Enzo limping :(
 

Enzo is 14 months old & my teapot at around 11lbs. He started to limp on Saturday just out of the blue. He's a highly active little bear who never sits still. Long legs like a gazelle :) He's signed up for agility training in the new year because he loves to run & jump He has a vet appointment this afternoon.

well hoping its only a light sprain....sending prayers. let us know how he makes out.

I hope he's is ok. Make sure he doesn't have Luxating Pattella before starting agility because it could really hurt him if he has LP.

No agility training for Enzo :( He's been diagnosed with Grade II Luxating Patella :( I'm just a little shocked, he's had NO issues leading up to Saturday. She has put him on a 5 day anti inflammatory liquid & will do X-rays after that. The trick all week will be keeping this highly active little one rested! He never sits still!

poor guy, good luck

Just to put your mind at ease a bit, my Libby was diagnosed with grade 2 at about a year old. She, like Enzo, showed no symptoms up until she was limping. My vet told me to keep her skinny and I also gave her Flexicose, and she quit limping after about a week and hasn't had a problem since and she is near 7 years old now. Hope that is also how it goes for Enzo!

Well this will help me sleep tonight at least :) I will look into Flexicose, it can't hurt by the sounds of it - I'm hoping surgery is not necessary :(

He shouldn't need surgery at grade 2. I know some vets jump into it, but unless he continues to be in pain and doesn't get better, he shouldn't need surgery. Flexicose is a liquid glucosamine complex. I went with that because that stuff had done wonders for my sister's yorkie. He went from a crippled up little guy, to acting like a puppy again, after being on it. Flexicose has a pet formula, but it is the same as the human formula, with the only difference being dosage. I am no longer giving it to Libby, but when I did, I found it cheaper on ebay than the actual Flexicose site.

Poor Enzo... and you, with all the concern he gave you. Glad to hear that you got an answer on what was causing Enzo to limp. So glad to hear that other YTers have posted the same and have given you comfort regarding his future and hopefully no surgery needed. With the long legs and the fact the he never stays still, I wonder whether he was a gazelle in his past life. haha

Once he has healed up. Swimming would be so great for him. Gives him tons of exercise and very safe on the joints. You can even teach him to retrieve a toy. Some cities have underwater treadmills for dogs and they are absolutely fabulous in the recovery, and strength building process. If you go to Yorkie Videos both Britster and I have posted lots of swimming and dock diving videos, and AlaskaMike has one of his boy doing underwater treadmill work too.

INSTEAD of agility, think instead about field work of some nature, scent tracking, as an example, there are many fun performance sports out there you can do with your dog!

Once he builds up some muscle tone, consider dock jumping it is a real blast, and because the dog is landing in the water the stress on the joints is very minimal.

Another fun game for him that will burn off calories is " Find Your Toy" You hide toys around the living room kitchen whatever, and he gets to find it. Oh course lots of fun and good rewards on the finding!

You can also try to teach the Touch . Send command. Sit/Beg/Sit/Stand is wonderfull to build up the spinal muscles, the buttock muscles, and leaves alone the elbow joints. Youtube videos is you search out will help you on the steps to building up to these fun activities with your dog.

I honestly think he thinks he's a gazelle! ;)

It's been a long few days of trying to keep him rested and off his leg...The anti inflammatory seems to be helping some what but towards bedtime he struggles. He misses his walks big time - and hasn't been sleeping the best at bedtime cause he has all this extra energy.

I will try "Hide the toy" tonight, keep his mind active at least. Unfortunatly the other suggestions are not do able this time of year where I am in Canada, way to cold!

Are there any other games, mind stimulation activities anyone can suggest? It breaks my heart when he brings me his toy to play fetch and I have to say no :(

sorry to hear about enzo// morgan has grade 2 LP too but so far no surgery

While Grade 2 is not usually operated on with an older pup; my surgeon does recommend it in the young ones. Not sure what the cutoff age is. The reason for that is that a luxating patella will wear on the cruciate ligament over time....so that when they are older, the surgeons don't recommend the surgery because at that point the ligament already has some wear and tear. Of course some pups never do tear that ligament but it can and does frequently happen. If they do surgery on luxating patella, often the pup will tear the ligament and necessitate another surgery...more pain for the pup and more money for the owner. In a younger pup, if the luxating patella is repaired, it reduces the risk of a torn cruciate later on.

I always recommend that a board certified surgeon see a pup because they are less apt to recommend surgery than some regular vets (some of which are too eager to operate on LP).....BUT they also may recommend it in a young one for the reason I stated above.

A link about cruciate tears:

http://www.yorkiehavenrescue.com/cruciateligament.html

I hope that all turns out well for Enzo!

Good Timing for you & Enzo!
 

I know it is disappointing to drop the plans for the agility training, but I'm glad you found out about his leg problem Before the training began, otherwise you may have thought the course work over-did his leg and made it all worse. Do keep an eye on Enzo's poops for any signs of 'tiny red flecks' if he ends up having any surgery. Taffy's surgeon warned me of this symptom after his broken leg surgery; it means the anti-inflammatory med has irritated his digestive tract and has started to cause bleeding...just like the t.v. advertisements warn humans about if they take anti-inflammatory meds.! Sure enough, after 4 days, I spotted tiny red flecks and called the surgeon. I had to stop Taff's anti-inflammatory med, and continued with his pain med. I hope Enzo responds well to his anti-inflammatory med, but do ask if it has any secondary additives that could cause bleeding, hopefully not. (I can take plain glucosamine, but not the brands that contain 'sulfate additives' which most contain. It makes my stomach lining sore!)
I know it is hard to keep Enzo quiet. We had to put Taffy in a small crate in our den for a couple 'enforced rest periods' after his surgery. The vet told us what he was allowed to do as he returned for his check-ups every 4-6 weeks.
Best wishes, Sue & Taffy