Rear leg discomfort
We have had her for two years. Every time we take her out into the backyard for a run, her back leg(s) shake out of excitement. At least that's what we thought. Now that she's showing discomfort, we are thinking this shaking might have been a warning signal of this to come. Does that sound right? We also have her half sister, Puffer, who has never done any of the "excitement shaking". She is one year younger than Butterfly. Our 9 year rescue, Otis, has arthritis and he always has discomfort after he gets up from laying down. Now we are worried that Butterfly also has this. I have e-mailed the breeder, who I have stayed in touch with and become good friends with, and am waiting to see what she says. If any of you have any advice for me, I would love to hear it. Thank you, Tarja |
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| Tarja, Panda has always done that leg shake thing when excited...so has Bailey..Panda's sheepie friend....I definately think that is from excitement. However, I noticed that she is doing the bunny hop more often.....although that does not stop her from jumping and running for the frisbee, tennis ball or soccer ball....Panda also does the front legs stretch and then the back legs stretch....Im really no help, but Im here for you..I have similar concerns. |
No advice as I have no experience with this sort of thing. Only words of comfort and sympathy I can offer. I'm sorry that your Buttefly is having this problem. I hope she'll be okay. I love the name! 
Please let us know what you find out. |
| Both Luke and Rosco have the leg shakes but no other signs of HD. They are from the same breeder with different sire and dam, and both have hypothyroidism, which I'm sure is an unrelated problem. Has she been x-rayed? I don't have any advice but sure hope it's nothing serious. I have a friend with a 7y/o from my breeder who has lameness in both front legs, he is at Michigan State today to determine the cause. Does this problem seem to be appearing more frequently? |
| I hate to sound like a broken record, but has Butterfly been x-rayed for HD? Seems like there are a lot of pups on the forum right now that have it, mine included. Same symptoms - trouble getting up, not wanting to put any weight on the leg for a bit.
Drez also does the leg shake thing when we ask her if she wants to go "bye-bye" but I'm sure that's just excitement shaking, and probably the same for Butterfly. Good luck! Keep us posted. Chris |
| I was going to ask the same thing, if she has been checked for HD...
Also, but I have recently learned that dogs who are spayed at 6 months or younger do not have the hormones required to stop the growth plates from growing. Normally the hormone surges experienced during a female dogs first heat, or during a male dogs adolesence are the signal to close the growth plates. If those plates don't close, it can cause an abnormal continuation of growth in height, which can lead to various bone and joint problems. This is according to a study done by Cornell University I believe, I'll see if I can find a link to it again. |
| Thank you all for your advice. We are bringing in Butterfly on Tuesday for an x-ray. The vet thinks she might have pulled a muscle or the knee cap is out of whack. If it's the knee cap she'll need surgery. I don't think a pulled muscle will need surgery...? I'll keep you guys updated! Thank you for all the kind words. |
| Good luck Tarja! Panda sends Butterfly huge wet kisses! |
| I hope you get good news -- something treatable. Chum's legs shake with excitement and she bunny hops but she doesn't seem to be in pain. I hope the fact that it is intermittant means it is a strain rather than a permanent condition. Best wishes to butterfly! |
| Hi, our first sheepdog was experiencing occasional signs of leg soreness to around age 6. Turned out to be a torn muscle or something to that effect. I would spend a few times every day kicking the ball to him within a short distance where he was doing a lot of turns. I changed the routine and started having him do long runs for the ball with less turns. That did the trick and no other problems after that. |
VerveUp wrote: I would spend a few times every day kicking the ball to him within a short distance where he was doing a lot of turns.
That could very well be our problem! We talked about the back yard running last night and decided to stop doing that and see what happens. How do you repair a torn muscle? Thank you! |
| I believe if it's a torn ligament then you would need surgery, but Butterfly would be limping constantly if that were the case. Torn muscle should just heal on its own if that is truly what the cause is. I don't recall how much time it took before we figured out why the limping was happening or recovery time. I would give it about a week to see if there is any difference.
Our first goof would just chase that ball constantly so I don't think they know when to stop when they are hurting. VerveUp |
| Good luck Butterfly! |
| Butterfly went to go see the vet today. The vet thinks it's her hip and put her on Rimadyl. I have many mixed feelings about this medicine. I have read so many bad things about it, but so many vets, including ours, strongly stand by it. I don't know what to think....
We got Butterfly when she was two years old. She was a show dog, but she had a slight hip imperfection so she was given up for adoption, so we got her. I'm sure the vet is right. We'll see how she does with this medicine. The vet said we can bring her back for x-rays if we want, but he didn't seem too worried about it. He said to keep her on the medication and adjust the dosage as necessary. Start cutting back when she's feeling better, to a point that she might just need one here and there. I suppose he's right... |
| Just watch her on the Rimadyl. Drez was on that, too, but I didn't think it really did her any good. We also tried Deramaxx, and that was awful - her stomach just couldn't tolerate it.
