Lameness - when to go to the vet?

[straw]

For the last week or so, I noticed Venice seemed very slightly lame in the evenings, when getting up from a rest to go out to pee. Usually the limp would be gone after 10 or so strides.

Just now, we were playing ball in the house... I threw it, she went out to get it but returned limping badly (and ball-less). She didn't yelp and didn't do any fancy footwork to catch it. She was still bearing some weight, but not much, and only kept her two middle toes on the floor when standing still.

Within a minute or two she was holding herself normally at a standstill, and now, five or ten minutes later, I can't really see a limp, although the leg does seem a little stiff. Nothing is hot or swollen.

Since I have no experience as a pet-owner with leg injuries... What do you guys normally do for lameness? My first panic thought was OH GOD DON'T YOU DARE TEAR A LIGAMENT since that is not a hit my bank account would appreciate right now. But if there was a ligament strain, surely the limping wouldn't be gone within ten minutes? And I assume things would be WAY more apparent if she had actually torn something, even if only partially?

I figure give her a few days rest and then re-evaluate but maybe I am not worried enough. She is two and a half, active, and at a good weight.

 

[Xandra]

First I'd do a through check over, squeezing her leg all over, firmly moving all the joints (even little ones in the feet) in various angles and such to see if anything in particular pains her.

If you're very thorough and you can't get a reaction out of her, I think it's unlikely the vet will find something or know anything more than you will. So they can do x-rays etc, but I think they'll probably just say limit activity/watch it for another week or something.

I mean, you know when you've messed something up... if hurt yourself a bit, then did some kind of activity and it started hurting again kinda badly for a few minutes, would you go to the hospital or just give yourself a longer period to recover?

Usually that's all human doctors tell you do to if you say something hurts a bit... rest it. Keep resting it. Keeppp resting it. Ah fine OK we'll do an x-ray.

 

[Barb04]

Do you have lyme disease in your area? This is one thing I'd check into.

 

[JessLough]

Do you have lyme disease in your area? This is one thing I'd check into.

This. I know my vet has seen a dozen cases of Lyme disease this year already. It's ridiculously bad this year already.

 

[straw]

I have no idea about Lyme numbers in my area, but Jess is in the same city as me so...

It's something I'll look into if I keep seeing lameness. 24 hours later and she hasn't limped at all.

Is Lyme transmitted ONLY by tick bites? I have not found any ticks on her yet this year - and she has super fine, short hair (bald stomach and legs, pretty much) that I imagine would make them easy to feel.

 

[Barb04]

Lyme disease would be through a tick bite but this tick is so small it's even hard to see on a human. Usually people never see the tick; they only see the bullseye rash that comes up in most people but some never see the rash either.

 

[Zhucca]

Well, I might have an idea of what's going on, and you probably won't like it. lol

Duke had a very similar symptom. About 1 month ago or so, he started to limp sporadically. There didn't seem to be a very strong pattern. Sometimes it was during walks, or sometimes after. In the mornings he would limp to the door when I let him out to pee, and would come back in totally fine. Some days he wouldn't limp at all. He can be a bouncey dog and has a pretty active life, so I figured I would let him sit for 2 weeks or so and then decide if I should go to the vet.

Anyway, two weeks went by and he still had this persistent limp. So I took him to the vet, they took x-rays of his whole front end (took like 6-8 x-rays) and thankfully only charged me for two, lol. She couldn't find anything definitive, but knew he had some inflammation in his shoulder. She thought he might have arthritis, but I wasn't convinced; he's only four. Fast forward a week, she referred me to an orthopedic specialist, where he got sedated and went under a stress test. He confirmed my suspicion: Duke has a torn ligament in his shoulder, and is unfortunately not a candidate for physio, he has to have surgery. He quoted me $2800 (I spent $575 to get a diagnosis), which will be scheduled for september. (I want him to enjoy his summer)

That being said, it could potentially just a be a injury Venice will heal from. I would maybe get her on some glucosamine and chondroitin and rest her, and see if it improves. My ortho vet told me that most shoulder injuries don't get diagnosed till five months past the initial injury, and that they are extremely common in active dogs. A week is still pretty early and she might bounce back from it, you never know.

 

[straw]

It's possible, but I'm not 'ruling in' torn ligaments just yet. There's been no limping since the ball incident so I think she might have just dinged it - literally no trace of a limp within five minutes.

