Dog gets wobbly legs after hard run

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Racheal
Guest

Dog gets wobbly legs after hard run May 13, 2013 21:51:04 GMT 10

Post by Racheal on May 13, 2013 21:51:04 GMT 10

Hi Tom,

We are now into training our 3rd greyhound do still relatively new to the industry. We have a bitch that around 1-2 minutes after a race gets jelly back legs and looks like she is going to collapse. After a good dose of water and cool down she returns to normal and looks like she could race again.

We have been asking everyone we know what we can do to stop it and they can't provide us with an answer. Given you helped us out with our first dog I thought it was time to contact you.

Any information on how to treat her will be invaluable.

Regards
Racheal

Tom Meulman
Administrator

Posts: 1,183

Dog gets wobbly legs after hard run May 14, 2013 20:23:04 GMT 10

Post by Tom Meulman on May 14, 2013 20:23:04 GMT 10

Hi Racheal,

Without going into any exotic reasons for this occuring, there are unfortunately a range of causes for a greyhound to be “wobbly” after a hard run, and without a full examination of the greyhound + a full racing blood profile it is impossible for me to diagnose the exact cause.

Common causes:
Not quite fit enough to handle the current distance.
Low grade muscle injury in the hamstrings or back muscles.
Reduced nerve supply to hind limbs due to spasm around the L6-7/S1 spinal area.
Low grade dehydration.
Electrolyte imbalance including low ionised calcium level.
Low red cell count.

Cheers,
Tom

Everything that happens to a greyhound can only happen because of an action or inaction by its carer, so don’t blame the greyhound when it all goes wrong.