I need opinions, thoughts, guidance... anything.
 

Mahina started limping on her front right leg I'd say about three - four weeks ago. At first it was very subtle and ONLY after she had woken up or had been laying down for a period of time.

Her limping has gotten worse... but again it's not ALL the time but more noticeable and more often than before. Usually only after she's been laying down or resting after playing. And if she's sitting, sometimes she won't put her full weight on it or she'll lift it up completely.

I took her to the vet a week ago, of course she wasn't limping or anything at the vet. :rolleyes: Unfortunately, it wasn't her regular vet, and I'm not very fond of the one who did see her.

He felt her legs, she does have loose knees in the back and has had them since I brought her home. She's on Cosequin now to try and help the whole thing.
He didn't feel anything in her front legs, she didn't pull back, react in any way. Checked her paws for any signs of infection, stones, anything that would bother her. He didn't find anything and told me it could be from her jumping on and off the couch, which I'm trying to limit. (she does have a ramp for my bed though). He said maybe she sprained something or pulled or strained a muscle. I'm thinking she hurt herself jumping over the baby-gate which I did tell him about.

So, he prescribed Rymidal 25 mg. I give half once a day. Although I'm doing 1/4 every 12 hours cuz it seemed to strong for her, she was having diarrhea.

I don't know if the medicine is doing much, she's still limping, even an hour after I've given her medicine to her. He said to bring her back if it still continues for xrays.

Does anyone have any insight as to what this may be? Any thoughts as what to do next? I do plan to get xrays done after I've finished her medicine.

If you have been using the Rimadyl for awhile with no results, I would stop using it because it isn't too healthy, especially if not necessary.

Can you see your regular vet for the xrays?
It sounds like you aren't happy with this one at all.

Did your vet check her shoulder? Limping in the front legs often originates in the shoulder rather than the leg itself.

How bad are her knees? Luxating patellas force them to modify their gait to compensate and puts abnormal stress on other joints. If her knees are Grade 3 or 4, she needs surgery.

How old is Mahina? My Dixie is 12 years old and last year she started limping a little on her front leg and I started her on glucosamine and the limping went away. Have you checked her toenails and the pads of her feet? Sometimes if their toenails are to long it can cause them to limp or she could have something stuck in the pad of her foot.

I've been using the Rymidal for about a week. I havn't noticed it helping much. I've been worried about continuing to give it because of any problems with long term use of this medicine.

I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and see if I can get my regular vet to check her out. She's more thorough and always answers my questions, is extremely nice and doesn't interrupt me.

You know I honestly don't know if he checked her shoulder. He was kind of quick with it and then took her to the back to see her walk. He made it seem as though I was taking up his time. Which is why I'm definitely asking for her regular vet.

Neither vet gave an exact grade. They just said "they were slightly loose". Neither gave a "grade". I'll ask the next time she goes in, which will hopefully be this week.

The vet I'm not happy with said, that they make get worse when she gets older meaning surgery but right now it wasn't anything to worry about. Just keep her from jumping a lot. I had to ask him about glucosamine and he said yes go ahead and give it to her daily.

Mahina is almost 10 months old.
I cut her nails every two weeks, not that's not it.
I've checked her pads to see if there was anything and there's not. :(

I do have her on Cosequin, it's only been 4 days so I hope this really helps. I also hopes it helps in the long run with her loose knees.

Since she is only ten months old and her knees aren't that bad, that wouldn't be causing her limp. That would be something you would see over time as joints degenerated from abnormal stress.

Hopefully your regular vet will have some answers for you.

I hope so too. :( I just hate seeing her like this.
Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.

Hi, just a thought..
Mi dobberman pinch hurted his leg about 5 mnths back, and the docter fixed it and put a bandage on.
Now, he still limps even though he only had two stitches...
He was used to the leg being sore when the stitches were in, and since then completely stopped using his rear right leg.
I guess he thought that it might still be hurt?
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Momy to :aimeeyorkZet:aimeeyork

:animal37

My Josie had the same thing at about that age. It ended up being a pulled muscle and she eventually stopped limping. Good luck!!

Try an Epsom salt soak. Maybe she has a soft tissue injury from jumping off of something. About 1/8 cup in kitchen sink full of water for about 5 mins.

Since it has been going on a month, I think they definately need to xray it. I think they are reluctant to do that if they don\'t see the limp. I had the same problem with my Jack Russell. She is a jumper. But she started limping, sometimes even holding the whole leg up and walking on 3 legs -- but only occasionally. I took her to the vet several times for this over a period of a few months. She would never limp at the vets! I insisted on the xray the second visit. It showed nothing. The vet and I both guess it was a soft tissue injury of some kind. But he did not have much to go on since she never showed it bothered her at all when we were at his office. Drove me crazy! But she finally stopped and I have not seen a limp in almost a year now. So, whatever it was, she worked through it with no help from us. :confused:

her limping seems to have lessened the past few days. I\'m watching her really closely and trying to keep her from jumping.

I\'m most likely going to get her xrayed anyway, just for ease of mind and because of the what ifs...

I\'ll update this as soon as I figure something out.

Update
 

So here\'s a little update.
Mahina will be going in for Xrays in a few hours. I have to leave her there because she\'s going to be sedated :(.
I\'m nervous, but she\'s been under before so she\'s going to be okay.

Just keep her in your thoughts please. I really hope there\'s nothing wrong with her shoulder except for a strained muscle or something.

I\'ll post again with results from the vet.