[adnste]

Jess jumped awkwardly from the sofa last night (we saw her) and is now limping on a rear leg. I am almost certain it is just a muscle strain. She's still running around a fair bit, just favors the leg when walking. She's not showing any sign of pain when we touch it, nor is she in pain when lying still (in fact, no pain at all, no whimpering etc.).

Of course, being a holiday weekend, I am hoping to avoid an expensive emergency vet visit but I don't know how to help her for the next couple of days. Do we enforce rest? Is there anything I can give her? How would I know if she has torn a ligament or done any other serious damage?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Barbara Winters]

A vet will of course examine an injured limb, palpate the joint, watch the dog's gait for abnormalies and then most likely do an x-ray to get an idea of the extent of injury. Sometimes the vet has to do an MRI or even surgery to determine what's going on so I don't think you are going to be able to tell the severity of your dog's injury. I wouldn't give any aspirin or other anti-inflammatory medications you might have left over from a previous prescription given by the vet because you'll just mask the pain and a dog that feels less pain is likely to be more active, thus possibly causing more injury.

Only you can decide if you need to make a visit to the ER clinic but I would definitely limit activity to walking on leash and then only to go potty. No jumping on furniture or other activities.

Hope Jess doesn't have anything serious. Keep us posted.

I always say, "when it doubt, check it out."

 

[adnste]

Thanks for the advice! I'm thinking that we take a couple of days to see if she improves, just give her as much rest as possible. If it looks worse, or she seems to really be in pain, we'll take that emergency vet trip, otherwise I'll take her to our normal vet Tuesday morning to check it out if she still has the limp.

I know I've seen lots of posts about limping, and most seem to recover ok. She loosens up once she gets walking, and can still get excited if the doorbell rings, so I know she's probably not broken anything. She's getting lots of cuddles and treats though, holding that leg up!

 

[Sadeyes]

Addy, my westie limped if you raised your voice at her.First time I took her to the vet and after tests could find nothing wrong. Then discovered that there was a pattern to it. Shout at her and she limped. Mentioned it to vet next time I was there and he said in her former home she perhaps did hurt her leg but, also discovered that she got attention when she limped(and perhaps no abuse).Stopped it after several months.I know this isn't Addy's problem but it was just when you mentioned the treats.You may find even when she is better she will still limp just to get them.

 

[adnste]

OK. So, Jess was still limping, though not as bad, but she wasn't really eating, so I reckoned she was feeling pain enough to subdue her a lot. She spent the weekend sleeping and would only eat an odd treat. I cooked chicken especially and she would only take a few pieces before she turned away.

We went to the vet... she's now spending the night there. She's having blood taken before she's sedated for x-rays in the morning. They're doing a bordetella vaccine and a heartworm test and a whole barrage of x-rays to check the limb, her pelvis and her other leg for comparison. The vet suspects a fracture in the knee and just hopes it isn't the ACL.

$600 before we get to know what the injury even is and the possibility of another couple of thousand dollars if she needs surgery!!

Just praying that the surgery isn't necessary, as I don't know how we'll find the cash for that. As you can probably tell, I'm a very panicked mom just now! Drool please!!

 

[Barbara Winters]

Sorry to hear Jess is still having pain. Hopefully she won't need surgery though I'd suggest getting a second opinion and a referral to an orthopedic specialist who's had a lot of experience with bassets. Always ask what are my options?

Sending positive thoughts your way for good news.

 

[adnste]

Update - Jess is back home. NO surgery! Vet said the x-rays showed no fractures and she suspects just a sprain. Crate rest, painkillers, no running or jumping and hopefully that will do it. Could still be the ACL, but she is using the leg more each day, so I'm hoping there is no serious damage.

It was so good to get her back last night. One night without her was so rough... no idea how you all cope when you lose a baby to the Bridge. Jess will be one year old on September 14th and it scares me already that she won't be here for ever. I love her soooo much!

So, panic over for now. I really have to think seriously about pet insurance!

 

[Sara_Sally]

My Ernest is still limping, lame in his front right leg. It's so bad the cats are being nice to him which is good. My concern is that I've read on the net about vet's wrongly diagnosing Bassets with structural ailments and recommending unnecessary, often harmful surgery. Still should I go to the vet, or wait? I would love some input on this. I'm thinking I'll go to the vet tomorrow if he's not better. While he doesn't seem to be in pain, he must be with such an awkward gait. I'm sure you folks can understand how much I love this dog.