Golden Retriever Dog Forums banner

Worried about her hind leg...

4K views 36 replies 17 participants last post by  Florabora22 
#1 ·
Being a new mom I'm relatively aware that I can be very paranoid about things, so this might be one of them ;). Anyhow, Flora has been showing some discomfort with her left hind leg the last couple weeks. One day about 2 weeks ago she jumped up on our 1.5' tall rock wall thing in the back yard and slipped and fell. She yelped and was walking around with her back left leg curled up looking very sorry for herself. About 30 seconds later she was fine.

Since then, on occasion, when she is doing her zoomies and running around in circles, she will let out a quiet yelp and start holding up her hind leg again. She's better in about 10 seconds, but after that I don't let her run anymore.

I've also noticed when she sits, oftentimes she will have her left hind leg thrust out to the side in a funny manner, as well as when she urinates.

I'm hoping this is all just related to the incident with the rock wall, but any input would be great! She will be seeing the vet in about a week for a check-up with her ear, so I figure I'd mention it then, but I wanted to see what you guys thought.
 
#2 ·
I would keep her quiet as much as you can for a couple of days to see if that makes a difference. No jumping, running walking on a leash at potty times to see if that helps. If not then xrays are in order when she goes to the vet next time.
 
#4 ·
I would try to make sure she doesn't climb anything any more until you feel she is ok.
Cody has had a few major falls with some serious pain resulting from those falls. These all happened when he was quite young.
He did get over the limping and he hasn;t had any hip problems as the resolt of the falls.
If you hear her hips cracking I would get her into the vet, otherwise I would just watch her.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the ideas. I really cannot afford x-rays so the best I'd be able to do is have the vet manipulate her leg and make sure there isn't something palpably wrong with her. I've tried pressing around her hip and elbow region and extending her leg, and she doesn't seem at all bothered, so hopefully that is a good sign. I don't hear any cracking or weird noises either.

Last night Flora was playing in the living room and must have twisted wrong, because she let out a tiny little cry and got very excited (she gets excited when she hurts herself, I don't know why).

Other than these brief moments of crying out in pain she seems totally fine. She wants to run and jump and play, but I am trying to keep that to a minimum. I'm just hoping she sprained something. I'm so worried now that it is something worse. :(

I will mention it to the vet next time I see her.
 
#14 ·
Next time she cuddles up with you, I'd try a heating pad or "bed buddy" type item. (Something that you can microwave for moist heat, even a damp/warmed dish towel, but make sure it's not too hot.) Put it between you and Flora or if she'll allow it, lay it on directly on her leg. I've done this for my Pom-Poo after a similar incident and it seemed to help her. The limping and whining stopped after a couple applications.

Good luck!
Trids

Thanks for the ideas.
Last night Flora was playing in the living room and must have twisted wrong, because she let out a tiny little cry and got very excited (she gets excited when she hurts herself, I don't know why).

Other than these brief moments of crying out in pain she seems totally fine. She wants to run and jump and play, but I am trying to keep that to a minimum. I'm just hoping she sprained something. I'm so worried now that it is something worse. :(

I will mention it to the vet next time I see her.
 
#8 ·
Sounds like a luxating patella, particularly if it seems to come and go suddenly. That's where the "kneecap" (it doesn't look like a kneecap on a dog) dislocates and floats around. When it pops back into place, the dog is fine. It's not all that common in Goldens, but it does happen. A vet should be able to diagnose it by manipulating the kneecap.

The permanent answer is a surgical deepening of the groove the patella rides in, but I think some dogs grow out of it on their own.
 
#9 ·
That would be really, really weird, considering Flora's littermate was diagnosed with luxating patella when she was much younger. Is it a hereditary issue?

This has only started happening within the time of her "accident" with the stone wall. Can something like luxating patella be spurred on by a physical accident?
 
#11 ·
Brian already answered the heredity part...sorry your baby might have luxating patella. The vet can easily tell if it's that or ACL, so I would get it checked. They can click the luxating patella in and out...ACL can feel movement that shouldn't occur. My old guy Bailey has luxating patellas and very severe arthritis as a result. He's had surgery on both knees, one knee twice. He's 13 plus...and they're slipping in and out, but I won't put him through surgery again. Vets can show you how to click the knee back correctly too.

Either way glucosamine supplements will help limit the arthritis, and help healing with or without surgery. It can take 6 weeks to kick in. I have all my guys on Glycoflexx III...it has the highest level of glucosamine. Usually recommend doubling the dose for the first month. Cheapest place to get it is often Entirely pets.

Bailey has hip dysplasia too....might want to get x-rays just in case. It makes recovering from the knee surgery a bit more stressful. (They can x-ray hips when he's under for knee.)

And paranoia is normal. I'm older with years of dog stuff...and still paranoid. It means you care about your pup.
 
#12 ·
My westie was just diagnosed with luxating patella. She'll run around, stick her leg out all of a sudden, shake it off, and then she's running around again. She shows no signs of pain, just pops her kneecap back into place. Vet also recommended glucosamine as a preventative, said surgery is optional.

The bad thing about it is it increases risks of arthritis.
 
