The Limp Is Back
I started a discussion a while ago during the limping epidemic that seems to be going on about Finnigan limping ("Another one Bites the Dust"). His limp would come and go and for the last week at least he's been limp free. When I came home at lunch today to take him potty, he hobbled out of his crate and didn't want to walk. His limp is pretty bad and for no apparent reason. We don't have a yard so anytime he is outside we're with him and he hasn't done anything crazy. Besides that, he wasn't limping in the morning so what could have happened to him in his crate? Anyway, I am stumped and worried so tomorrow after work we're taking him to the vet. I was hoping to avoid this because not only is it expensive but how do you know that the diagnosis is correct? I hope it's nothing serious and I really hope he doesn't need surgery but most of all I want him to feel better. It's so sad seeing him limp around and despite his obvious pain, he still wants to play. He'll try to move at a jogging pace but ends up hopping to avoid putting weight on that back right leg. I'll let you all know what the vet says tomorrow. Wish him luck!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn on
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yup.... Soffie trys to engage us in play too. And, what makes it even more difficult is that Griffyn misses his playmate sooooo much!! He tries all kinds of tricks to get past us and to her to get her to play.
For the first several weeks we confined her to a baby pen that we purchased specifically for that reason. We set it up in the livingroom so she at least could be in the same room with us. And even though we have a fenced in back yard, we still had to keep her on leash.
She was a furniture climber... and I mean all the way to the top of the back of the sofa and of course we had to stop that too. But through it all she has stayed happy. It took a short time for her to adjust, but she did. Honestly, I believe it's harder on us than it is on her. I keep saying "I'm afraid of what it's doing to her psychologically" and Dawn has to remind me to stop putting my human emotions onto Soffie. From all that we read, they get over it and none the worse for wear. And the end result, a strong healthy dog is worth it.
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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Did any of you notice significant weight gain with the restricted activity? My father in law's Pem tore his ACL and had surgery and due to all the lack of exercise during recovery he put on a lot of weight. They cut his food back during that time and fed him healthy snacks like baby carrots and he still put on the weight.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Sparty did not gain weight but he was not heavy to begin with. I watch their food very carefully and we did continue regular leash walks. We just cut the activities that included fast starts and stops and cut back on the 4 mile hikes for a few months.
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Part of Soffie's recovery was to lose weight. And at her recheck after 4 weeks she had lost 2lbs. And it's now been 6 weeks since the recheck and I can tell that she has lost more. But we cut her food intake in half and switched to Wellness weight control. We use frozen cut green beans to supplement and as treats. Both S & G love 'em! You'd think we were giving them a big piece of steak!! Griffyn's eyes get so big!!! And Soffie bangs her bowl for more!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Yes, I agree that limiting activity is often better than surgery too, and like your Sparty, Jack is not good about being handled and would be a terrible surgery patient.
But it also depends on the extent of the injury; with a complete rupture, surgery is not really avoidable.
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Permalink Reply by Edward and Gemima on
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I just caught up with your post Alice and I am so sorry to hear that Finnigan is again limping! It is so hard to see them doing it and then you just feel so bad and cautious when you let them out to potty or play for fear that they hurt themselves more! I will definitely be thinking of you and hoping for a good outcome to this!!!
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We are back from the vet. He believes it is his hips. We know he has bad hips as his x-ray from 4 months ago show, but we were not expecting it to cause him problems this early. The vet felt his legs, did the drawer test, compared the lame leg to the good leg and said he found nothing to indicate an injury such as a torn acl. Finn didn't even act like he was in pain. The most he did was fidget a little at one point when the vet was extending his legs to the back. He said he could extend the good leg farther and he seemed to tolerate it better. He did not do any x-rays as he feels sure it is his hips. He said to keep him on the joint supplements and maybe up it to 750 mg glucosamine rather than 500 mg. He also gave us some Deramaxx (anti-inflammatory pain reliever) and said to give it if he needs it, preferably no more than twice a week. He said at this point he would stick to the occasional pain med and when he gets to the point where he is in constant pain, we'd have to look at surgery. He wasn't even sure if they can do hip replacement on Corgis but he knows they can do the femoral head ostectomy which is more of a salvage operation. He said we'd have to speak to a specialist about surgery options.
I don't know what to think. I knew he had bad hips but every one said Cardis can do very well with bad hips. I wasn't expecting these problems at a year old. Does anyone know if they can do hip replacement on a Corgi?
Right now he said to let him exercise and run and be normal and if he limps, limit activity for a couple days, give the Deramaxx and that's it. I asked about his weight and the vet said he's not overweight (39 lbs) but it's better to be a little underweight so he'd like him to get down to 36 lbs.
I feel awful for him. I want him top have a good life and be with me until he's an old man but I don't know what we can do.
