[Lilo's mommy]

I have done numerous searches to see if I can gain a bit of insight into why my puppy started limping the week before Christmas. She is big for her combined breeds at 17 lbs, but is active; the limping does not stop her from running, playing, even jumping. The problem seems to be in her front right paw (it's kind of hard to tell!) **The one time I see her hesitate in movement at all is when she is on furniture or my lap and she wants to jump down - she hesitates a bit and, whenever I am close by, I help her down so she doesn't aggravate the condition by jumping.

I spoke with a friend who told me that lameness could be one of the first signs of Lyme disease, and, although I was using Advantage II, she did have a couple of ticks that I had to remove. I had her to the Vet two days after Christmas, and she did a blood test just to make sure that wasn't an issue and, thankfully, all tests were negative. She examined both of her front paws all over, and Lilo didn't react at all. So, having found nothing, the Vet gave me an NSAID for Lilo to take, and she also said if it doesn't improve or gets worse, she will need to do an x-ray. So far, there's been no change. :???:

Anyone have a similar experience or ideas? Any points of view would be appreciated!!

[Lunareclipse]

Take your dog in for an x-ray.

[CorkyMax]

Please tell me your vet didn't prescribe Rimadyl!!!! Please read this thread:Please Do not Give Rimadyl (carprofen)--CAN KILL

Just FYI-- Both the breeds--Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the Toy Poodle are prone to dislocating kneecaps. Did your vet check that out---Could cause limping I would think. Sounds like an x-ray would be a good idea. Being heavy for her combined breeds would put more stress on her knees.---And sounds like she is very active---jumping, etc. which could add to it too.

I always wanted a Cavalier but I decided against it as heart disease is very common in this breed. You said she was heavy for her combined breeds--Is she overweight? How old is she? I would definitely not let her get overweight as this would contribute to heart problems. From what I can see of her pic (avatar)---hard to tell how big she is, but can tell that she is a little cutie for sure!

As I mentioned about the Rimadyl----Please get her off of it if she is taking it.---It is for pain and I don't think she sounds like she is in great pain---It is not worth playing Russian Roulette with your cutie's life!!!! I am sorry to say this but are you sure you have a good vet? Please read all the sites that are listed in that link I gave above!! Rimadyl or any other NSAID is not going to change whatever the problem is---It is only to mask the pain. I think your vet is hoping it is just a strain/sprain, etc. and is hoping time will erase the issue. If you don't get 'better results' from your vet, If it were me, I'd be finding a better vet.

Hope you get it all straightened out. Be sure and let us know how things go--always wonder if never hear back.

[Lilo's mommy]

Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I'm sorry that I haven't been back sooner with an update, but we still don't have any definitive answers as to what could be causing the slight limp. She is actually limping less than she was, which is, of course, a good thing.

I believe I had mentioned that she was tested for all tic-borne diseases, and, after waiting to see if she improved, which she hadn't, we took her back to the vet a few weeks later for xrays. The vet showed me the xrays, which actually did not indicate any problems with her bones or joints. We could see that her growth plates were starting to fuse as they should, and there was nothing wrong with her shoulder joints, or anywhere else, for that matter.

Now that several more weeks have passed, she appears to be almost back to normal, with only a slight limp. So, whatever was causing it must be resolving without any medical intervention. Thank goodness...

Thanks again for your input!

[CorkyMax]

In rereading your 1st post in this thread--I don't know why I didn't comment on Lyme's Disease more thoroughly. Did you ever have your dog get shots for it. If so, a check for the disease itself could come as a false negative on the test results. It prob. isn't Lyme's Disese but just wanted you to be aware of any future signs--Can do a lot of damage over time--Like arthritis for one thing. Your puppy is not limping as much but I would still be careful and still look for signs of that disease 'down the road.'

Here is a thread done a while back in this forum:

Dog limping badly.Am I being too imaptient?

[Lilo's mommy]

Thanks for your reply. Lilo was not given the shot to prevent Lymes disease, but I will look into that this spring. We have three acres of partially wooded property, and get the yard sprayed for tics and fleas starting in the spring and going into the fall season. This winter, though, has been so mild that there still seems to be some tics around. Despite monthly treatment, she actually had another tic, this one not too big and on her ear. Had her groomed today, and the groomer checked all over, and there were no unwanted 'critters' aboard. She is such a sweet dog, and, for her first time to the groomer, she did very, very well. She looks so cute and fluffy now!!

