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front leg lameness

11K views 58 replies 24 participants last post by  Judy Chute 
#1 ·
I've been searching and reading and searching and reading and I still don't feel any more at ease. About a month or so ago, my golden came up limping a little bit when coming back with marks. Sometimes it was so minute that nobody noticed it but me. Other times, especially after a harder workout, it was worse and pretty visible. After 2-3 weeks of this I decided to bring her to the vet and see what was up. First thing the vet says is that it looks like elbow dysplasia is a possibility. That was pretty crushing. So, I brought her back a couple days later and had some x-rays done. They sent them to LSU's vet school radiologist and she got right back with them and told my doc that the elbows were fine and all clear. She's only 45lbs too, so she's not overweight at all or anything like that. He sent me home with rymadil and told me to rest her well for a couple weeks and start easing her back into training, and that it was probably just a soft tissue injury. So she's been resting well for two weeks now, and yesterday I brought her on about a half-mile leashed walk (per his suggestion). The limp is still clearly visible to me. It's not apparent when she's just walking around the house, but after any sort of exercise it shows up. I also can't even really pinpoint which leg it is. I think it's the front right, but other times I think otherwise. This has got me thinking that it's just pano. Also, I feel like she's too young to have any other bone issues, and I think that if it were a ligament or tendon issue, then the limp would be apparent almost all the time. Am I wrong about that? I'm bringing her back in the AM to get her tested for lyme and I'm not taking her home until I figure out what's wrong with her.

My issue is that wouldn't the radiologist have noticed pano when I had her elbows checked out? Same goes for any ligament damage? I'm very obviously not a vet, nor do I have any scientific background, so I know nothing when it comes to stuff like this. Regardless of all that, I'm worried about my dog. Any help would be appreciated.
 
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#2 ·
You didn't say how old she was... so not sure pano is an option. You see pano in young and growing dogs. They should have seen something on x-ray. You can't see ligaments on x-rays, but can sometimes see inflammation around them. And ligament and tendon issues can wax and wane. Since there are other tick borne diseases other than lymes, a 10 day trial of doxycyline can help. It's a pretty safe antibiotic. If you see an immediate change, you can pretty much determine it was TBD. After that, I would take her back to LSU for a full ortho exam. See if someone there is big into shoulders. Sometimes ligament injuries need to be rested for more than 2 weeks. I had one that I rested for 6-8 weeks.

Good luck with your girl.
 
#3 ·
Sorry about that. She's 8 months. Thanks for the advice. My vet right now is Highland Road Animal Hospital in Baton Rouge, if any of yall are from around here and know anything about them. They've seemed great to me thus far. They just refer the x-rays to LSU because the radiologist over there is supposedly the best in the state or something.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I would tend to think pano also. You might want to consider a lower protein/fat food.

Lyme and other TBD's are pretty rare down here but certainly if it makes you feel better, run a panel, especially if you've been training north of town in the tickler areas. As Susan suggested, maybe a round of doxy wouldn't hurt.

I used to live around the corner from Highland Road AH. Capable vets, but expensive.

I use Azalea Lakes out on Jefferson Hwy. Susie Boucher is a great vet and is knowledgable about field dogs. What I really like about her is she does a lot of research when she isn't familiar with something or a new test comes out. For example, when we had a litter swabbed for CNM tests, she wanted to know where she could get more information. Same with EIC tests. Next time we talked, she was spot on. She also will make house calls if need be and will call you back after hours.

As far as LSU, yes, the vets there are great. But, be aware their prices are in-line with a regular clinic and they LOVE to run tests as a teaching hospital. So, your bill can add up. Still, they can give you answers when no one else can.

BTW, were you the guy training that Golden out at Burbank the other day?
 
#5 ·
Not a vet. But... have had a few labs that come to my dog daycare facility twice a week or so the past few years who have presented with front leg lameness at 7 - 11 months old. Each time it was not from an injury, the lameness would come and go, each dog got multiple x-rays at their vet and each time the vet told owner it was just adolescent puppy lameness that could go on for 2 months give or take. Each time I was suspicious it was injury or other problem and watched with a lot of caution. Each time, the dog recovered after about 1.5 to 2 months. I have watched 4 labs go through this in the last 4 years. All of them between 7 and 11 months old.

Never have seen this in a Golden, but I don't get a lot of goldens at my daycare. Not saying this is what's happening with your dog, but just sharing my own experiences. Good luck!

Jennifer
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the input. I dropped her off at the vet this morning and am going to get her tested for TBD and see if they can refer me to an ortho specialist if need be. When they referred my x-rays over the LSU the first time, they got back with them in an hour and just said the elbows clear, so I don't know if they didn't look for anything else. I don't even know how obvious stuff like pano is in x-rays. I know nothing about animal medicine hah.
 
#29 ·
Pano does not always show up on x-rays. I can think of a number of times it didn't show til the 2nd or 3rd retake over a number of days.
 
#12 · (Edited)
How big is the dog and how fast is she growing? I've seen growing pains in a few big boys, around that age, had to be careful with them for awhile, and cut them back to a lower protein/fat diet, to try and slow the growth.
 
#13 ·
She's 47lbs and not growing very quickly. She's been on adult food (Pro Plan) since 6mos.
 
