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Post by hooligan on Apr 5, 2012 19:04:12 GMT -5
When I sympathized with Akasha's story yesterday, I really meant it. At that very moment, Jack was limping quite badly on his right rear leg -- and we were in wait-and-see mode to find out whether the limp was going to clear up.
We thought it might clear up because this was actually the fourth limping episode in a week. The first episodes involved his front legs and cleared up on their own after we restricted his activity for a couple of days.
But this time, the limp didn't disappear -- and it was clearly quite painful. It got especially bad when he had been lying down for a while and his leg, presumably, stiffened up. He would whimper when he tried to get up or change position, and last night was not a good one for him. He cried intermittently (this was horrible!), and I was up several times to check on him and help him change position and settle.
So we took him to our vet today and she gave him a thorough going over. Of course, in his excitement at being there, the limp all but disappeared -- he looooves our vet and the clinic staff, who fawn all over him. He puts his front paws up on the counter, flashes them his famous smile, and they all melt.
But there were also tell-tale signs. He finds sitting difficult, for example, and when he does sit, his right leg splays because of the discomfort. These little signs didn't go away.
Over the course of the vet's examination, it became obvious that the pain is in or around his right hip joint. So he's on Tramadol because he doesn't tolerate Metacam, and the vet figured that he would probably have a similar reaction to other NSAIDs.
We did discuss the whole issue of masking the symptoms -- but he does need something for the obvious pain. (Jack didn't get the memo about stoic Dobermans; he hurt and he let us know it!) The vet has suggested keeping him on Tramadol for the next week, then gradually reducing the dose. And of course, restricting his activity for the duration. (This is going to be tough. The Tramadol is already working very well. We gave him a capsule when we got home, then took him for a short on-lead walk a couple of hours later -- and he was clearly feeling good and rarin' to go. Sigh.)
I do have a question after all this rambling. The vet reminded us that Tramadol is a painkiller, but NOT an anti-inflammatory. Can anyone suggest a natural (herbal?) anti-inflammatory that can safely be given in conjunction with Tramadol?
And a quick PS. Given the sudden and shifting episodes of lameness, I was worried about Lyme disease, because we did pick a tick off Jack a few months ago. And nothing (that we know of) happened to cause the episodes of lameness. He didn't crash into anything, he didn't fall . . . nothing.
But he has no other Lyme symptoms, and our vet confirmed this when she went over him with a fine-tooth comb: took his temp, checked his lymph nodes, checked every single joint. All was normal. Still, while he was there, she drew blood for his annual heartworm test, which also includes a test for Lyme. So we'll know for certain on Monday.
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Post by Dobereich on Apr 5, 2012 20:45:46 GMT -5
Now obviously Jack missed the other memo about getting ready for the shows too! But on a more serious note, I know its very troubling to see our dogs hurting.
About the natural anti-inflammatory options. Give Jack 1000 MG of Alfalfa leaf twice a day. Glyco-flex is also good to add if concerned about joint issues. Did the vet think soft tissue damage or joint related. We already know that Jack has good hips, what about muscle strain?
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Post by Lisa on Apr 5, 2012 21:29:18 GMT -5
OH no... it's very hard to keep an active dog like Jack from running and jumping.
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Post by hooligan on Apr 5, 2012 22:34:30 GMT -5
Many thanks, Monica. Will pick up some alfalfa and Glyco-flex on Saturday.
Our vet has a copy of Jack's OFA report, and we discussed this today. Given the report, she said that she's reasonably confident that the injury is a soft-tissue-related strain and that it isn't, for example, dysplasia. So her recommendation was to relieve the pain with Tramadol and hope that a couple of weeks of restricted activity (aaaargh!) will give it time to heal. That's why she didn't suggest an x-ray right away, but this will be the next step if things don't settle down.
I'm just puzzled by four out-of-the-blue limping episodes in a week -- involving three different legs. If something out of the ordinary had happened, I'd understand. But these really are mystery injuries. Despite the lack of other symptoms, a niggling worry about Lyme disease remains in the back of my mind, but I hope that this will be relieved come Monday. But then, I'll still be flummoxed about what caused the injuries.
And oh, dear. Sorry about the darn show. The deadline is in my calendar, but yesterday, I was completely sidetracked with worry about Jack and didn't even look at my calendar or think about the show. And until we're sure he's recovered, maybe that's just as well??? The vet has nixed training of any kind for at least two weeks, so what I could do with him is restricted anyway.
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Post by dobermoms on Apr 7, 2012 21:20:00 GMT -5
So worried about Jack too....please let us know about his test results....
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Post by hooligan on Apr 10, 2012 9:37:24 GMT -5
Thanks, Kerrie and Barb.
A quick update. We got Jack's blood test results yesterday, and he's clear of Lyme disease. Phew! His liver, kidney, etc. results are also fine.
So now we're back to being completely puzzled by the episodes of lameness. Despite the Tramadol, Jack is still limping slightly on his right rear leg. We could probably eliminate the limp by upping the dose, but we don't want to end up doing more damage because the Tramadol has masked the pain and fooled us -- or him -- into thinking that he's okay.
At Monica's suggestion, he's also on alfalfa, which may have anti-inflammatory properties.
We've been in touch with his vet and have decided to give things until tomorrow. It will then be a week since this particular limp showed up, and if he isn't considerably better, we'll pop him in for an x-ray and another examination.
