Hoo Fighter Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 All Hi. It's been a while since I have posted here. Hope all is going well. Anyway, I have a question that I hope you can help me with. I have a BC who is very atheletic and driven. He loves to play frisbee and fetch with a ball. However, he goes at it like a demon...full speed ahead all the time. Anyway, about a month ago, I noticed he was slow to rise after physical activity. I physically handled his leg, looking for any sign of pain from the dog, but he never showedany. Anyway, after one play session, he was very slow to rise, so I went to the vet. By the time we got to the vet (next day), you couldn't tell anything was wrong. The vet thought that it must just be muscle strain after checking out his leg. So, for the next 2 weeks, no play sessions, just walking. He seemed to be ok with no signs of the lameness. So I started playing with him again, but in amore controlled way. The lamess reappeared, but was very minor. This past Saturday, I went on a 3-5 mile walk with the dog. No running, just walking. That afternoon, he could barely get up. I have a vet appointement todya, but I was hoping someone could give me their thoughts on what is wrong. In searching the web, I have 2 thoughs. A partially torn tendon or hip dysplasia. I was hoping it was muscle strain, but I'm not so sure anymore. My thoughts on the hip dysplasia is that he had not shown any signs of lameness prior to about a month ago, so I hope that's not it. My BC is fit, weighs about 45 lbs and is 2 years, 3 months. Thanks in advance. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD Posted November 22, 2004 Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 Gary - While I can't even venture to guess what could be wrong I will let you know that Buddy suffers from the same thing you describe. Buddy is almost 4, about 23" at the shoulder and weighs in around 50llbs (and that's with barely any fat on the boy.) We had x-rays done when he was about 2 and he came out with border line HD. We did not send them to PENN or OFA as I had been mis-informed. I was told he needed to have an AKC or ILP # for the reading. Not true. Anyway, the vet reviewed it and said it was mild in one hip. OK in the other. Not terrible and not great. He told me to give Buddy Glucosumine (sp?) and Chondritin (sp!) as a preventitive measure. He also told me to restrict long walks or runs on pavement, restrict any unnecessary jumping, have him swim more often if possible and to just be careful on the full blown ball fetching sessions. As we are in Agility he told me to just watch for signs that he's in pain and we will go from there. The main point was to keep the fat OFF and the muscle mass high as that will help keep the hips in the socket. So, that is what I did. He didn't show any difficulty getting up until we went off the G/C for about 2 months. I ran out of the pills and kept forgetting to get more. Buddy would be really slow to get up after a ball fetching session or agility class. He would also be a bit slower in the afternoon. Then, I finally picked up more G/C and within about 2 days he could pop up like a cork! (My vet told us to buy "Move Free" from Costco - cheaper and the same thing he'd prescribe anyway.) He had been on the G/C for about a year, and off for a few months. He goes all out with the ball chasing too and we do have to limit those sessions to maybe once or twice a week - if at all. We focused more on mental activity - clicker training, foundation training for agility - which seems to tire him out even more than a romp in the field with the ball. He doesn't seem any worse for it! So, you may want to cut back on the crazy activities and find the right balance for your dog. Instead of a super long walk, break it up into multiple shorter walks. Instead of going all out with the ball, throw it shorter (this helps a lot!) and ask for tricks in between throws. Make your sessions shorter too. You will have to adjust his food for activity in order to keep the fat down. I'm always changing Buddy's food amount in order to keep him slim. Sometimes, when I get lazy, he gets fatter and shows a bit more effort to get up with the extra weight. And slim for Buddy is - EASILY felt ribs and back bone. Most people pet him and think he's way too thin, but he has clearly defined muscles and is very fit and active. Anyway, it's a GREAT idea to get his hips checked. This way you KNOW what you are dealing with and can plan in advance and keep your eye on him. I would ask your vet to do the x-rays and send them off to OFA if you can afford it. Hope some of this rambling helped - sorry it's early here in Hawaii! Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoo Fighter Posted November 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Denise, Thanks for responding. I took Kelso to the vet last night. The doctor checked out his leg and couldn't find anything wrong. To ease any thoughts I might have, he x-rayed both legs, hip and knee joints. The xrays looked excellent. We still don't know what is wrong with him. It may just be a muscle strain. I'm going to limit his plyaing and generally jsut walk him for the next month and to see if this goes away. I am a little concerned in that, even without feteching or frisbee, he can get pretty worked up. I'll post back in a montha nd keep you posted. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 If you can find a good specialist vet in your area, or within reasonable driving distance, you may want to get a 2nd opinion. I've found my rehab and holistic vets can sometimes diagnose a muscle problem more easily than my general vet (who would want to run a bunch of tests), since they're more in tune with what to look for. where do you live? we may be able to suggest one. Also, if you can pinpoint what muscle groups are involved, then a rehabber can tell you exactly what the dog should and shouldn't be doing. -Laura p.s...just curious, what's a Hoo Fighter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoo Fighter Posted November 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 Hmm, a Hokie asking about Hoos! LOL! Hoo Fighter is a takeoff on the band Foo Fighters. I'm a Virginia grad, hence HooFighter. Of course, I can see where a Hokie might think it was one of their own.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 especially after this weekend. If you're still in/near Virginia, there's an awesome vet you may want to visit for a 2nd opinion... www.wellpaws.com She's great at diagnosis and rehab. -Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabreur Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 My older dog had a similar problem recently. He has now gotten over it--took about two weeks of restricted activity--no frisbee. He was improving when I took him to the vet, who recommended against hip X-rays at the time and suggested a joint supplement--I've been giving both of my dogs the supplement since. I think he just had a pulled muscle, but it was pretty frightening. Like your dog, he's very high-energy and focused when playing. MR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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