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Post by Tom Meulman on Aug 10, 2017 9:01:16 GMT 10
Hi Mary,
Yes there is no doubt that with the leg turned out that far there is certainly an underlying injury, and would best be further investigated by your vet.
It's an unfortunate fact of life that when a greyhound gets close to the end of its racing career, or if an injury ends its career, far too often only basic treatment and first aid is carried out to make the dog comfortable and little is done to repair any injury that may require expensive surgery which would not result in the greyhound returning to racing successfully.
Hopefully it something that can be controlled by anti inflammatory medication.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Conny on Sept 8, 2017 22:01:56 GMT 10
Hi there,
one of my retired racers - 7 year old Molly - has been limping on her front right leg since January 2017. The year before, she had the outside toe on that leg amputated in about August 2016, this was because she had dislocated it and chipped the toe joined a few months prior and it never healed and she dislocated it on a weekly basis at much pain. The amputation took some weeks to heal, but by October/November 2016 she was walking normal and we started letting her run off lead again occasionally.
In early January 2017 she started limping after a particularly vigorous run on wet grass. We initially tried to give her rest and it seemed to get marginally better, but it didn't go away. She then had metacam and rest prescribed for an extended period by the vet in February. It was identified that the toe next to the one that was amputated hurts her when pressure is applied to the pad and was the cause of the limp. Again, it only made a very small difference. Following that, the VET recommended an x-ray.
They identified a corn in that pad and also incidentally in her back right leg and removed them and stitched the pads on front and back legs. As the pads were healing, the back one quickly recovered and she walked as normal on it, whilst the limp on the front was exactly the same as before and she has continued to limp since. I have tried bandaging it for comfort when out walking and it makes a small difference. When standing, Molly often holds her leg up, even standing on something soft, i.e. her bed. It is still pressure on the pad that seems to cause the pain. Is it possible that there is something in the pad? I would have thought that the vet would have seen it on x ray and be able to remove it at the same time as the corn. Any other ideas? To be honest, I always thought it strange that the corn would cause the limp as it started suddenly after a run. Many thanks!
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Post by Tom Meulman on Sept 9, 2017 5:45:18 GMT 10
Hi Conny,
It's so frustrating when one of the dogs you care for has an injury that obviously is hurting them, and you can't fix it.
The unfortunate situation is that limping on a front limb can have so many different causes, such as damage to the shoulder joint where the front limb joins the shoulder blade, the elbow joint often sustains ligament damage, or damage to the small bones in the front of the wrist joint at the base of the radius, and then the lposibility of ligament damage to ligaments at the rear of the wrist joint around the stopper bone that hold the wrist stable when the dog puts pressure on the leg.
However in Molly's case it is still most likely related to damage in the the joint of the toe that has taken the pressure after the outside toe was removed, and most likely due to ligament and/or sesamoid damage in that joint. While unlkely the other possibility is that the toe tendon of the toe that was removed or the base of the metacarpal that the toe was connected to is still causing pain due to the tendon retracting or roughness in the lower end of the metacarpal pressing on the soft tissue that surrounds it. While certainly possible it's also unlikely that there is still a foreign object in the pad, and if that was the case it should have been fairly easily detected.
Either way the only treatment that could have a positive effect at this point in time due to the extreme difficulty of pinpointing the exact location of source of the pain is to massage the whole area twice daily with a suitable anti inflammatory cream for at least two weeks.
Because the most effective creams available would most likely require a script, and to select a suitable cream that would not cause problems if Molly licked the area, it would still be best if you could obtain this from your vet, or at least seek their advice on a suitable cream.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Donna on Sept 29, 2017 20:18:02 GMT 10
My darling big boy Vito blackie has gone in for xray this morning. Been on tramadol and carprofen for 5 days, was just carprofen for two weeks prior.
His front right leg has gone from just dangling to sort of putting weight on it. But he seems to have sort of little limps in the back legs too.
Before he got the tramadol he was literally hopping on two legs.
He is still eating and asking out and seems quite happy, but he is such a big gorgeous hound it is awful seeing him like this.
He is 11 and retired when he was 2, due to a back leg injury and he has always peed like a girl as can't lift back leg.