He's eating fine, and he's sleeping soundly overnight, and when he's up and about, he has actually been pretty good considering that his activity has been restricted to short, on-lead walks. The Tramadol may have cooled his jets a little bit.
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91tsi
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by 91tsi on Apr 10, 2012 15:30:18 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about Jacks limp. I hope everything works out in the end for the best. Akasha was also on Tramadol. It took a good week to 10 days before we saw an improvement. Maybe just give it some time. I know how hard it is to keep these dogs slowed down to recover. It's just about a full time job.
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Post by Dobereich on Apr 10, 2012 18:39:49 GMT -5
Thanks, Kerrie and Barb. A quick update. We got Jack's blood test results yesterday, and he's clear of Lyme disease. Phew! His liver, kidney, etc. results are also fine. So now we're back to being completely puzzled by the episodes of lameness. Despite the Tramadol, Jack is still limping slightly on his right rear leg. We could probably eliminate the limp by upping the dose, but we don't want to end up doing more damage because the Tramadol has masked the pain and fooled us -- or him -- into thinking that he's okay. At Monica's suggestion, he's also on alfalfa, which may have anti-inflammatory properties. We've been in touch with his vet and have decided to give things until tomorrow. It will then be a week since this particular limp showed up, and if he isn't considerably better, we'll pop him in for an x-ray and another examination. He's eating fine, and he's sleeping soundly overnight, and when he's up and about, he has actually been pretty good considering that his activity has been restricted to short, on-lead walks. The Tramadol may have cooled his jets a little bit. What about ACL injury? Sometimes it can just be swelling, or fraying. These things flair up, and then they take weeks/months to mend.
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Post by hooligan on Apr 11, 2012 9:48:40 GMT -5
What about ACL injury? Sometimes it can just be swelling, or fraying. These things flair up, and then they take weeks/months to mend. Yes, when our vet was examining Jack (and thinking aloud as she did so), she mentioned the possibility of an ACL injury. On the basis of her examination, she said that she believed that it wasn't a tear but that it could be a strain and inflammation. This was, however, before she checked his hip. And when she was manipulating his hip, Jack's response made it clear that this was the source of the pain. As she went over him previously, he had been neutral, but when she was manipulating his hip, he stiffened noticeably and curled his head around to touch her hand as if to say, "Hey, that hurts. What the heck are you doing?" A different dog might have growled or yelped or even nipped. Some good news this morning, though. The limp is not as noticeable, and he seems cheerier. So he may finally be on the mend. We'll continue restricting his activity, and tomorrow, we'll start scaling back the Tramadol, though we'll continue the alfalfa. Then we'll see what happens.
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Post by dobermoms on Apr 11, 2012 22:14:29 GMT -5
The Alfalfa works really well, and not just on the dogs.....I'm also taking it. I was talking about some of my own issues with Monica, and she suggested it for me, and it really does work.
So now you can see even I've gone to the dogs.....lol.
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dobedaddy
Junior Member
Prinz Auguste Vom Dobereich
Posts: 64
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Post by dobedaddy on Apr 13, 2012 13:26:34 GMT -5
Poor little Jack I hope he will be fine fast ... Our toughts are with you ... Don't forget to update us Big hugs to the three of you from the three of us ...
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Post by hooligan on Apr 13, 2012 14:07:50 GMT -5
Another quick update. It looks as if whatever Jack did to himself is going to take a while to resolve.
By this past Wed., he had started to show some signs of improvement. We've noticed that he can now, for example, scratch his right ear with his hind leg rather than waving the leg ineffectively under his belly (not that he scratches a lot), and he is also tucking his right leg closer to his body when he sits. Given these improvements, we decided to hold off on the x-ray for now.
His limp is worst in the morning when he gets up and after he has been sleeping for a while. Once he starts moving around, he seems to walk it off so that it's barely perceptible. On his (short, on-lead) walks, for example, we have to look really hard to detect the limp at all.
He's still on Tramadol and alfalfa, but we plan to start scaling back the Tramadol to see what happens. We'll keep on with the alfalfa. We'll also continue restricting his activity. He's feeling chipper enough that this is hard -- he wants to run and doesn't understand why we don't let him off-lead at the usual spots. Early next week, we'll reassess and, if necessary, scoot him in for an x-ray.
No matter what, I expect it's going to be at least a week before he's back to anywhere near normal activity. So . . . another week without training -- this is something he really misses.
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Post by Lisa on Apr 14, 2012 19:56:53 GMT -5
That's great to hear Jack is recovering. I know how hard to keep an active dog on leash but it will pass...
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Post by hooligan on Apr 18, 2012 8:45:04 GMT -5
Jack is definitely on the mend. For the first time yesterday, he had no discernible limp when he got up in the morning. Today was the same. But even though he seems to be past the worst of it, we plan to continue restricting his activity for the next few days. Just to be safe.
This was clearly a painful strain that took more than 10 days to subside, and we don't want him to undo the long healing process by running around like a hooligan (his usual MO) before we're sure that he's completely healed. So . . . we try to explain to him that he must be careful and patient. So far, our explanations aren't having much effect. LOL.
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Post by dobermoms on Apr 18, 2012 19:40:55 GMT -5
Well we are so happy to hear that he is doing better. I can't say that we are envious of your situation having to restrict Jack....but thank goodness he is going to be alright.
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