# Ellie Limping Back Paw



## Schnitz85 (May 20, 2015)

Hi all, so I was walking with Ellie the other night (Tuesday night) and noticed her limping a bit. I asked my gf to watch from behind and she said yes she was. Fast forward to that night, she was yelping if she moved onto it while sleeping and when I touched on her back paw. The next morning she was standing with it up in the air to keep pressure off and limping. I feel so bad for my little mush.

She puts weight on it, but clearly something is off, so I took her to the vet. She gave me pain meds for her and scheduled an x-ray for tomorrow morning if I didn't notice a difference by end of day today.

I thought I did, as she was jumping up on it last night and seemed to be better, but today regressed. When we initially get up, she is very lame, then it seems as though it warms up and she has a little hitch. 

I definitely should get her the x-ray right? This isn't something you want to screw around with? Or do you think it's muscular? The x-ray is expensive even with the pet insurance. 

Money isn't an issue when it comes to her health, but just don't want to throw away $600+.

Thanks everyone!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

By what you described, I would spend the money.
Xrays are a good starting place when trying to diagnose the problem.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

I would seek out an orthopedic specialist or at least a vet that is in tune with orthopedic medicine.

I wouldn't mess around or take chances when it is their legs, especially back ones as it could be a CCL issue. The longer you wait, and the more you test the leg, it could cause larger problems. Get a clear diagnosis and then move forward.

Also, an x ray should not cost 600$. Maybe find a different vet who does digital x rays. Up here in Canada, where vet fees are much more expensive than in the USA, I have never paid anywhere close to that much for an x ray. That is closer to the cost of an MRI.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I've never paid $600 for leg (hip/knee/elbow) xrays, even when it was done by a orthopedic surgeon. But I do know some vets are a lot more expensive than others. Last time I was considering a MRI on Cash, it was going to be closer to $1200.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

It's always heart breaking when they're in pain and we feel so helpless. 

An X Ray would only show some issue with the bone, it won't show any soft tissue issue. Your vet should be able to determine which one it probably is before recommending diagnostic tests, especially when there's a considerable expense involved.

You can help by giving as much info to the vet about the circumstances of the injury as possible. Typically, when there's some bone injury, you know...they're jumping or falling and there's a loud yelp. Otherwise I tend to think it's muscular, maybe she pulled something and needs some rest and maybe a muscle relaxant.

My V's are and always have been big babies, they have two responses to life: "Let's play!" or "OMG, good bye dad I will miss you". Over time, I've learned to differentiate serious injury from just their general sensitivity, but if I'm worried I go to the vet, if only for my own peace of mind. The issue is your trust in the vet and his/her assessment and recommendations.


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

We just went through 3 months of limping. I'll chronicle our journey in the hope it helps you.

Sadie was running through the woods one afternoon and yelped loudly. We examined her paws & legs thoroughly and found no external injury. She took off running and was fine for the rest of our journey. That night she could barely walk on her left front leg.

The next morning, oddly, she was fine - no limping. We didn't run her that day but we did the day after. Result of that - more night time limping. Not super bad like the first night, just enough to see that it hurt her.

This continued for a couple of weeks so we took her to our local vet. At that point we all thought it was her shoulder and he prescribed rest for her (with short leash walks). We did not do an xray at the vets office. He didn't push it because it seemed muscular. We were doing twice weekly deep tissue laser treatments on her shoulder. We did this for 3 weeks and realized that she still wasn't improving. 

So, I sought out an orthopedist at the University of Georgia vet school. He and his students did a thorough examination of her. She was hard to examine (tense & very muscular!). He did notice a lot of sensitivity in her left wrist. So, they did some xrays of her wrist and her shoulder and we found that there was not a break but likely at some point a small stress type fracture of her wrist and she's showing some early signs of mild osteoarthritis (from the injury most likely he said as she is only 4 years old).

We were sent home with a cast for 2 weeks. Zero activity. Once the cast came off she came home in a custom made wrist brace with 2 more week of zero activity. After that she was allowed very short leash walks, increasing in frequency each day.

After about 2 weeks of that we tested her off leash for a short run. Everything was fine. We increased it a bit each day. Now, about 3 1/2 months or so after her initial injury she has not limped or shown any sign of issue with her wrist. She's had 1-2 hour power playing & swimming outside and is totally fine.

All in all, we spent about $1000 for everything. In reality, if we'd just rested her ourselves she would have eventually healed. However, the cast and the brace helped a lot with the forced resting though. It's hard to keep a V down.

We did make a few mistakes. First, not resting her instantly for weeks/months. Second, not going ahead to the orthopedists office right away. Third, spending the money on deep tissue shoulder treatments when it wasn't even her shoulder.

It's what you don't know that scares you. Muscular injuries are harder to heal than bone injuries. And, in dogs, bone injuries can developed into osteoarthritis and they need to be attended to or they will have pain for the rest of their lives - worsening as they age.

Make sure if you get an xray that they have really good equipment (like an orthopedist would have). I'm not expert but I believe that GP vets don't have the funds to have the latest & best technology. If the injury is small or in a hard to read place, you'll just end up having to pay for another.

I'm sorry for your dogs injury. It's hard on them and on you. It will pass, I promise! Soon she'll be running like the wind without a care in the world!


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Lastly, I noticed from some of your other posts that your dog is a puppy. Do not mess around. Growth plates are still open. Go to an orthopedist asap.


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