#14 ·
Vet just called me back. She's been there all morning. He can't find any lameness in her today, so he's referring me to an ortho specialist at LSU vet school. Hopefully I can get in there with her today or tomorrow. He said she's got full range of motion in her shoulders though and shows no pain there, so that's good. He also said that she's showing no pain in elbows today, so that's good too I suppose.
 
#15 ·
I would be careful looking just at the front legs, even though that is where the lameness shows up.

I had a dog that was off randomly on either front leg. He was around 6 months or so. Took him to the vet, did some x-rays, came back as hip dysplasia.

Vet said that our dog was compensating on the front legs, trying to relieve his pain, hence why the HD 'showed up' in the front legs.
 
#16 ·
He keeps telling me that her hips look great and he's really not worried about them, but I don't know if I should keep going with it and get them checked out through x-rays too? I'm a law student so I'm not exactly overflowing with funds to be throwing at vets, but I gotta figure out what's wrong with my dog. The first thing he told me though was that he had zero concern with hip dysplasia and her hips looked great. He's reiterated that throughout her visits to him. I respect his opinion and he's been great with her so far, but I'm getting frustrated because I'm not getting answers.
 
#18 · (Edited)
He keeps telling me that her hips look great and he's really not worried about them, but I don't know if I should keep going with it and get them checked out through x-rays too? I'm a law student so I'm not exactly overflowing with funds to be throwing at vets, but I gotta figure out what's wrong with my dog. The first thing he told me though was that he had zero concern with hip dysplasia and her hips looked great. He's reiterated that throughout her visits to him. I respect his opinion and he's been great with her so far, but I'm getting frustrated because I'm not getting answers.
Did your vet extract the blood for the full tick panel (not just the in-house snap test) and send it off...in comparison to the costs of some of these other tests, the tick panel is an less expensive starting point.
 
G
#17 ·
I had two local Vets take x rays they said everything was fine rest him . He would be okay after he rested sometimes he would make it through a hunt test than the next day he would come up lame . I could have done an MRI for 3K than surgery or just do the surgery find and fix what was wrong , which is what we did. Total cost was under 3K he fixed the biceps and another tendon in his shoulder.
 
#19 ·
You have had some good suggestions and going to a good specialist is never a bad idea. A second set of eyes and hands can be helpful, and they should go over the whole dog. Pano can still be a possibility as well as OCD (shoulder) or FCP(elbow) - these will sometimes, but not always show up on x-rays. Hopefully you will soon have the answers you need.
 
#22 ·
OCD (shoulder) or FCP(elbow) - these will sometimes, but not always show up on x-rays. Hopefully you will soon have the answers you need.
I agree that these are the most likely culprits in a dog this age, FCP or OCD of the distal humerus being the ones most difficult to diagnose with plain radiographs. A visit to a board certified surgeon is a good investment and may well shorten the course of the disease. If it is panosteitis consider yourself fortunate.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Bicipitial tendinitis is often overlooked.
Review the pdf in this link and make sure vet looks for it.
Article written by Dr Sherman Canapp from VOSM in Baltimore, MD.
http://www.akcchf.org/assets/files/canine-athlete/Biceps-injury.pdf

from article
"On gait analysis, they often have a weight-bearing lameness (subtle to severe) on one side that becomes worse with activity. Pain/discomfort may be elicited by direct palpation (examination by touch) over the biceps tendon. Pain and spasm may be noted when flexing the shoulder while at the same time extending the elbow."


Also do a web search for other articles by Dr Canapp and save for reference.
 
#21 ·
Thanks for that link Breck. I'll talk to my vet about it when he calls me tomorrow or the next day.
 
#23 ·
Vet said in his opinion, OCD and FCP could pretty much be ruled out based on range of motion for each respective joint. I'm being a little bit more optimistic and leaning towards pano or just some minor soft tissue injury.
 
#24 ·
Check for tick related problems.A buddy had an AWS with the same symptoms. Put him on Doxy for a month and problem solved.
 
#25 ·
If this specialist can't find anything wrong with her that's what I'm going to do. Vet says lyme is rare to non-existent down here, but we have Rocky Mountain. Only thing is she hasn't been sick, running fever, or anything like that. Just limping a bit here and there.
 
#27 ·
If it turns out that the case is indeed of the disease nature, that's definitely my number one priority....getting her healthy again as soon as possible.
 
#28 ·
Just scheduled an appt with an ortho at LSU for 3:00 next Monday. Thanks for all the help/advice. I'll keep you guys posted.
 
#30 ·
Well, just left her at LSU vet for tonight. My problem with her is that she's an abnormally "whiny" dog, so it's hard to tell exactly what is hurting her and how badly it's hurting her. She really just doesn't like being messed with. But the ortho specialist over there certainly wasn't as optimistic about the elbows as the original radiologist was, so he wants to do a CT scan in the morning. I'm also going to have him x-ray the shoulders as well, but he said that he feels that she repeatedly acknowledged pain in her elbows. Pretty worried about it now, so hopefully I find out something good tomorrow.

If there is a fragment in one or both of the elbows, he said he can operate Thursday. Is the operation even worth it? If the dog can't hunt regardless then I don't know if I can justify spending $1500 on a surgery that does nothing for her, because I'll eventually need that money to get another dog. I'm already $800 in the hole from the original x-rays and the scan and I still don't know anything. I'm just frustrated with the whole process...moreso with the fact that my hunting buddy is hurt I think. She's such a great dog. I'm not gonna give up on her.
 
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