It's a case of waiting for the results now. I'm praying so much xxxxxx
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Post by Tom Meulman on Sept 30, 2017 4:37:30 GMT 10
I am so sorry to hear that Donna, I will add my prayers to yours.
My best wishes,
Tom
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Post by Summer on Mar 14, 2018 6:14:26 GMT 10
Hi I have a 3 year old greyhound she is a rescue pup and therefore has old injuries. Today she isn't able to put any weight on her left hind leg and is whimpering in pain when she does so. She has allowed us to gently check her leg and we have found swelling on her knee joint. Could this be from old injuries or is it somthing else?
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Post by Tom Meulman on Mar 14, 2018 20:09:38 GMT 10
Hi I have a 3 year old greyhound she is a rescue pup and therefore has old injuries. Today she isn't able to put any weight on her left hind leg and is whimpering in pain when she does so. She has allowed us to gently check her leg and we have found swelling on her knee joint. Could this be from old injuries or is it somthing else? Hi Summer, Swelling in that area generally indicates either ligament and/or bone damage and will require an X-ray to properly diagnose the exact nature of the injury and a suitable course of action. Which will of course require the services of your veterinarian. It is highly unlikely that this is the result of an old injury as the onset of the problem has been too sudden, with an old injury it would have been a situation of progressingly becoming worse over a period of time. I can only hope she has managed to hit her knee somehow and the swelling and pain is caused by severe bruising rather than bone or ligament damage, and the problem is easily fixed with rest and anti inflammatory treatment. Cheers, Tom |
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Post by Jo on Mar 23, 2018 0:38:34 GMT 10
Hi
I have a 4 year old male retired greyhound called Sooty who has a swollen back right hock joint and a limp. He injured it chasing rabbits 11 days ago - I didn't see what he did as he was out of sight but I heard a yip, he continued jumping about after rabbits but after we caught him and put him back on the lead he got progressively slower and more lame on the way home. I had some metacam at home so put him straight on it as he'd previously had a limp in that leg diagnosed as a hip injury (thought he'd just done same again)
2 days later the joint was swollen and hot but he wasn't in any noticeable discomfort or distress just lame when in the house, walking on it (gingerly) when out so we continued with metacam and short lead walks. Heat and swelling now gone down but joint still swollen on the inside - still lame. What could he have done and what sort of treatments am I looking at? Does he need Xray/ support bandages and how long can I expect healing to take? Should I just be patient or should I be seeking a greyhound vet? He allows us to flex the leg and to touch the joint without flinching.
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Post by Tom Meulman on Mar 23, 2018 4:07:26 GMT 10
Hi Jo, There are several small bones in the hock joint, and while it’s impossible to be sure without an X-ray, most like there is a bone fracture (probably a slab fracture) in on of them. As there is still some swelling and enlargement on the inside of the hock joint, that is where it will be located. An X-ray at this point in time other than provide more information is not going to make much difference, just keep in mind that healing is most like going to take as long as six weeks, and even after it has healed the fractured bone will stay slightly enlarged, which could cause the hock to twist a fraction. Yes a firm support bandage will help while walking, just ensure that the blood supply to the foot is not affected and it doesn’t cause any swelling. All of that means no free running for at least six weeks, and definitely no more chasing rabbits ever. Yes I know it could be good fun for the dog, however rabbits are able to turn extremely sharply while running flat chat, and if a dog tries to do the same thing a fractured or smashed hock is often the end result. Cheers, Tom For more info into the actual hock structure see the last image in this post. X-rays - A closer look at some bone structures |
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Post by Tannis on Mar 23, 2018 13:07:14 GMT 10
Hi Tom,
We adopted a 4 year old retired racer last summer named Jasper who had been given up by his previous owners, and he’s always been a fussy boy about his feet. The first day we got him, we noticed he limped a bit but couldn’t pinpoint a leg. Turns out his previous owners never walked him much so his pads were soft and sensitive. Over the summer we worked him up to longer walks but he has always hated walking on gravel or anything tougher than sidewalk.
Fast forward to the last few weeks in cold, snowy canada. He wears boots all the time in the snow but recently it has warmed up and it’s started to melt. We have a lot of ice, gravel and rocky snow out, but we wanted to try getting him used to sidewalk again so we took his boots off for a few walks, which did require going over rough ice and gravel sometimes.
