Soft Tissue Damage

[Elly May]

Well, Lacy decided that things were getting boring around here and a visit to the vet would liven things up a bit...

Last Sat. the girls were out playing and everything seemed okay. Later that evening, after their dinner, I noticed Lacy limping and/or not putting any weight on her back left leg. Everything else about was/is fine, appetite, attitude, plumbing, etc. has been normal. Now Lacy's always been pigeon-toed and she's already been diagnosed (via x-ray) with a slight - nothing unusual - touch of arthritis in her hips. She's always been a little stiff after laying down but walks it off after about five or ten steps. Otherwise, she runs like lightening. Anyhow, after giving her a couple of aspirins and not seeing much improvement, we took her to the vet this afternoon. The vet started checking her out from her toes upward, and after my description of what Lacy has/has not been doing, she fully expected to feel something around her knee. Nope, but when she started flexing her hip, Lacy took a snap at her! With a growl! Lacy didn't bite, but definitely warned and told the vet that whatever she was doing to Lacy's hip, hurt. So I got on the floor and held Lacy's face and the vet tried again, and yes, a similar reaction but much less so. The vet didn't feel anything swollen, out of place, or unusual. Said it was probably soft tissue damage and generously gave us some Rymadil samples - 100 mg twice a day for fourteen days. If there's no improvement within three or four days, she wants a "good" x-ray (with sedation) taken.

The hard part is that the vet said this will probably take six weeks to heal (!!!) And that we can walk her around the yard but that's about it. Well, up until last Friday, we've been walking two miles, and now we can't do more than a block! Right now the pups are quiet - but I know that's in part because Barry was off from work today and we visited the vet. I know tomorrow is going to be a different story...

Anyone out there have any experience with soft tissue damage, specifically in the hip area? From what I've read so far, an x-ray won't show tissue damage, so I'm not sure why my vet would want an x-ray if Lacy doesn't improve. Altho, I suppose, it would be to make sure there isn't any other issues going on with her...

It's going to be a long six weeks. I do know that we'll be taking the bed frame apart and will have the mattresses on the floor. Thankfully our back porch only has three steps and our house is a raised ranch. Lacy won't do the basement steps so that won't be an issue. The only other concern is the cat. For some reason, Lacy still acts like the cat is an alien and is extremely facinated by her - Lacy will jump up in a split second and the race is on...

 

[Brinks' Mom]

I wish I had some advice but all I have is well wishes for a speedy recovery. Maybe..just maybe its just a very sore muscle and it will be a quick turnaround and not be the dreaded 6 weeks of having to keep her still in the cold crisp air.

 

[rcantor]

How sad! I hope she gets better MUCH sooner!

 

[Sailorgirl]

No advice, but I know what you're dealing with, as the EXACT same thing happened here last week. The vet we saw (the one who gave us the second opinion after the first opinion was diagnosing something much more serious) said we should do our best "within our means" to keep her quiet and ice as necessary. I, however, value my sanity, so we aren't being as strict with this as maybe we should be.

 

[TerriW]

Most dogs I've known are fairly self-policing when it comes to pain. Perhaps the walks you take can't be 2 miles in length, but can you still spend the same amount of time outside with her? Brushing her, perhaps, or just strolling around the yard, or a combination?

 

[Sound Bay Newfs]

Poor girl, I hope she feels better soon. Rimadyl plus rest usually is what is recommended for a soft tissue injury. It may not take that long though. Your vet may want to xray to see if anything else is going on if she doesn't improve. You may want to crate her when you are not home to supervise, so she doesn't chase the cat and re-injure herself.

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

Got your email, and read this. I wonder when a pup goes into rescue, if Deb's vet, a newf owner, and a offiver in River King too, does any looks besides any obvious problems that Deb sees or knows about. Though Deb has 3 other dogs, I wonder how much Lacy ever really ran. Deb has a large fenced area, but not a real running playing area. Not sure if she ever really walked the dogs any real distance either.

I guess soft tissue injuries do fix themselves. All I can say is good wishes form here, and if youwant me to call/forward Deb what is going on, let me know.

Edited to say, maybe NewfYork is right about crating, especially if you have slick floor. I know a greyhound here who had to have a rear leg amputated from a injury slipping in mud while running in the yard.

 

[Elly May]

Well, the self-police-ing thing isn't exactly in Lacy's vocabulary. I haven't been completely "worried" about her stiffness as she's always been completely normal in all other respects. Since she's only two and a half years old, she still has a lot of puppy in her. Plus, I'm under the impression that she didn't have the most active/social lifestyle before she came here. So, as a result, I hoped that between our walks, which I wanted to build muscle, and, of course provide exercise, and her playing with Kala, that these things would help keep any arthritis from getting worse - and help her grow up a bit...

 

[Elly May]

And yes, I thought about getting the crate out. But on the days that I'm home all day, the pups don't seem to do much, until the afternoon when Kala tells me it's time for our walk. So, since I'm always home during the afternoons, then I'll start just taking Lacy around the yard and instead of getting their bones after dinner, they'll get them before. We've already been leashing Lacy even in the yard these last couple of days, so hopefully this will heal quicker than the vet expects...

 

[RhodyNewf]

With Morgans knee injury I was very diligent about keeping her quiet. She was crated almost all the time initially, walked on grass for short amounts of time, but frequently throughout the day. It is better to be strict with the restriction, then risk further injury IMO. They do adapt the their new lifestyle, and I gave her lots of things to chew on to keep her busy. Freezing PB or cream cheese, even a small amount in a kong can keep them busy for a while. Best wishes for your girl!

 

[blstarke]

I hope that she feels better soon

 

[ardeagold]

We've had a few of those around here....usually from slipping when running. The last one was Maggie, who pulled a groin muscle. I was petrified that it was a torn ACL. But after a few days of self limited activity, plus us not letting her run with the wild crowd, she was much better. In a week, she was perfectly normal.

Our Vet told us to let them out to wander around in the yard off lead, let them go on leash walks around the property with us, even let them run a little bit if they want to. Just no craziness. He's given us Metacam for this type of injury. Once a day...at bedtime. We don't give it during the day because we don't want them feeling better than they actually are and injure themselves worse. He would recommend 1-2 weeks of this limited activity, and if they're better .... gradually let them go back to a normal routine. Xrays would be if they don't improve after a week or two.

I'm with Sailorgirl on this one. Definitely no horsing around and acting nuts, but going outside, walking, even some trotting, shouldn't cause a problem. I'd think six weeks of crate rest with only potty walks outside in the yard, would cause some serious muscle atrophy.

When you're dealing with a tendon or ligament injury....like a knee injury...versus a pulled muscle, it's more important to keep the activity very limited until obvious improvement is seen.

I hope all is well very soon....and it doesn't take six weeks to heal!