is her leg tender if you do this? There are also many natural alternative medicines available to help with arthritis for humans and pets and certainly worth checking out.

Keep good thoughts in your head and I look forward to hearing good news about your girl.

[Kelly_Louise]

Hi Melo... Please don't feel like a bad mum, we've all been there!!!

Fortunately in hindsight, I can only stress how important getting a limp checked out and xrayed is. However, like yourself, when my girl started limping we took her to the vet and they also did not seem overly concerned, especially at first. It was cartrophen injections, Sasha's Blend and Previcox. It wasn't until we had to keep continually take her back that she was diagnosed with blown cruciates, which at the time we knew nothing about and although we were extremely worried about her limp we only thought it was arthritis also. Well she has just had her second operation for her cruciate ligament, and it's been a tough ride. I also feel bad that she wasn't diagnosed sooner and we didn't perhaps go for a second opinion, however, like I said, we just didn't know about this type of thing. But we've learnt a harsh lesson, and next time will be insisting that things like this get checked out fully.

So please, don't feel bad... you sound like you love your girl very much and want the best for her. Don't panic, as the results of the xrays may find something minor, or it may just be manageable arthritis or something. Don't fear the worst, as we did with our girl also and thought we might lose her, but she is now getting better than ever. It has taken 2 operations, lots of cash and hard work, but we still have our girl and she is well and that makes it all worth it. The wait is always hard, but do try to be positive. I'm sure your girl will be fine, especially with a caring mum like yourself. My best advice is if your intuition is telling you that you feel there is something wrong that the vet is not picking up on, just be persistent until you feel comfortable that it has been fully investigated.

Also, ask your vet to try Previcox meds on your girl if meds are needed and others do not apppear to be working. I have not tried Metacam or the like, but my girl has been on Previcox before and after her ops and found it to really help her comfort levels.

Anyway, best of luck and hopefully you will stick around and let us know how you go?

[Melo]

Thanks for your replies, I just want to cry when I look at her now as I just knew something more was wrong but kept trying to put it too the back of my mind trying to have faith in the vets (tried before and the vets have failed me countless times although not this vet in particular).

Kelly_Louise, it was your post regarding your dog that made me think again, and made the call yesterday to the vet requesting the xrays to be done and I mentioned the cruciate ligament of which he said 'oh she may not have', hmmmm she may have as well!

Oh well all I can do is sit and wait now, roll on Tuesday I say. I am not wanting to take her on her usual morning walk until I get a diagnosis, but damn thats hard when she insists and will not eat (and starts chewing on shoes etc) if she does not get her walk, plus due to the fact she has problems with passing her 'poos' a walk helps her with that.

[Kelly_Louise]

Well I'm glad my post has helped in some way!!! Honestly though, we adore our girl as well, and the delayed diagnosis was not because we were bad or uncaring... we just didn't know any better and believed the vet (after all they should know best shouldnt' they?)!!! But it's something I will never take lightly again... but we all live and learn don't we? I also feel bad though, and hate to think that she had been suffering more than we knew, but she is getting the very best care now and is on her way to a recovery and a happy life again... so at least now I feel redeemed!!! Oh if only they could talk...

You should feel great that you are now going to have it sorted, and even if it's nothing, then you will have peace of mind also.

Chloe and I will have everything crossed that the xrays go well and it's only a minor issue. If not, well at least you will know what is needed to give your girl a happy and comfortable life.

If your girl wants to walk (as Chloe did on her good days), perhaps you could take her for a shorter walk? Nothing too strenuous and not too far, just enough to give her a little bit of exercise without wearing her legs out. On Chloe's good days if she wanted to go for a walk, that's what we did. But it was just a quick one to get her out and about in a different atmosphere. If you find she is uncomfortable afterwards, then shorten the walks further.

Best wishes!!!

[peigirl]

Hi Melo

I can certainly identify with the ‘bad mum’ syndrome – currently going through that myself with my boy who accidentally ran into part of my brother’s home gym a few days ago while we were playing totally focussed on his toy, not where he was going We are back to our vet this evening for a follow up appt – he has a limp and bruising on his right shoulder/paw. I am devastated that I could have prevented my baby being hurt :D

The reason for my post is also in regard to the comment you made regarding pooing. My boy sometimes also has problems passing after eating a lot of bones. You might like to try feeding your girl some blueberries (the frozen ones you get at the supermarket are fine). Defrost them and mix in with some yogurt. Within the next 12-24 you should have a nice, loose (but not runny) blue poo.

Best of luck with your xrays as well next week.

[shoemonster]

HI!

My boy fractured all the sesamoids in his paw and he had similar symptoms to you, on again off again limp, mainly after resting

We still don't let him run freely for too long, or take him on long walks on the footpath, etc

We do take him to swimming every saturday which he loves, and because there is no stress on his leg he doesn't pull up limping after

We didn't get xrays for a while, they put him on rimadyl for a while and then we tried complete rest for a few weeks, but after the xrays the vet showed us all the fractures and said that it can and probably will flare up from time to time

Every time he plays too much and limps I feel like a bad mum, and everytime I put him back on his lead at my friends after he has been running up and down the decking I feel like a bad mum

But I'm not

And neither are you!

Let us know how the xrays go :D

[Melo]

ooooo, thanks peigirl I will give the blueberries a try.

It has been a nightmare few months with this girl and I won't go into the diagnosis of her pooing problem as that was a very long saga, but basically we have to make sure she has excess firbre in her diet ie she gets bran and extra veggie mix (barf diet) and also a little dry dog food to help the process, it has been very difficult to get that part of diet right as she got terrible stomache pains if we had it wrong.

