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Post by Tom Meulman on Dec 9, 2015 15:27:23 GMT 10
Hi Daina AZ,
I'm sorry to hear your boy has hurt himself so severely, and yes old greyhounds regularly forget they are old, do stupid stuff a youngster would have problems with and in the process unfortunately can do severe damage.
With the symptoms you have described it could be a number of injuries including joint capsule damage where the front leg joins the shoulder blade, or even a fracture in the shoulder blade itself.
My recommendation would be to allow the area to settle down with complete rest and with no physiotherapy other that gently massaging a liniment such as Zheng Gu Shi to the shoulder blade, the area where the front leg joins the blade, as well as the area between the top of the shoulder blade and the upper spine.
Do this twice daily for three days, nothing for three days, and then repeat that treatment for another three sessions of three day on and three days off.
The problem of course is that the older you get the slower the healing process is and it could therefore take a another month of treatment and complete rest for that type of injury to recover to the stage where the dog is comfortable again.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by jack on Mar 13, 2016 5:01:37 GMT 10
i got up this morning to find my 11?year old rescue Geoff unable to put weight on his front left leg. The area around the wrist/ankle seems swollen. He doesn't react when it's touched but seems veery uncomfortable and is breathing heavily as though in pain any solutions please.
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Post by Tom Meulman on Mar 15, 2016 4:41:40 GMT 10
Hi Jack,
There can be a number of reasons for swelling to occur and these can range from an injury involving bone or soft tissue damage or both, as well as insect bites or stings, or a small deep puncture wound that has has become infected.
Therefore in the first instance having the problem checked out by a vet rather quickly is always best, as they are also able to supply whatever medication may be required.
If it is a simply sprain or strain injury that involves swelling, cold pack or immerse in cold water for five to ten minutes at a time, at least four times daily will see the swelling reduce dramatically or disappear over a 24 hour period.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Darcie983 on May 29, 2016 14:17:01 GMT 10
Hi Tom!
I have an almost 9 y/o greyhound who hasn't had the best year as of late. He was diagnosed with spinal meningitis and myelitis via MRI in December, arthritis (a couple years ago). The swelling around his brain stem and spinal cord was incredible and not in a good way. No wonder my dog was screaming as he moved. After 6 months on predisone, we have finally been able to drop his dosage to 5mg a day instead from gradually dropping from 30 to now 5mg. He is going bald but he no longer screams in pain and seemed to be 75-80% back to normal. We didn't think we would get this much longer with him with such a grim diagnosis in December.
Our new concern is that out of the blue, a lump appeared on his left hind leg- 2 inches above his hock. It was on the outside and has moved slightly inside. We suspected Achilles, ACL or some other tendon damage and we now ice it 2-3 times a day for 20 minutes. Of course x-rays don't show that and my husband was able to look at them with the vet. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Now EVERY TIME he gets up, he limps on his right leg and won't put weight on it. After a few minutes his leg returns to normal. I thought at first that maybe his leg as falling asleep since we ice his other leg as often as we can with the lump.
We are going to take him to the specialists that diagnosed his meningitis/myelitis in a few weeks but my biggest fear is that either the previous diagnosis is returning or that he may have osteosarcoma since the lump came out of nowhere.
I know this seems like an all over the place type of problem which with my boy Lou, it's just who he is. Do you have any advice from my craziness?
Thanks
Darcie
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Post by Tom Meulman on May 29, 2016 21:36:40 GMT 10
Hi Darcie983,
I'm sorry but it's extremely difficult to come up with any answers in such a situation. Without even worrying about anything new that may be going wrong, the current symptoms could certainly be attributed to side effects from the prednisone medication.
Prednisolone side effects can include swelling in a particular area as a result of even minor trauma such as a knock that would normally only cause a little bit of bruising. In addition it can also reduce the blood flow to some muscle groups to the extent that it can cause temporary weakness or stiffness in a limb.
Certainly investigate the situation in regard to anything else that may be causing these symptoms, but from my point of view and experience with corticosteroid medication is that the sooner it can be discontinued the better. I know that in some situations you simply have no choice, but in the long term some of the side effects, in particularly when coming off this medication, can create worrying transient health problems.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Sue on Oct 16, 2016 2:34:26 GMT 10
Our 10 year old female greyhound hit her front leg around the wrist area. The vet xrayed the leg and there is no cancer or broken bones. The vet put her on metacam and although we try to keep her down there is swelling. I keep a tensor bandage on it as much as possible. Is there anything more we can do. Where the wrist goes up towards the knee area there is a hole which does indicate the ligament has torn and without surgery to replace the ligament.
