Limping on rear left leg
Hi Everyone;
I had a question about Milly and her limping. I hope my explanations will make sense! On July 27th Milly, excited to hear that she was going for a walk, raced up a small set of stairs and slipped on the tile floor above. I saw that she landed pretty hard on her left side rump. She was limping right away, it seemed to let up and my daughter took her for a short walk because she was obviously still hoping for one. Her limp continued and I called the vet the next morning. I was going away that day and they asked me some questions and said to kept her quiet and see what happens. She had minimal exercise for several days and then we gradually increased. She limped for a week and then seemed back to normal.
Yesterday, I worked the late shift and came home about 9:30. I noticed that she was having some trouble getting up ( she has had this for several months and the vet said it may be early arthritis even though she only turned 5 a few days ago. I am to see if it gets worse which it hasn't). She continued to play especially with this big ball that she ends up on her hind legs with :). We went to bed and she decided to jump off and since then she is limping again. I haven't called the vet yet because my dad is in the hospital and I need to go there now and will have a better idea of my availability after that.
Any ideas what this may be? This is her rear left leg. My husband thinks that she exasperates her issues because she spends so much time under the bed and she is not that little to fit well. She kind of frog legs to get there and doesn't have the room to switch sides under there. She has some anxiety issues and that is her safe place so I don't want to forbid her to go under.
She almost seems to be standing on her tippy toes when she is standing still and limps when she walks.
Advice please!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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Sounds like a cruciate ligament injury. Dogs injure that ligament all the time and it can range from just a sprain, to a small tear, to a full rupture. A full rupture will require surgery. Once you have everything situation with your dad I would take her to the vet. On a corgi sized dog the vet can easily manipulate the knee joint and see if they feel the drawer sign that is classic for CCL tear. No x-rays are needed unless they detect a drawer sign and either way its not a big emergency that needs to be fixed right away. I would continue to rest her, figure out family stuff, and then get her to a vet to see what's up. Good luck
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Permalink Reply by Dawn M. on
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I just took Percy in this morning for limping (right rear leg). It is a torn ACL and requires surgery. I am so bummed out. We just had each of these Corgis in this year for a surgery already. Can't seem to keep them 100%, Percy came in from being outside for 5 minutes limping., Sounds like they can tear the ACL pretty easily. : (
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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I would be worried about an ACL tear. Doesn't sound like it's a complete tear, but perhaps just a partial. Seanna tore her left two years ago, and wouldn't put any weight on it. She just tore her right ACL and had surgery 6 weeks ago.....this tear was worse but she still wanted to jump and run on it. So, you can't really tell. I'd get it checked out though ASAP.
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Permalink Reply by Dana C on
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So we went to the vet this afternoon and he gave her an examination. He is not sure that it is a torn/partially torn ACL. She did react badly when he manipulated the knee but he said he could not feel that drawer movement. The vet gave her some anti-inflammatory medication (I am leery about this but did try it tonight). He wants her to go in for x-rays on Monday but my husband is worried about the money ($400+) just for x ay and exam. This type of injury happened to a friends dog and the dog healed without any medical intervention at all so he thinks we should wait. She is putting pressure on it but is definitely favouring it. Has anyone experienced this?
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Permalink Reply by Snickmom on
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Snickers has been on anti-inflammatories for two weeks, then just had X-rays today and a diagnosis of a partial tear in her right rear CL. I had read on this site that partials can heal and so I asked my vet. He explained using big words I don't remember that if it heals on its own it will be very likely to cause arthritis or it will tear completely. One of my corgi friends just had surgery today on his right rear CL (must be something in the water?) He tore his several months ago and was getting better then suddenly got worse again. The surgery is going to cost about $2,000. the price of pet ownership can be high. You can discuss with your vet if they can put him under for the x-ray and then do surgery while he is out if needed, to save a little money. As far as the activity level, Snickers would put light pressure on it when she walked, then run on 3 legs. However, if she went into play mode she totally ignored any pain and seemed to be putting full weight on it. Corgis are working dogs and can work through a lot of pain, which makes it hard to keep them quiet!
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Permalink Reply by Amber on
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My corgi partially tore her ACL and the vet orthopedist insisted it would never heal and only get worse. He was adamant that TPLO surgery was the only option. The surgery looked horrendous. I looked for alternative methods of treatment and decided on acupuncture. It took many visits to the vet acupuncturist, a change in diet, herbals, but my corgi is 100% healed. She does not have arthritis and the other leg didnt get a tear. I strongly recommend looking into acupuncture if your corgi has a partial tear.