I'll keep an eye on her but there's been no nighttime lameness either in at least a week so unless I see anything else, I'm letting my guard down and chalking it up to a weird week.

 

[straw]

First sign of limping last night since the ball accident, and it was worse than before. Still mostly gone by the time we got upstairs and outside to pee but I'm worried. Her hind end seems a lot stiffer than usual. She had a big run yesterday evening chasing squirrels through the woods for an hour so I'm wondering if this isn't exercise induced.

We have an appointment on Monday and I'll let you guys know what the vet thinks.

 

[elegy]

Rest her. Like hardcore crate rest no running no jumping no fun rest.

 

[straw]

Rest her. Like hardcore crate rest no running no jumping no fun rest.

Fingers crossed this is what she needs. Mild limp last night, not as bad as it has been but still there. She doesn't limp from the time she wakes up till she settles down for the evening, usually around 7 - and then it's always the same hind leg. I have been getting myself all paranoid and am so worried it's going to be something like a patella issue that she'll have to live with forever. I would take weeks of crate rest over that. Vet tomorrow (vibes!) and I'll see what his opinion is. We've been taking it much easier than usual (no offleash, 10 minute walks, lazing in the sun) but haven't resorted to full crate rest yet which I'm thinking at this point is a good idea.

 

[Dizzy]

Agreed on rest. If the limp doesn't get better after PROPER crate rest then vets ASAP.

How old is she again?? Border collies are a breed known to get OCD. Something I know all too much about!!! Usually crops up after about 7 months or so.

Might be worth getting her insured before any trips to the vet, if she's not already though.

 

[straw]

Dizzy, she's about two and a half, and not a BC. I assume you're not talking about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? Not sure which OCD you are referencing.

Most insurance companies require a veterinary exam BEFORE opening up a policy, so that wouldn't be possible even if I did want to insure her.

EDIT: Nvm on the OCD, just googled it.

 

[elegy]

I'd be more worried about a cruciate ligament tear than a patella

fingers crossed for a good vet outcome!

 

[straw]

Back from the vet. All her joints felt fine to him, he did a lot of manipulation of all the joints in her hind legs and couldn't find any issue there.

Based on her symptoms he says it is really unlikely to be a cruciate tear (her limp improves after exercise and is inconsistent, whereas ligament tears get worse with activity and would be presenting more consistently) but given how nervous and tense she was while being examined, there's a possibility he missed it.

Her left hind leg (the one in question) does a very, very faint swing outwards as she strides, instead of the normal forward and back motion of all her other legs, so he is thinking it's probably just a soft tissue injury, most likely around her hip.

He ordered rest for two weeks to see if it improves, and if not, I want to have her sedated so they can do a more thorough examination and x-rays. Fingers crossed it's just a pulled muscle that needs plenty of rest! Thanks so much for the support everyone.

 

[Dizzy]

Oh I thought she was a BC?! Not sure which dog I'm thinking of then :lol-sign:

 

[straw]

Two weeks of house rest are finally over as of last weekend.

Off-leash run on Wednesday was apparently too much, she was limping that evening, but pretty mildly compared with evenings in the past.

So Thursday we stayed on leash but walked for a LONG time and there was no limping that evening, hurray! Called the vet and he said get her up to her usual walk time (40 - 60min) but stay on leash for 10 days or so. Then build her back up to jogging on leash with me, which she used to do. Then try offleash again. If she's still limping after the gradual ease back into exercise I'll cave and take her back for x-rays/bloodwork. I was quoted $700 for anesthesia, x-rays, bloodwork, the whole shebang. And I really want to avoid that if I can.

He's still convinced that it's not a joint issue, and her lameness isn't consistent with a ligament tear. I just hate that the summer's getting nicer and nicer and we can't go for our usual hikes with our friends.

 

[Barb04]

Glad to hear there was some improvement. If it's a tendon issue, it can take a long long time to heal.

 

[straw]

Thanks Barb! We have been sticking to about 1 to 1.5 hours of on-leash walks each day, with some swimming every now and then. She'll do about 5 good long retrieves in water before she gets cold/tired/bored so she's not doing long hard swims.

No limping whatsoever in the evenings. I'm going to start jogging her next week and see how that goes.

 

[Barb04]

I was going to say to try walking her first, then maybe a little faster walking and see how she does before jogging. The swimming is definitely not a strenuous.