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Post by Tom Meulman on Oct 17, 2016 5:36:24 GMT 10
Hi Sue,
Unfortunately it's going to take several weeks for the injury to stabilize enough so that any ongoing swelling becomes minimal. The things that help to reduce swelling in the mean time are placing the limb in cold water three times daily for five minutes, and/or the application of an anti inflammatory cream twice daily.
While anti inflammatory creams can be very effective the main problem with those is that it is just about impossible to stop the dog from licking it off, and as such you should not use creams that contain ibuprofen as that is one drug that while effective for humans can be extremely dangerous for dogs.
A small quantity of Voltaren gel gently rubbed into the area where the injury occurred may help, however while not as toxic as Ibuprofen it's still best if your girl does not lick the area for at least an hour afterwards.
As always if you are not sure if active drug in the cream you are about to use is safe for your dog under the the specific circumstances it will be used, double check with your vet.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Amanda on Nov 27, 2016 6:08:15 GMT 10
I have a 12 year old greyhound. When we got him 7 years ago we understood he had a racing injury to his legs but apart from noting that his back left leg was at an angle there was no other signs. About six months ago he started showing signs of pain and was diagnosed with arthritis and put on meteacam. He improved for a while and then about four weeks ago started to limp, just a little at first and then he almost suddenly started to hop about on three legs but was in good spirits. About a week ago we noted he had developed a lump on his leg also - at the knee - at this time we stopped him doing walks, letting him out into the garden only which appeared to be fine. The lump doesn't appear to be painful on touching, but we noted today that the leg has started to buckle if load bearing - we had taken him on a short walk, but at this point my husband picked him up and carried him home. When lying down he is his old self, he is still eating, still barks in the morning; but as of today he is very unsteady and reluctant to move about, albeit looks beautifully relaxed and at peace lying down. We will keep him at rest Sunday and take him to the vets on Monday evening, but if you have any advice we would be grateful. We know we have been privelledged to have had such a geourgeous boy and don't want him to suffer - nor do we want to call time on him too eary if there is any way forward for him.
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Post by Tom Meulman on Nov 27, 2016 13:55:30 GMT 10
Hi Amanda,
That certainly does not sound real good as a sudden onset such as that often indicates a severe problem. Until he has been to the vet and the problem fully diagnosed the only thing you can do is to provide pain relief if you have some Metacam available, and provide assistance if required for him to relieve himself.
Wish you and your boy the best of luck for Monday night and pray it's something that can be easily solved without surgery and possibly prolonging time spent in pain.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Trav on Dec 18, 2016 12:46:34 GMT 10
Hi Tom.
I have an 11 year old greyhound that has had a bad limp in her left hind leg for the past 2 weeks. I have taken her to the vet several times however they can't seem to find a cause. She is very tight in her left hip and shows pain when it is stretched. Xrays have come back good as well as blood tests. anti-inflammatory and pain relief only seem to mask the problem. I quite often catch her licking at her left leg of recent. Any suggestions on what it may be and the next action to take?
Thanks Trav
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Post by Tom Meulman on Dec 19, 2016 4:25:57 GMT 10
Hi Trav,
It's in situations such as this that I really wish I was able to personally examine the greyhound myself instead of having to guess at what may be wrong.
The problem of course is that there is a number of injuries that can cause limping on a hind leg, and unfortunately many require some experience in examining a greyhound for injuries to be able to diagnose the cause with some certainty.
Firstly, while I'm sure the pads of the toes of the left hind foot would have been examined by your vet, the most common cause of limping is still either a foreign object in a pad, a corn in a toe pad, or joint damage at top joint of a toe. In particularly this can affect the outside toe of the left hind foot. So it certainly doesn't do any harm to carefully examine these with the dog laying down and with a magnifying glass if necessary. The thing to look for is a pad that may be a little swollen, or has a very tiny weepy spot, or in the case of a corn a slightly raised area in the pad that feels very hard. Then to make certain that the pad is OK after carefully examining it place firm rubbing type pressure on the pad. Then check the outside toe joint by first placing pressure under the pad and pushing the toe upwards towards the knee, and then carefully bending it downward and backwards.
Ignoring joint and bone injuries or illness as these would have been checked for by the vet having taken X-rays, other than bone injuries there is really only one muscle injury on the hind leg that can cause limping, and with one of the symptoms a tight muscle area around the hip muscles, and that is muscle damage in the body or at the top of the left thigh muscles. Or as any footballers would describe it as a severe "corky". This injury will also cause pain on having the hind limb stretched out not only backwards, but more so when straightened firmly by pushing the knee backwards and the hock forward with the limb off the ground.
To find that type of injury carefull pressure and palpitation of the muscle in the thigh area is necessary, especially checking for tight painful areas at the top of the muscle.