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Oh Alice, I'm so sorry to hear this. I don't know much about bad hip problems. In fact I know nothing about that. However I can tell you my sister's chocolate lab has had hip dysplasia (sp) his entire life (the breeder was going to put him down, but they said no way would they let her do that!) and he has led a full and happy life! He's 10 ( I think, could be 11) and he's still quite active and only occasionally shows signs of his hips bothering him. He has been on joint supplements for several years.
The news is daunting. But don't give up hope for a good full life for him!
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I'm glad to hear about your sister's lab. Did he show symptoms early on? When I told Finnigan's breeder about his hips he offered to buy him back and not only would we never give him up, but what would he do with him anyway? I would be worried about him being put to sleep.
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Adrienne, if you could ask I would really appreciate it. I know they do hip replacement on dogs but our vet wasn't sure if they can do it on a dwarf breed since they are built a little different.
I had your situation in mind when we went but he didn't end up doing x-rays. He pulled out his original x-ray to point out some things but that was it. He seemed very sure it is his hips.
We will eventually need to take him to a specialist I'm sure but I don't even know how to choose one. We have United Pet Care so I'd like to find one that accept it but also knows Corgis. How did you find your specialist?
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Alice,
I am sorry to hear this and if it were me, I'd be very upset for my dog too, so what you are feeling is very understandable! Remember, though, to Finn, this is "normal" and dogs don't bring the emotion to stuff we do. In his case it sounds like at least for now he can live a normal active life except for the occasional quiet day when he's feeling a bit ouchy, so to him it is probably not a bit deal. I agree with keeping him on the thin side.
I'm sure you've gone on line already, but here's a good article:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2084&aid=444
I would ask the vet if he can refer you to a good referral vet in the area. Personally I would get a second opinion too; though it sounds like it could be a good diagnosis, I too have heard that many dysplastic Corgis are symptom-free into old age, so perhaps it's worth a bit of a drive to see a good orthopedist. If you can't or don't want to get a referral from your own vet, you might try contacting your nearest university with a veterinary department for a referral.
As for management, I haven't had a dysplastic dog, but my understanding is that much of the pain comes from arthritic changes to the joint, and I have personal experience with arthritic hips at a young-ish age! I've had arthritis myself since I was 29, so here are some general joint-care tips:
Standing is worse than moving, since the joints need to lock to maintain a stand. If you are out walking and stopping to talk and stuff, encourage Finn to sit or lie down and change position occasionally so he's not standing waiting for you.
Gentle exercise is best, and doing the same activities day after day is bad. So intersperse more active days with normal walking days. If you go to the dog park, or have a good play session, change it out the next day or two with walking.
Swimming would be great, if you have a place to take him.
Don't overdo the exercise, though. Stop him before he's tired instead of letting him go til he's exhausted.
Stiffness comes from over-exertion or inactivity. Gentle movement can improve stiffness, so if he's stiff encourage him to walk around a bit. Don't force him, of course.
Walking on hard surfaces is worse than walking on ground with spring to it, so try to do the majority of your walking off-pavement if possible.
And I would reserve the anti-inflammatories for the worse days. They can be murder on the digestive tract!
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I know it's worse for me right now than it is for him. I wish he would at least get past this limping for now. For a year he didn't limp and then after a long day at the dog park he's limping and just can't seem to shake it. I understand that the limping will come and go but why did it come on so suddenly the come and go often for a month? It does make me wonder if something else could be going on too but that's probably just me. The vet suggested that he may have bumped that hip or moved wrong causing the flare up and it's just taking time to heal. I do think I'd feel better if we saw a specialist, I just don't know what that would cost. I'm sure they would want to do another x-ray which that plus anesthesia is not cheap, but I would at least have a 2nd opinion and know all of our options since our vet wasn't sure about hip replacement on dwarf breeds.
It's hard to find the right balance of exercise. I know he needs it to strengthen the hip muscles but it's hard to tell how much exercise it takes to make him limp. We walk him a couple times a day, one in a while when my husband is walking him he'll run with him for a few yards. We were taking him to the park once a week but haven't this past month due to the limping. When he's there he runs and runs. I asked the vet about this and he said let him run, but maybe spend less time there since once his mind is in fun mode he will not stop for pain.
I know swimming would be good. We planned on taking him to my father in law's to swim if he will. I don't know what he'll think since he's never been in a pool. Soon it will be too cold to swim though.
I don't like having to give pain meds because I know they can damage the liver and kidneys, but I guess once in a while it should be fine. I gave him one last night and it didn't seem to do anything. He kept limping. It may have made him a little drowsy or that may have been the stress of being at the vets that wore him out.
He is stiff in the morning or anytime he gets up from sleeping. Once he gets moving he's much better. Going back to the crate issue, knowing now that the limp is due to his hips, is it good for him to sleep in the crate? He has room to turn around but not a whole lot of room to sprawl out and he ends up pushing the bedding aside and sleeping on the hard tray.
Thanks for all the information. Everyone here is so wonderful! :)
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