Shortly after we noticed a limp in his left front leg. It’s worse in the morning or right after he gets up after laying around for a while. It seems to get better by the end of the walk. It used to be only during morning walks but now it seems to be during all his walks (he goes for 3 x 15-20min walks per day because he won’t poop on anything but garbage bags, bushes, windrows of snow and small decorative trees)
We removed corns from his feet a few months ago and none have come back. He did have a small sore on the bottom of that left paw that I found a week ago but it seems to have healed now but he won’t stop limping. I can’t find anything else wrong with his paw. I have bent every toe joint, his wrist, elbow and nothing seems to cause pain (he just lays there with his tongue out enjoying the free kinetics massage). There are no lumps on his legs.
I am a family doctor and so I think of the very worst: osteosarcoma. My husband says I’m being crazy. Should we be looking at urgent X-rays or can we try something else at home first?
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Post by Tom Meulman on Mar 24, 2018 6:39:12 GMT 10
Hi Tannis,
With greyhounds osteosarcoma is always a real concern but with the pad problems your boy has had I’m inclined to believe that the cause of the limping is going to be found there.
As you have mentioned he has always been sensitive about his feet, and still dislikes walking on anything other than a reasonable smooth surface, on top of that the removal of corns would have further agravated his preoccupation with his feet and pads in particular, so at this point in time it would only take very little to make him limp.
The other thing that often occurs with the pads on a greyhound is that a minute particle of grit can stay embedded in a seemingly minor sore and heal over very quickly leaving a constant annoying irritation.
A further thorough examination of each individual pad surface may be worthwhile best done by firmly scraping a fingernail several times over each toe and foot pad, and then with the tip of a finger firmly pressing on the pad while performing a small rotational movement.
This should rule out any possible further involvement of the pads themselves in any cause for limping, while any agravated sensitivity should be further investigated.
The condition of the pads themselves of course also plays a part in all this as a lot of greyhounds have extremely thin pads that are sensitive and easily penetrated by foreign objects, in which case daily application of a toughening lotion such as Tuff-Foot for four or five days could be of some benefit. While taking care that it does not harden the pad surfaces to the extent of cracking.
If on the other hand the pads are hard and shiny in the middle of the pad with harder thicker outer edges containing very small cracks, daily massaging with a softening cream is indicated, and such creams as used for cracked heels in humans will give the best results over a period of a couple of weeks of daily treatments.
The other thing that may be of some benefit while the pads are extremely sensitive and he is no longer wearing booties, is to wrap two or three layers of Vetwrap around each foot before going out for a walk. While some of this will most likely wear away during the walk it will provide some protection, and should improve the dogs confidence in walking on various rough surfaces without worrying that it’s going to hurt his feet.
If nothing shows up after thoroughly examining the pads and the limping situation does not improve after a couple of weeks, X-rays of the appropriate limb is certainly indicated even just to rule out concerns about any bone illnesses.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Tannis on Mar 25, 2018 13:56:17 GMT 10
Thanks Tom!
We did some more thorough examining of his feet and it does appear to be his pads. He has never whined or winced ever, but he does pull his feet away when we squeeze or deeply rub certain toe pads and not others. These pads feel like they have a deeper corn in them.
We also tested different booties out and noted his thickest winter boots with the most padding seem to result in the least amount of limping. He also limps a lot less after a good snowfall (yes we are still getting snow at the end of March!)
We are going to try some of your suggestions and see how it goes
Thanks again!
Tannis
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Post by Anthony on Apr 12, 2018 3:23:32 GMT 10
Hi Tom.