There is not much else that I can suggest which could be causing the limping, and if perhaps it is caused by a muscle injury in the thigh as alway the application of heat, gentle deep massage, and the application of a warmth producing liniment twice daily would resolve the issue over a couple of weeks. Pad or toe joint pain or injury found would require referring back to your vet for treatment and advice.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Kim Baardolf on Jan 9, 2017 3:08:51 GMT 10
Hi Tom,my greyhound has a limp on the front left leg ,her third toe goes out of joint when walking -running I put the toe straight again and she has no more problems for a little time and goes out crooked again it seems that joint is wore out.The outside temp is -20 daily and we put on boots and a coat to protect her the best we can, we are using heat on the neck-shoulder area and rest, as we usually walk daily 1 klm 2 times a day but are not walking due to cold. Should we take her to the vet or wait it out for 2 weeks. Kim.
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Post by Tom Meulman on Jan 9, 2017 16:42:40 GMT 10
Hi Kim,
The problem of course is that the toe joint ligaments have been damaged some time in the past to the extent that it can never heal to be a stable sound joint again no matter what treatment is done other than some very expensive microsurgery or surgery to "fuse the joint.
Providing it's the toe joint itself that it causing her to limp only when the joint pops out there is no need to rush her off to the vet, and you can get a vets opinion whenever the opportunity presents itself.
The only thing I can suggest to minimize the joint dislocating due to pressure on the toe, is to place a soft but firm rubber band around the second and the third toes so that they are held firmly together just in behind the front toe pad whenever she is taken for a walk or allowed to have a gallop.
A suitable band the right size and cut to a width of around 15mm wide can be cut off the fingers of the type of rubber gloves often used in kitchens when washing dishes. These are even available "flock lined" which provides a softer surface where it touches the dogs toes.
Other than that you will have to be guided by your vet in regard to any surgical solutions that may be available in stabilizing the toe joint.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by HUTCH on Feb 25, 2017 4:00:42 GMT 10
Hello and good day to all greyhound lovers,
Our precious hall of famer greyhound ex-racer Princess (Jawa Vodka, race name)of 71/2 was put down on Feb 21st, 2017. I knew something was terribly wrong when she started limping on her right hind-leg and couldn't get down the stairs. I cried and prayed over, but I knew it in my soul and the X-rays confirmed what I was so dreading to hear, Osteosarcoma. Cancer had taken over her whole leg and spreading fast. I believe this was from steroids they injected in her for racing. She was so cheated and never asked for anything in return, but love which she got plenty of all of us. She was so buff and never gained weight in all those years. She was the baddest bitch I've ever met and could take some serious pain so I knew she was really hurting. I wasn't going to watch her suffer or chance her fracturing her leg or having it spread to her lungs. She meant way too much to us for that. The hardest thing to do is think of your precious baby suffering and making the choice to put her down. You need to pray and feel what's right in your heart. Only you know what's the best for your loved one. She touched our souls like no other creature I've ever met. This was not just a dog as others love to think. This was the closest we've ever felt to actually being touched by God's infinite and perfect love. I can't stop crying and her husband hound Thunder (racing name Poplar)is devastated. The house has no life now. Every morning we were greeted by two hyper hounds ready for their morning walk. Now, the house has no life. She ran the show for all of us. So I understand everyone of your concerns and I pray for you all and that you don't have to go through what we went through, but at one point you will have to deal with death and it really kills inside. Hug your hound while you still can. I didn't even grieve this much when my dad died. Every time I go downstairs or see him I cry. I feel so bad his companion is gone now. They did everything together. Every time the fire station siren goes off and I don't hear her howl to it I cry. Whenever I picture her running around and getting him going so we can all go bye, bye I cry. We all put her down and her heart was so strong it took like 4 shots. Make sure you pay extra for sedation. Her legs were shaking as she limped in. I felt she could smell what was about to happen. It went perfect under the circumstances though. She went out peacefully as we all cried and said our good-byes. I'm so sick of crying. It's just not the same without my baby girl. I miss her so much beyond words. It will never be the same again in this house. The life is gone. She was truly a gift from God. God bless and Godspeed to all of you and your precious greyhounds. Love them and tell everyone you love how much they mean to you while you still can. She taught us so much about life. God bless my baby girl Princess forever. Hutch
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Post by Pete on Mar 10, 2017 13:35:09 GMT 10
Hi, I've been reading this site and it's such a great resource for greyhound owners. My greyhound Hume is 11 and developed a slight limp last week. He seemed to get over it, but then a few days ago it came back and is worse. I took him to the vet today and he was able to isolate the pain to the shoulder. He took x-rays of the shoulder and saw nothing wrong, the area looked great. He said it's most likely a soft tissue injury and gave him some rimadyl, i was relieved. I get home and go on Google and see sites saying this sort of thing is almost always osteosarcoma, and now I'm very worried. How accurate is that? What should I do or look for or be aware of? What would the symptoms be vs a soft tissue injury?
