Anyone still out there?
If you are, hi! Things have been pretty busy - aside from husband coming home, the fall harvest, etc., I recently traveled for a conference and then, of course, got back to my (relatively new) job and had (still have!) a lot to do! Then Hazel developed a mystery lameness yesterday. Despite multiple diagnostics we have no clear idea what is going on. She is 3-legged lame and clearly showing discomfort. For Hazel, this is extreme. She is very stoic, so the fact that she is not weight-bearing is notable. Our vet commented that, based on how Hazel was moving, she expected to be able to isolate the area because surely she'd be able to elicit a reaction on palpatation (unlike our previous experiences where Hazel would not show any sign of pain, despite limping minutes before the exam!)
Apparently my "ground work" with her is too good because she clearly believes her job is to be polite and non-reactive when examined. The vet was unable to elicit a reaction when probing any part of the leg that she was clearly not bearing weight on. I worked on her handling a lot when she was a puppy but I think it is simply an issue of leadership. She knows who has it and who doesn't. If you do, she will be as strong as she can be for you. A very good dog indeed. I wish she was a little more wimpy though, so we could help her!
We had a full x-ray work up of that leg done and nothing showed up. Therefore, it's very likely this is a soft tissue injury (which is what I thought it would be). With no probative reactions, it's hard to isolate where the problem is. Bah!
Anyway, I just wanted to update a little on what's going on here. Hopefullt we'll have good news soon!
5 comments:
Sudden 3-legged lame is often a hoof abscess - but then I'd guess the vet ruled that out? What about something higher up in the leg - stifle/elbow or shoulder/back/pelvis/sacral? These things are so frustrating.
Hey Kate, it's actually my dog that is lame. I agree with you about hte abscess in horses though and even without hooves my first thought was a thorn or something similar embedded in her paw.
Fortunately, she is doing a little better today with just some NSAIDs. I am not looking forward to the point where she is feeling better (read: hyper) but still needs to be on limited exercise!
Hey RB !
I'm here ! :)
Lame sucks, be it dog or be it horse. Hope Hazel gets to feeling better pretty quick !
Welcome back, and best of luck with Hazel.
I hope she gets well soon.
And what a brave girl at the vet...poor thing!
Hugs to Hazel. I hope she is pain free and good as new soon.
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