First I want to say how happy I was to discover your site. We are finding it very overwhelming trying to get reliable info about Greyhounds. I have had Dogs my entire life. Our previous Furbaby was an Italian Greyhound (Atia lost her battle to Diabetes and crossed over The Rainbow Bridge) We had a huge hole in our lives and decided to rescue a retired racer. We figured it was just a larger version of the Iggy, Right... The realization of how different it is going to be with a Grey, is starting to set in. Brandy will be 3 yrs old in May. We adopted her this past December. Her last race was in September. So here's my question. She periodically will hold her Right back leg up, while she is trying to walk. This just started about 2 weeks ago. When she does this, at first it appears like a limp, but as you watch her, it almost looks like she was trying to scratch herself and the leg decided to stop working in mid-scratch. She has done this about 4 times (that we have seen) over these past couple of weeks. She does not appear to be in pain when it happens. She is very cooperative when we try to check her. Also, as she has not witnessed it, our Vet is baffled, too. There does not seem to be any consistency to a trigger either. The first time, was after an afternoon nap. Once was right after she got done zooming around our yard. Once was after walking her. Once was her just strolling through the house. Otherwise, she seems to be extremely happy in her new life. So we are hoping that this is just some kind of quirk. After all, she not three yet and her life has changed dramatically over these past six months. Thank you very much for your time and knowledge. Anthony J.
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Post by Tom Meulman on Apr 12, 2018 7:00:32 GMT 10
Hi Anthony,
As you can imagine trying to diagnose the reason for what your Brandy is doing is rather difficult without a thorough physical examination.
However as she is a retired racer, and as the reason for the retirement of a racing greyhound is most likely some type of injury that has caused a loss of racing ability, I would have to assume that her current action is the result of such an injury.
For her to hold her right leg off the ground intermittently without it actually causing an obvious limp it would most likely be an old injury and most likely some scar tissue in the muscles that normally lift the hind leg forward and up.
In this instance the very top of the thigh and the small muscle between it and the round hip muscle is likely have sustained some damage, and have some scar tissue that can cause a slight crampy reaction in that area from time to time.
Massaging that section of muscle using a sliding stretching action can help to improve the blood flow particularly if it’s accompanied by a warming liniment.
Over time you will find it will come good with rest and walking, and flare up again if she goes for a zoom around the back yard.
Don’t get me wrong, racing greyhounds that have sustained some type of muscle injury that has curtailed their racing career, can and do have a productive and happy life in retirement with past muscle injuries healing further and improving with time and scar tissue softening without the strenuous exercise involved in racing.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Anthony on Apr 12, 2018 11:00:31 GMT 10
Hi Tom.
Thank you for getting back to me. What you are saying does make sense. We found a video of her last race. Even though she ended up winning, her and two other dogs got tangled going around the last turn. We winced when we saw it happen..We hug her and tell her every day: No more racing... thank you again and God Bless you for what you do to help these marvelous creatures. Anthony J.
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Post by Vikki on May 29, 2018 23:09:33 GMT 10
Hi Tom,
I’m wondering if you could perhaps give me some advice. I’ve got a Ridgeback X Greyhound but having gone through this thread, it seems like he’s got the same symptoms as the other dogs.
Lonh story short, I got my dog from a backyard breeder, he was about 10 weeks old and appeared to be malnourished, so I don’t know much about his background, apart from the breed. He’s a lot more muscly than a Greyhound and has very good stamina - he’s always been very agile and loved running and crazy speeds and jumping through rivers etc since he was a pup. He’s almosy 3 now and always had a very rigorous exercise routine, often consisting of long walks on the forest where he’d get to do all the things he likes. He had no previous health problems until now.
About a month or two ago, we noticed that he would whine/yelp a little when trying to lie down on his bed or just curl up into a ball like usually does. We didn’t think much of it first - we assumed it might’ve been a light cut or graze from when he’s been running out and about. However, since then, the whining/yelping became a constant thing. We discovered it was his right hind leg that was causing him pain so we decided to take action. We’ve taken him to the vets to be examined but because he’s so nervous, they are unable to tell if he’s tensing his muscles or if something is wrong. He hasn’t yelped when the vet examined him and similarly he hadn’t shown signs of discomfort. We have been prescribed some oral anti inflammatory medication (Loxicom) for the duration of 12 weeks to see if this would go away. At first, it seemed to ease some of the pain away and soon he started running again and going for his walks. It seemed as if he was improving until another dog had jumped on him. My dog is now lightly limping, sometimes walking on 3 legs, still struggling to sit/lie down on his bed. Since then, we’ve taken him to the vets again, he had the same medication but it’s not working as effectively as last time. The vet has suggested it could be hip displasia but it doesn’t look like it’s to do with the bones. She has also suggested an xray, which I am happy to go for if necessary, however I don’t think it’s an issue with his hips.
