Our dog has been limping off and on for 5 months

MSG · 10-31-2006, 12:38 AM

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum, but hopefully i'll be able to get some insight into this weird problem:

We have a small terrier mix dog that has been limping on and off his front leg for quite some time now. We originally thought that he might have injured it somehow by playing -- although he's quite old, 10 human years, he's still very active and playful. Anyhow, after a month went by and nothing changed, we decided to take him to a vet. The vet ran some x-rays, and found nothing to suggest a fracture or broken bone, but said it could either be a sprain, or maybe cancer. We were a little saddened to hear that, but hopeful that the new leg brace would keep him off his leg and eventually heal a possible sprain. Anyhow, after a month and a half on the brace, we took it off, and noticed that he was still limping while holding up his sore front leg. The odd thing is, sometimes it would go, and then some days, it would seem like he would be completely fine. This went on and off for 3 months, but for the most part, he would be limping.

A few weeks ago, my parents changed his diet from Purina's Moist and Meaty, to another brand of dog food. Miraculously, after a week, he seems to be totally fine! He's running around like nothing ever happened, and jumping like a puppy! We don't quite understand what happened, but I'd like to take him back to the vet for a second opinion. I was just wondering if anyone on here has ever heard of anything like this before.

Oh, one other thing, our dog does have an abcessed tooth, and we were beginning to think maybe the infected tooth had caused a bacterial infection in his leg, or that maybe a tick had caused some kind of infection in his leg; we were planning on getting a blood test done before his leg got much better. Anyhow, is this something that is remotely plausible?

Much thanks and aloha for any words of advice.

Dulce · 10-31-2006, 02:12 AM

It's more than likely arthritis. Have you taken him to the vet? Did I miss that part on your post?

In such an elderly dog, it's probably arthritis. There are suplliments your dog can take to ease the pain. The Vet can also suggest a few things to you. I would call your local vet if you can

blackgavotte · 10-31-2006, 07:40 AM

You should also take care of that abscessed tooth. That is painful enough, but its true then the infection can spread to any place in the body. He likely needs a good teeth cleaning and some teeth pulled and don't freak out if the vet takes teeth out, if they have to go, so be it. I am also surprised that your vet did not look for simple arthritis. The xrays don't always show it, but ask him about simple antiinflammatory drugs for that if it starts up again, which it might now that winter is coming. He needs a good, seniors dog going over now, with his advancing years.

MSG · 10-31-2006, 02:04 PM

Thanks for the response guys. We were thinking it could be bone cancer, but it seems that bone cancer is progressive and acute. After 5 months, our dog just goes on and off his leg. He's never in pain, unless you start touching and prodding his leg, then he'll let out a whimper. For the most part, he's always been happy and fine in this time.

We're going to get the tooth taken care of. The vet originally looked at it several months ago and said we should just wait since it looked like it would fall out on its own.

LoveLilly · 11-01-2006, 10:55 AM

Your vet said to just wait on an abscessed tooth to fall out on its own? That would be bothersome to me. Are you sure its his leg and not something lodged in his pads?

One of my cats sprained his leg a long time ago and from time to time will limp or hold it up if he plays rough and re-injures it. In that case it will always be susceptible to re-injury very easily.

dani715 · 11-01-2006, 01:24 PM

If I were you I would request a chest xray to be sure there is no cancer. It is most likely arthritis but I think everything should be evaluated to be sure.

drfong · 11-01-2006, 01:28 PM

Just a guess, but as a person who has arthritis and a long family history of it, Diet does have an effect on symptoms. A change of diet can have an effect, so without more info I would guess that could be it. If the dog is doing really well on the new food I would stick with it. As others have said, get the tooth taken care of and I would assume that blood work would give a clearer picture. Arthritis shows up in the blood in humans.

MSG · 11-02-2006, 08:47 PM

Thanks everyone! Yes, the DVM said to just hold off until the tooth falls out, which he thought would happen soon, otherwise, it would cost us $3-400 to have them do it. So, we decided to hold off on it, because our dog didn't seem to be bothered by it. I didn't know this until I spoke with my sister about the forum postings, but afterwards, the vet did prescribe a round of antibiotics to help heal the abcessed tooth and get rid of any lingering infection.

Lodged in his pads? Never thought of that, but i'm sure it's not, since his forearm was quite swollen before. My mom told me it got swollen to the size of a small walnut. The swelling is no longer there, and he is now okay and fine.

I hope to have an update on this sometime in the future. For now, we're going to wait for a month or two to monitor his progress. Hope it doesn't develop into something more serious, knock on wood.

Again, much thanks, everyone!

MSG · 01-08-2007, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drfong

Just a guess, but as a person who has arthritis and a long family history of it, Diet does have an effect on symptoms. A change of diet can have an effect, so without more info I would guess that could be it. If the dog is doing really well on the new food I would stick with it. As others have said, get the tooth taken care of and I would assume that blood work would give a clearer picture. Arthritis shows up in the blood in humans.

Hello folks,

I just wanted to post an update: After a complete check up by an orthopaedic surgeon, including X-rays, it was determined that our dog has arthritis. The surgeon had said that it was rare for small terriers to develop osteosarcoma, and was positive it wasn't bone cancer, but did the x-rays anyhow. The arthritis was secondary to some trauma that was caused to our dog's leg -- probably via rough play. Anyhow, so far our dog is doing much better on his own, and has been running around like nothing is wrong.

Anyhow, i'd like to thank everyone for their feedback. Hope you guys all do well with your pets.