[CorkyMax]

You said you spray the yard for ticks and fleas----This would be a poison prob. that your dog should not be exposed to. And it is sprayed more then once for roughly 6 months! It sounds like you have an 'overload' of the little devils and I know it puts you between a rock and a hard place. But just had to mention that--Also your dog is getting more poison through the monthly treatment---A lot of POISON for a small dog to have get in it's system---Maybe too--this may of caused the problem Lilo is having with the limping---Her immune system may be stressed by all that poison. The Cavalier is prone to heart disease also and I hope it is not stressing the heart directly or indirectly! Sorry to put any more worries on you but I also worry for your dog and I have to mention everything I can.

quote:Lilo was not given the shot to prevent Lymes disease, but I will look into that this spring. Not sure if you understood what I was trying to say--I didn't mean esp. to get the shot---I was just referring to --if she had had the shot before, it could give a false reading when checking blood work for the disease itself! I also would check for all the cons to this shot before getting it (Sorry but I think more poison for the dog) and I think a lot of vets don't like to give this shot if it isn't necessary--in areas that have few ticks.

I wonder if there is a way to keep the little girl out of so much harm's way. Maybe your vet can help here. I would tell him about all that poison she is exposed to---Not only to find out whether her limping could be connected somehow but maybe he can tell you of something that would work for your predicament with all the poisons!

This is a very good read for you---Long but thorough. Please read it all carefully and it also tells about the risks with the Lyme's disease vaccine! It mentions spraying the yard, etc but it is only sprayed once not for 6 months.

http://www.2ndchance.info/lyme.htm

[Lilo's mommy]

ops: You have me going in circles!! It's hard to figure out how to keep all these poisons away from her and still keep her safe!! Unbelievably, I found another tic on Lilo this morning!! So, she had to have picked this latest one up AFTER her grooming session. We live in Sourthern NJ, and, it's been a fairly mild winter, so I guess these tics never really went away from the summer season, unfortunately. Talk about a rock and a hard place! She loves to be outside, and, even if she didn't, she seems to need to 'investigate' before she does her business. This is more than a little frustrating for me, since she's done this from the very beginning, and even rain, wind, sleet or snow don't cause her to alter her routine most of the time. (We didn't paper train her, went right to going outside to potty, since in was mid-June). Being retired, I had no problem with that, but it does give her more exposure time to tics and fleas.

We just moved into this house last April, and our neighbor told us that they spray for fleas and tics to keep their children safe, and we have our son, his wife and grandchildren living her with us, ages 6 and 4, so we decided to spray also, since we had already found a couple of tics on our granddaughter. So, you can see that this situation is quite complicated!

I will do more research on this topic, and certainly talk to our Vet about the spraying, and I appreciate all of your input!!

[dogs rule]

Have you ruled out Panosteitis. In short, it means "growing pains".
You did mention your dog was only 8 months old.
When you look it up, you will learn that it mostly affects large breed dogs, primarily German Shepherds, and males are more likely to suffer from it than females.
It will also "travel" from on side to the other. My boy Keegan had it and still favours a paw from time to time, but he was limping really bad for awhile, but he is almost a year old now and his "growing" has slowed down.
Google "pano in dogs", and read the articles and watch the videos to see if this pretains to you. If this looks familiar, take Lilo to the vet.
Good news is this something that goes away, but your dogs must remain "quite". As hard as that is.

All the best.

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by dogs rule

Have you ruled out Panosteitis. In short, it means "growing pains".
You did mention your dog was only 8 months old.
When you look it up, you will learn that it mostly affects large breed dogs, primarily German Shepherds, and males are more likely to suffer from it than females.
It will also "travel" from on side to the other. My boy Keegan had it and still favours a paw from time to time, but he was limping really bad for awhile, but he is almost a year old now and his "growing" has slowed down.
Google "pano in dogs", and read the articles and watch the videos to see if this pretains to you. If this looks familiar, take Lilo to the vet.
Good news is this something that goes away, but your dogs must remain "quite". As hard as that is.

All the best.

Asking this as I figure you would know----Could this ever happen if the puppy was getting too much calcium? I know there are bad things that can happen ---growing too fast?

[Thenorwegiandoglover]

Our dog had something that was called "puppy limp" or something. Was nothing to worry about said the vet... Really hope yours has the same!

[dogs rule]

Originally Posted by CorkyMax

Asking this as I figure you would know----Could this ever happen if the puppy was getting too much calcium? I know there are bad things that can happen ---growing too fast?

Some of the sites I've been on say the cause may be from diet - high protein, or high fat diet, one says it has nothing to do with the dogs nutrition at all. Some say it can be hereditary.

From what I know is that it is an inflammation of the bones and can be very painful. Some dogs end up with fevers and loss of appetite. Keegan, luckly had none of those. But he was on anti-inflammatories and pain meds.
The "lameness" can last as long as 2-3 weeks at a time.
So to answer your question about too much calcium, I wouldn't rule it out.
The real cause of "pano" is unclear.
Brody grew alot faster and bigger than Keegan has, and was fed the same food as a puppy, and no problem at all with his legs.
I'm just trying to keep Keegan as comfortable as possible, and wait it out.