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Post by Tom Meulman on Mar 10, 2017 19:08:13 GMT 10
Hi Pete,
While it's true that soft tissue injuries as a general rule do not cause limping unless it involves tendon/ligament damage,or painful damage to a muscle that operates a ligament, severe muscle spasms to the base of he neck, or damage to the upper section of a saddle muscle can certainly make a dog limp on a front leg.
So I certainly would not jump to the conclusion at this early stage that it is anything life threatening or severe. What I would like you to do is to start some gentle but penetrating massage of the base of both sides of the neck by simply standing in front of the dog, lowering his head a little so that you can reach over him and then by placing the fingers of each hand on the side of the neck and with the thumbs of both hands side by side in the midfle of neck softly grab hold of the neck muscles of each side and rub up and down at the lower end of the neck taking the skin of the neck with you.
About 20 up and down strokes each day for three days will help to relieve spasms in this area.
Then while straddling the lower back of the dog reach forward and place the fingers of each hand to the sides of the saddle muscles, again with the thumbs towards the middle of the back but in this case they are to slide backwards and forwards as close as possible to the spine in that area, and again taking the skin with you rub forward and rearward while pushing down gently on the muscle tissue with the palm of your hand and with the thumbs pressing down firmly close to each side of the spine working from about the centre of the saddle muscles to right up close to the base of the neck.
Again about 20 to 25 forward and backward strokes for three days will help to relieve muscle spasm in this area, and this effect can be improved by applying a heat producing liniment to the areas after completion of the massaging.
If the limping is caused by muscle spasms or soft tissue problems in either area at the end of the three days of massage you should start to see some improvements in the dogs gait. If not, a further examination by the vet to isolate the exact location of the injury causing the limping would certainly be indicated, and areas to take particular note of would include the spine of the scapula (shoulder blade) and the area of the joint where the front limb connects to the shoulder blade.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Pete on Mar 11, 2017 16:05:35 GMT 10
Thanks for the great information. I will definitely try that. Thankfully his limp is 80% better today.
I originally thought it was the foot, because of the way he was holding it and sometimes biting at it, but the vet couldn't get a pain response down there. His nails were very long though and they cut them really well when he was under yesterday. He was pretty shaky last night and so i just let him rest. I did notice that one of his toe pads was swollen and red. This morning when he woke up he did a test step and found it wasn't very painful, so he walked around and limped a little but not enough to deter him from doing his normal stuff and with far less pain. He was moving around pretty well and even came upstairs without hesitation twice to take his naps in his upstairs bed. It could be the rimadyl,but i suspect he's feeling much better. There's still the shoulder pain he had yesterday though. Is it possible for long nails and some type of pad injury because of them to cause the limping and shoulder pain. Thanks again for the great information!
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Post by Tom Meulman on Mar 12, 2017 4:52:48 GMT 10
Thanks for the update Pete.
With the long nails and the sore pad just about sorted it sounds like your boy is on the mend, and it makes me feel more confident that massaging the neck and saddle is going to help further in reducing the shoulder pain as the quickest way for a greyhound to suffer spasms in that area is to have him unbalanced on his feet due to trying to avoid putting a lot of pressure on one of his feet, and radial nerve pain from the spine in that area radiates down the shoulders.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Pete on Mar 12, 2017 5:40:31 GMT 10
Thanks Tom,
I've been doing the shoulder massages and he seems to enjoy it. Today he woke up and is basically back to normal; playing and throwing his squeaky toy around and catching it. Thanks again for the help and suggestions, you do a great service. It really set my mind at ease! Now to make sure i don't let those nails ever get that long again. Take care
Pete
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Post by Mary on Aug 9, 2017 3:22:08 GMT 10
Hi Tom, we have had our rescue greyhound for six months now and one of her front legs points outwards at an angle of 45 degrees. She was like that when we saw her at the rescue kennels. It is now getting to the point where if she starts to run, she will then limp heavily and hold it up. I have checked her over carefully and cant find any foreign bodies etc and am assuming this is an old racing injury that wasn't taken care of by a vet. This was probably why they stopped racing her, she is 6 in November. Would it be advisable for my vet to give her an xray and do you think if it is an untreated fracture there might be a possibility of resetting it - even now? Thanks for this great forum, some great info, feel for those too, on here who have lost their beloved hounds.
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