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Permalink Reply by Lucy & Ricky (Wendy/Jack ) on
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Ricky Rafa just had a TTA (Tibial Tuberosity Advancement) cruciate ligament (ACL) repair surgery today on his left rear leg. He had chronic episodes of limping or not putting weight on his left rear leg followed by apparent "flights into health." Twice we had surgery scheduled for the ACL repair and twice it was canceled: the first time by Jack and me because he seemed fine; and the 2nd time the vet canceled because he was no longer limping. Apparently partial ACL tears can appear healed, but they don't heal by themselves. Sprains might. My advise is to get x-rays or whatever tests your vet recommends and if it is diagnosed as a partial or complete tear, get the surgery as soon as you can. According to the orthopedic surgeon, Ricky-Rafa's TTA surgery went well. Rafa is resting "comfortably" (so to speak, with a collar of shame) and should, all things equal, be ready to be taken home tomorrow.
If anyone has a creative solution to effectively keep a Corgi from licking the stitches w/o the use of the soft or hard collar, please let me know!
All best wishes to Snickers, Percy and Dana C's Corgi & any other Corgis out there limping & to their owners!
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Permalink Reply by Cassie, Camden, and Oaklie on
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While it does sound like a ligament issue, Camden had a similar problem a few months ago. When he started randomly limping on his back left leg, I was terrified that it was a ligament problem (I'm a broke college student- $2000 surgeries are currently in my budget). I took him to the vet, and it turned out that his ligaments were fine. He had chipped his left tibia. The doctor gave him an anti-inflammatory injection, prescribed some Rimadyl, and told me to limit his jumping and watch his weight. His limping got better, though even a month or so later, he limped when he over exerted himself.
Basically what I am trying to say is that though it is more likely that Milly has some sort of ligament damage, there are other possible reasons for Milly's limping. Biggest thing to do is to get her examined, and limit how much she aggravates the issue in regards to movement and her weight (lack of movement= weight gain... yay).
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For those of you that have experienced surgery, why did you decide that course? I am curious because I have been researching this for the last few days just in case and most experts (it seems) agree that dogs under 25-30lbs don't need the surgery but rather treatment by rest and NSAIDS.
Also, Milly needs to go in for x-rays and examination while under sedation but I've read that x-rays don't help in the diagnosis and that if they are feeling better and limping less the manipulation during the exam can tear some of the scar tissue that is starting to develop. I'm so confused, I don't want to do anything to hurt her but I want to be as informed as possible. How much rest is needed and how to do that when she wants to frap? Her doggie cousin will visit later next week and they love to play but I won't be home to supervise only my mom (and they don't listen to her!). Will I be jeopardizing any recovery she's made.I wasn't this neurotic raising my daughter, sheesh!
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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The vet believes my Luke has a small partial tear. It was misdiagnosed at first so we have not done surgery. He has healed to about 95%; he struggles on that leg when he gets up sometimes, and seems sore if he overdoes it, but he does not limp. IMO if the dog is actively limping on the leg for an extended period of time, and it does not get better with rest, then the surgery should probably be done. Some dogs can heal with rest but it is not a guarantee just because of their weight, and I believe they are more prone to arthritis later in life. Honestly I wish I had just done the surgery immediately but since the vet couldn't say what was wrong we didn't really have that option.
I would keep giving her the anti-inflammatory and keep her on very restricted activity so she has some time to heal. I would try two weeks of no playing, leashed potty breaks etc. I know it's no fun but it needs to be done. If you have the option I would go right to an orthopedic vet too. I had Luke sedated for xrays and my regular vet really couldn't tell me anything, where as the ortho vet was incredibly thorough and helpful.
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Sometimes life is a crap shoot and it's especially crappy when it involves loved ones. We went back and forth with Ricky-Rafa. We canceled surgery once because he seemed fine. The next scheduled surgery was canceled by our vet because he thought R-R was so improved. After a few months with intermittent limping and R/R running more and more on 3 legs, we had a respected ortho. surgeon examine him and make the call. I am certain that he needed the surgery and am glad that it's 3 days behind us. Wish it was at least 3 mo. behind us. Also hope he won't need surgery on his other leg.
Just to throw in more confusion. Doug just sent me a link that a study is showing more ACL repairs needed in dogs neutered prior to 6 mo. Go know the right thing to do. Just follow your head and heart, I think.
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Dana, There's no easy answer. Wish there was. Good luck to you and Milly.
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