Any idea what this could be? I’ve read up on torn ligaments but I am unsure as his symptoms match both hip displasia and muscle injury.
Thank you
Vikki
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Post by Tom Meulman on May 30, 2018 5:04:57 GMT 10
Hi Vikki,
As I have indicated in other posts that its extremely difficult to come to a definite diagnosis of the specific injury which is causing the symptoms you have described without a thorough physical examination of the dog.
However taking into consideration the type of exercise your boy has been doing there is little doubt in my mind that the injury that is causing the problem is in the lower back with further involvement of muscle damage to the muscle tissue that holds the lower spine and hips stable.
Injuries in that area are very common with greyhounds due to losing their footing while negotiating a turn in the track during a competitive race, and there is every likelyhoud that is what has occurred to your boy running through a forest dodging trees and jumping obstacles.
While anti inflammatory medication will in many instances make the symptoms of an injury less obvious and make the animal more comfortable, they also unfortunately make it appear that whatever injury there was has healed. Then because the worst of the symptoms have gone, further strenuous exercise is undertaken, which often causes additional damage to the area of the body that was weakened by the previous injury.
Lower spine and pelvis injuries are a real problem because it generally takes four to six weeks for any basic healing to take place. During this time rest with only being able to empty out on the lead or in a small yard that does not allow any sort of “zipping” to take place is imperative.
After four weeks minimum, still only moderate exercise such as a solid walk every second day can be undertaken at that point in time, with it then taking a further three months before the dog can be allowed to run free again in the environment that caused the injury in the first place.
To improve the healing response during the first four weeks it can be beneficial if a warming liniment is applied to the lower spine, hip muscles, and the muscle tissue of the front of the upper hind legs. This is done on a three days on three days off schedule to try to avoid any skin irritation.
I know having to keep an exuberant dog on the lead without it being able to run free is hard on both the dog and on those who care for it, but unfortunately there is little choice if that type of injury is to have any chance of healing thoroughly.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Chris on Jun 24, 2018 21:19:08 GMT 10
Hi Tom
I've been reading through your responses on this website and find your advice and explanations very helpful. I am hoping you may be able to provide some advice to me.
I've got a 7 1/2 yo ex racer greyhound here in NZ. Since the start of May she has been showing lameness in her right hind leg. We noticed she was not putting much weight on her hind leg, foot still on ground but no pressure on it. Over the past 7 weeks now, she has been to 2 vets, multiple visits, and had xrays done her hips and knee. Initially the thought was she may have strained a knee ligament, but subsequent manipulation of the toes and knees have not brought any reaction from her. She did show some discomfort when her hip was manipulated hence the xrays. Xrays have shown no arthritis or osteosarcoma, just a little calcification in the hip. She has been on Meloxicam since the start (with Previcoxtried for a couple of weeks in between) and has had Amitriptypline started for about a week or so as the vets now think it may be neuropathic pain. She doesn't seem to be showing any improvement, as she still lifts her foot up especially when she gets up from a lying position. Her appetite is still good, and always keen to go for a walk which we have minimised to about 2 x 5min sniff-abouts. She is still quite playful with our other 4yo greyhound. Would you have any thoughts on a possible cause that may have been overlooked?
Thanks
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Post by Tom Meulman on Jun 25, 2018 5:45:24 GMT 10
Hi Chris,
Taking into account the examinations and X-rays she has had you would just about have to rule out bone, muscle, and ligament problems on that limb. While I can’t rule out problems with the lower spine and pelvis it seems unlikely as that normally causes severe problems getting back up again after laying down for a period of time, and you haven’t reported such occurance.
I know it may appear to be a too simple a cause but I believe a very careful examination of the pads on that foot are indicated as a deep seated corn in one of the pads is easily overlooked and can certainly cause all of the symptoms you described.
Cheers,
Tom
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Post by Chris on Jun 25, 2018 11:52:21 GMT 10
Thanks for the prompt response Tom. We were wondering if corns could be the issue. We've had a look at the pads and can't see anything to suggest corns. Pressing/ feeling around the pads doesn't elicit a response from the dog. Any suggestion on how to properly check for them?
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