#13 ·
How depressing. :( I am really short on money right now so surgery is totally out of the question, but I am not going to get too worked up until she sees the vet, which is scheduled for next Monday.

Thank you everyone for the information, even though it makes me sad. I'll let you know how the vet trip goes next week.
 
#15 ·
Well, she had a pretty bad incident today with crying and limping, so I rescheduled her appt for today. :( This couldn't come at a more inopportune time. I have absolutely NO money and am in debt up to my ears. I'm sure the vet will want x-rays and I feel at this point I can't say no. Ugh. I'll update after I get back from the vet.
 
#16 ·
kd

KD

ASK about the care credit no interest card for vets.
Also, she could have torn her ACL and might need suture surgery or TPLO surgery.

I am paying Smooch's $3600 with no interest on care credit for one year, I could have opted for longer
 
#17 ·
oooooooh! I'm so sorry. Poor baby and poor you! Be sure to let us know. Hopefully it's just a strain and will get all better with some anti inflams and rest.
 
#19 ·
Well, Tippykayak was right, it is luxating patella. The vet suggested she have surgery as soon as possible since her patella is slipping out of the groove so frequently. :( Anyhow, my family is being very supportive and thank you Karen519 for suggesting the Carecredit option... my vet does offer that so I will definitely be using that when she has the surgery.
 
#20 ·
Oh, sometimes I hate being right. I'm sorry you have to take this on financially right now, but the good news is that most LP surgeries result in an almost complete correction of the problem. Don't forget to ask your vet about joint supplements for the short term and to limit arthritis or complications later in life.

Did the vet check the other leg? LPs can come in pairs.
 
#21 ·
I asked about the right leg, and she checked it and said that it felt good. She acknowledged that it can come in pairs, but more often they never have to perform surgery on the other leg.

She prescribed Rimadyl for Flora right now which I really hate to have her on, but she has been on it before and done all right, and it's only for the time being, so oh well.
 
#22 ·
Flora is a Dichi pup right? I was just wondering who the sire and dam are since I just got a dichi pup as well. I hope this isn't something I should worry about but I will definitely be on the look out for similar problems
 
#24 ·
Oh, I doubt you should worry about anything, but her parents are Race and Shelby. I hope after I inform them that Flora also has a luxating patella that they do not breed those dogs anymore, but I guess that's up to them - and maybe I am being unrealistic.
 
#23 ·
Kdmarsh

KDMARSH

so SORRY you have to go through this right now when money is tight.
The Care Credit has worked for us and Smooch and now even though I lost my job, I still be able to make the payments every month-only have 5 months left.

Hope your little girl feels much better very soon!!!!
 
#28 ·
KD

please let us know how Flora is doing.
Oh, I'll definitely update on Flora after her surgery. Right now I have to be really careful to keep her calm - it's kind of sad... she can't really play outside anymore because every time she does, she slips her knee, so basically it's just little games inside and casual walks. :(

As for breeding the two dogs again... Race and Shelby were terrific dogs, and I'm sure your puppy will be just fine. :) Judging by the stats on the website that Pointgold posted, it's kind of rare to see this in golden retrievers. We just got lucky! ;)

I did email Dichi yesterday evening, and am interested to see what they say.
 
#30 ·
Poor Flora- and poor you! It is so hard to watch a loved pup struggle with something like this. Tango's elbows are making a popping sound this morning, and it makes me cringe. If Dichi is an excellent breeder, they should help you out with the surgery IMO.
 
#31 ·
I've been reading about Tango's ED problems... she had surgery in 2008 though, didn't she? Hopefully the popping sound is just a morning thing - my bones are always popping in the AM. :p: Flora's already gone down once this morning and she's only been up for 15 minutes! It's hard watching our pups hurt, but I suppose that's one of the trials of owning a dog.
 
#32 ·
Yes, Tango had a hugely successful surgery on both elbows- before that, she was hobbling in a pitiful way- so sad. Now, she has good range of motion and can run& play. Her left foreleg swings in a funny way that an AKC judge in obedience said no to her competing though, and she will have arthritis at some point. Her breeder refunded her entire purchase price. Since Dichi sells dogs as a business, it is really important for them to stand behind their program IMO. I hope they give your purchase price back to you so you can use it for surgery. Is there a puppy lemon law in Dichi's stae that might compel them? Is LP genetic?
 
#36 ·
It sounds like everyone is giving you good advice. The most important thing is that Flora keeps giving you signs.

It may also turn out that she has a weakness that comes and goes throughout her life but never becomes an issue other than you have to watch out for it.

Molson, who has hip dysplasia since he was a pup has a weakness in his right front leg, who on occasion would do something to it, something really little like either jumping from a bottom stair or stepping off a sidewalk wrong and then you would hear the yelp and then see him limp. But it always worked itself out.

I am hoping this is what is happening with Flora. Molson as a young pup would lie down at weird angles and cry(that clued me into the hip dysplasia) and by lifting him gently and through out his life (still to this day) I sometimes have to help him put his hips back into the socket.

Anyways, after this long winded response, talk to your vet. Make notes to yourself what Flora was doing before her cries and tell your vet. And if you need x-rays tell your vet you can't afford them and is there anyway they can lower the price. If you don't ask you will never know!

good luck with Flora :)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top