Good luck! Keep her trim and exercised and it will help delay the debilitation. Chris |
| Watch for increased water drinking and/or indoor peeing.
If this happens stop the rimadyl. |
oes rule wrote: Butterfly went to go see the vet today. The vet thinks it's her hip and put her on Rimadyl. I have many mixed feelings about this medicine. I have read so many bad things about it, but so many vets, including ours, strongly stand by it. I don't know what to think....
. I was nervous about Rimadyl too and so my vet has recommended instead that Chumley get a course of glucosamine injections -- twice a week for 4 weeks. He says the benefits will last years and that it actually helps rebuild cartilage in her joints. Apparently, treatment is common for horses but only recently introduced for dogs. Chum has completed 3 weeks and she seems pretty cheerful and active (other than the past two days but she bounced back today). |
| Thank you to all of you for your advice. I really appreciate it! |
Well, we have already taken her off Rimadyl. 
The first night she vomited and the next day (yesterday) she had diarrhea. I promised her this morning I would not give her Rimadyl anymore, she seemed pleased! 
Otis, our 9 yr old rescue, had arthritis when we got him. The vet immediately prescribed Rimadyl for him. Back then, last year in May, I didn't know anything about this "medicine". After I had browsed the internet and found so many disturbing stories about this, I took him off of it. Since then we have been given him over the counter medicine "hip and joint" formula. He has not gotten any better or worse, he has been in the same condition since we got him. I am thinking we'll start giving this to Butterfly as well. If you have any thoughs on this, please let me know. Thank you! |
oes rule wrote: Well, we have already taken her off Rimadyl.
The first night she vomited and the next day (yesterday) she had diarrhea. I promised her this morning I would not give her Rimadyl anymore, she seemed pleased! Otis, our 9 yr old rescue, had arthritis when we got him. The vet immediately prescribed Rimadyl for him. Back then, last year in May, I didn't know anything about this "medicine". After I had browsed the internet and found so many disturbing stories about this, I took him off of it. Since then we have been given him over the counter medicine "hip and joint" formula. He has not gotten any better or worse, he has been in the same condition since we got him. I am thinking we'll start giving this to Butterfly as well. If you have any thoughs on this, please let me know. Thank you! Poor Butterfly! I give Chumley OTC Glucosamine with Chondroitin, which are typically the main ingredients of the hip and joint formulas. She seems perkier on it than off. I can tell when I've forgotten to give it to her. I have a friend that reports similar positive results with his dog. My mom takes it too (human formula, of course) and she can really tell when she lapses, so that's some confirmation that I am not just imagining the improvement. I'm excited about the glucosamine injections though because my vet says they will have a lasting impact on her. Good luck! |
| There is a drug approved in Canada that is very popular, called Medicam. It comes in tablet or liquid, and after short-term use the dogs seem to bounce like very well. It is proscribed for arthitis, and is for the pain more than anything else. Like anything there are possible side affects after long-term use, but they are apparently minor, and when weighing them agaisnt the option of having your dog pain-free....well.....I know many people in the States who get their fill here in Canada. Not sure what the delay is in getting it in the states, though. I don't have any dogs on it, but we routinely have it procribed for our old, arthitic rescue dogs. Is anyone here in Canada familiar with it? |
| Metacam was prescribed for my cat who had cancer. It seemed to work nicely for her and had no obvious side effects. She had it in both oral and patch form. The patch was better because the pain relief was consistent. I was told it is often prescribed after animals are spayed.
I guess I am a big fan of glucosamine because it is actually lubricates the joints rather than just addressing the pain. I guess for some dogs though the glucosamine is not enough to make them comfortable. . . |
| Metacam has worked for us too. Is this the same as Medicam? Metacam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug... we've used it short-term for our Border Collie-mix and also our littlest sheepie. It worked well for them when they suddenly started limping... I think it their problem was a muscle pull. |
| Hi Tarja and Butterfly,
Sorry I'm late entering this conversation. A couple things you may want to note: Panda my sheepie rescued from Hong Kong has HD in both hips and does extremely well on Glucosamine. Blue, my 15 year old Blueheeler/Lab is extremely active and races around appearing much younger than his years. He's been on glucosamine for a couple years. My previous OES, Shaggy, was on Glucosamine and then eventually Medecam. Medecam or any other medication takes about 3 wks for you to see the effect. It should be discussed with your vet as Medecam is by perscription only and was given to Shaggy after the Glucosamine was no longer effective for her as it's much stronger. I'd also keep Butterfly's condition in the back of your mind so that should she ever need sedation for anything ...remember to ask the vet to then check her hips at the same time. I had forgotten to do this when Panda was sedated but remembered the second time as they were able to rotate his hips and do other things that may not have been possible if he had been awake. Although I realize in Butterfly's case she is probably a very sweet girl and may allow the vet to do this even if she wasn't sedated. Good luck to you and Butterfly. Please keep us posted. Marianne and the boys |
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