Question:
hello everyone,

so my 1 year old Australian cattled dog mix (zoey) has developed a limp in her front right leg. There was no single event that i can remember that caused her to begin limping (she is very active, always running and playing). for about 2 1/2 weeks i kept her from doing anything strenuous (as much as i could), and the limp got much better, i thought she was healed. Then after running around a lot one day the limp was worse than before. A week later i took her to the vet. After poking and prodding the dog, the vet determined that zoey was resisting extending her elbow so she took x rays, but there was nothing at all on the x rays. the vet recommended another week of rest, while taking an anti-imflammatory (rymadyl i think). that was 5 days ago and she is still limping. Last night i was doing my own exam on zoey and noticed an inaudible popping of her wrist joint when i extended it (i can feel it on the back of her wrist).I dont think the vet noticed this and the x rays didnt show that far down on her leg. Does anyone have any ideas? I guess the next step will be more x rays and a more specialized vet.

Thanks for the help

Answer:
Definitely warrants another trip to the vet. If nothing turns up in the wrist, you might want to consider an orthopedic vet. They see things that regular vets don't have much experience with.

Good luck!

Answer:
What food are you feeding? Just because I know some dogs who have had joint pain from Eukanuba...

If nothing else, an orthopedic specialist would be a good place to get questions answered.....

Good luck!

Answer:
She has been eating iams her entire life. I wish it was something as simple as switching dog food, but i have a feeling the its probably something a little more serious than that. i'll let you all know what the orthopedic vet says later this week. thanks for the input

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So i was just outside letting zoey go to the bathroom, and i was running back up the sidewalk to the stairs, and wouldn't you know it, i rolled my ankle! so now we are both limping around the house. Anybody have advise on when you know if your foot/ankle is broken?

ughhhh

Answer:
Well first to you...if it is swollen, warm, bruised it may be broken, but it may also be a bad sprain...I'm not vey helpful I guess, lol

For your dog, has the term panosteitis been used at all? Does the limping go away ever, or is it always there?

When Hunter was about 9 months to 2 years, he had recurrent episodes of panosteitis. www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/depano.html

Answer:
thanks for the info, the vet didnt mention panosteitis , i will definitely make sure to ask the vet about it when we go back later this week. it sounds like it could be it, but she doesnt show any pain, and she is also a small/medium dog and that website points to large breeds

as for my foot now...its not so pretty, but i'm still more concerned about zo's than mine. at least i know what i did to mine (im just clumsy!)

Answer:
so i just got back from a specialist that took some more x rays, and she found out what has been causing zoey problems. It is a broken sesamoid, which is a bone in the muscle behind one of her front toes. From the x rays she said that since the broken pieces are now kind of far from the bone that it will be best to just take them out surgically. Has anyone known a dog w/ this type of injury? im just wondering if she will make a full recovery afterwards.

Answer:
Oh wow, I have never heard of such an injury. I can't give you any advice, only well wishes that your puppy gets better soon.

Answer:
Hey everyone, I just thought i would give y'all an update on Zoey's condition. I ended up waiting to get the surgery for about 2 months too see if there was any possibility that she would improve on her own...which she didn't. It was the same story, she would be fine, then go and play w/ another dog or chase something and she would end up limping later. Anyways, i bit the bullet and got the surgery yesterday. The vet said she removed several pieces of the broken bone (x ray only showed two, apparently there were some smaller pieces). She also said that the joint had become arthritic and most likely would have never healed on its own. So now it's more waiting to see how she heals. keep your fingers crossed for a full recovery!

thanks again for y'alls input

Answer:
Thanks for posting the update! Sounds like a good thing you had the surgery done.

How is Zoey doing tonight? How long will you have to keep her off her foot?

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Yes thanks for the update. How is Zoey now?

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She is doing very well now. She has a bandage on her foot that will stay on for the next week, then we go back and the vet will take a look at it again to decide if another bandage is needed or if she can start going without it. Since the vet hasn't really seen something like this before, she estimated that Zoey could start taking some leash walks in 3-4 weeks to start working back up to her old crazy self. I just hope she gets better soon though, i can't stand the e-collar (damn lampshade) that she has to wear...although it probably bothers her more than me.

Answer:
So it's been a little more than 2 months since the surgery and Zoey has been doing much better. We have been going on walks/runs for the past 2 weeks and we've been progressively working her way up in terms of exertion. In the past 3 days we've gone on two 30 min. walks where she was off leash and doing a fair amount of running and there is no limping! (knock on wood) Her last day that she limped was over the easter weekend so things are looking good for her. Although she still isn't nearly at the level pre injury i am very hopeful.

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Good luck for her recovery! Thanks for the update.

Answer:
That is great news
that things just keep getting better,

Thanks for the update

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