But I love her to bits and will do anything to get her better, as I am sure everyone else feels about their dogs (who are on the forum anyway). :D

[peigirl]

Melo I should have also mentioned start with about 100 grams of blueberries and 1/3 to 1/2 cup of natural yogurt. Make sure your berries are defrosted first or they will clog up when you mix them with the yogurt – one of those wand mixers works great. You can certainly increase the quantity of berries too. I really hope this works for you and your girl. I discovered the blueberry remedy quite by accident with my boy and it works everytime :D

[Erny]

Thanks for your replies, I just want to cry when I look at her now as I just knew something more was wrong but kept trying to put it too the back of my mind trying to have faith in the vets (tried before and the vets have failed me countless times ....

I've been (and am still) in a similar boat, Melo. But don't beat yourself up about it. You picked the problem. You reported the problem. And you've obviously not let the problem go without further attention. Sometimes we can't guess the cause of problems, nor prescribe for them. You've obviously changed Vets until you've found someone more capable. There's naught much else you can do. Yes, we still feel rotten for our dogs and their suffering, but when you have done and do all that you can, you shouldn't feel bad that's not enough. No one could expect more .... not even your dog.

PS - Some Vets aren't worth their salt. But there are good Vets out there too ... just harder to find. Bare in mind that even the good Vets get stumped sometimes on more complicated issues - but at least you know they're working their hardest to work out the problems.

[aki]

Hi Melo,

long time no post, Crystal my sammy girl was also diagnosed with early arthritis in her front paw earlier this year. Vets did the usual check and finally did the x-rays which showed the arthritis. her symptoms persisted over a few months usually after resting. I also waited longer than I think I should have, luckily she responded to the injections (once a week for a month) and now have her on Sashas blend which works really well for her. I belong to the samfans email list which is an worldwide organisation for sammy lovers mainly North America but other members as well. There is a lot of information about health issues you could check out not only for the arthritis problem but all sorts of useful advice. The web address is http://www.samfans.org. In the meantime I wish you well with Tara, don't fret and keep happy :D

Aki

[Melo]

Hi Aki , I have been lurking now and again just not posting.

The vets were reasonably sure Tara had arthritis to start with and she has had the injections and different medications, nothing really seemed to give her much relief, although I must admit right now she has been off the tablets 3 days (none left) and it is really showing her limp ;) but I also have not walked her the last 3 either and I have one very frustrated and peeved little girl

Well only 5 more days to wait!

(Thanks for the web address Aki )

[Melo]

Well to anyone that may have been wondering :p , Tara had the xrays done yesterday but we are still none the wiser as nothing was found , hubby has another appointment with the vet tomorrow to discuss options.

[Kelly_Louise]

Well I for one was anxiously awaiting some news!!!

But still you're in the dark ... I hope that the appt your hubby has with the vet will shed at least some light on where to go from here and how to get your little one better, or at least give you a clue to what other conditions may be causing the limp. Perhaps they can even recommend someone who may be able to find the problem?

I had the some of the same issues with Chloe. We were given some inaccurate info which only led to Chloe degenerating further until her situation was getting a little desperate. So my advice is to be persistent with the vet, and if you feel like you are not getting the answers and your instincts still tell you something is wrong, ask to be referred to a specialist or take her to another vet for a second opinion.

I will keep checking in to see if there have been any developments. I will be keeping fingers crossed that you find the culprit and your girl can be comfortable again.

Keep us updated!!!

[Paula-]

Stella partially tore her cruciate ligament and our vet (with Xrays) wasn't sure if that was the case - we were referred to an ortho specialist who examined Stella under a partial anaesthetic (enough so she would relax) and it was confirmed.

[peigirl]

Sorry to hear no news on the diagnosis as yet Melo :rolleyes: Look forward to hearing some positive news from you soon.

[cavNrott]

.

Edited May 8, 2009 by cavNrott

[Melo]

O.K, feeling a little more relaxed now.

Hubby had a very long and in depth appointment with the vet, was showed lots of xrays and basically she has a slight seperation in her elbow joint on her front left leg. Its not arthritis or a break, but just the seperation which is causing her very minor discomfort and obviously a bit stiff of a morning and after a rest.

Not alot that can be done, he is not keen to operate as there is no guarantee of a fix and could even make it worse, and can give her some drugs to ease the pain but he did not think she was in enough pain to warrant it.

So from now on I am to give her 2 short walks (20 minutes each) a day and take her swimming when I can, this is to get her to use the leg more (which she does when walked) and stop any muscle de-generation in that leg and prevent more problems with her opposite leg taking all the strain.

Phew, I hope that makes sense, does to me anyway. I was thinking I will also put her on another joint supplement of some type, we have had her on Sasha's blend with no results so may look into something else.

[Kelly_Louise]

Well at least you have some answers now!!! That's good. Did the vet say what caused it, or is it just a growth defect? And did they say if it would get worse or cause the onset of early degenerative joint disease? That's what I would be most worried about.

Yep definitely get her on another joint supplement. I use Sasha's Blend and find it good, but I have heard good things about Cosequin and Joint Guard too. And if she gets too stiff you could enquire about whether Cartrophen injections would help her. They are cheap and are great for Chloe especially in cooler weather when she is more stiffer than normal.

Best of luck and hoping your girl is feeling better soon.

[Melo]

Thanks Kelly,

We don't exactly know what has caused it, but our Shepherd boy has been pretty rough with her over the years so we were kind of expecting there to be problems from that. The vet could not say whether it would get worse and obviously if she shows signs of more pain or discomfort then she will have more injections and/or drugs, but for now we have to try and keep her fit and lean to help the other leg. Yeah I have just been reading about Joint Guard so might give that one a try, I think but I will have to check but I think she has had the catrophen injections.

Anyway, thanks for your replies and encouragement it has very much been appreciated.

Edited June 8, 2006 by Melo