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Dog limps after strenuous exercise and/or laying down?

goguenm
November 2nd, 2012, 09:32 AM
Hello everyone,

I have an almost 4 year old Am Staff mix whom has been with me since he was 8 weeks old. He has always been a very energetic and sometimes crazy dog (as anyone with this breed will know) and for the most part has never had any health issues.

This past February (2012) we noticed he was limping and favouring his back left leg after getting up from laying down. We gave it a few days and after taking him to the ball park with a friend he was limping after running around so we took him to the vet. The first vet I took him to said it was his CCL but they wanted to do xrays etc to verify and they suggested surgery that a vet there did for $2,000.00.

We were kind of put off by the vet automatically assessing it as a CCL injury and recommending a $2,000.00 so we took him to another vet for a second opinion. They did x-rays and looked at his leg and couldn't feel or find anything so they thought it could either be a very slight pull in his CCL or just a pulled something else in his leg.

Since, we have taken him to the very every 2-6 weeks (every 2 in the beginning working up to 6) for a Bowen Treatment (which he does very much enjoy).

It is now November (approx 9 months since we first noticed the lameness) and he is fairing a lot better than he was in February but he still has some issues. Before, if he did anything physical he would be fine until he got up from laying down and depending on how much running around he did he would either not walk on it or have a pretty bad limp but after being up and on it for a few minutes the limping would be less and less. Now we don't let him go crazy but sometimes he does get a little excited and we will notice that he's fine until he gets up from laying down and he has a slight limp and after a few minutes he doesn't limp anymore. He still favours it (you can see when he's standing that he's bearing more weight on the right leg) but he is doing much better.

The vet mentioned a couple of weeks ago that maybe we should look into a brace seeing as he is still having some issues but she doesn't think he needs surgery. This dog used to go everywhere off leash - in the dog parks, beaches, runs in the woods etc. so it really sucks that I can't allow him to do that anymore. He is always on leash when we go out because I don't want him to run around and make his leg worse again.

I know I've read that if it is his CCL the road to recovery is a long one but his leg really isn't as bad as I've read a CCL injury can be. Everything I've read is the dog doesn't walk on the leg at all where as his leg really isn't that bad. Only in the beginning if we let him run around he wouldn't walk on it at first but after being up a little while he would. I don't understand why it only bothers him after getting up and after he's on it for a bit it doesn't bother him as much (still favours that side as always but doesn't limp).

I want to know if anyone else has experienced anything like this in their dog?

I apologize for the super long post but I wanted to try and give as much histoy on the issue as I could :)

MaxaLisa
November 3rd, 2012, 01:47 AM
I don't have experience with CCL injuries myself, but I know that they can be tricky and hard to diagnose sometimes. A brace might help minor damage heal, but I think ultimately, surgery is often needed.

The only other thing I can think of is to try chiropractic: www.avcadoctors.com

I had a dog that the vet thought had a knee injury, and it was actually an SI joint. In fact, I had to try 3 chiros before I found the one that could get at the problem, it was jammed in a really funny way. I ultimately found a chiro that also worked on humans and horses that was also very good at working on extremities.

I used to have bowen therapy done on myself (love it), but I still needed chiro treatment, and have continued with.

goguenm
November 3rd, 2012, 10:28 AM
Thanks, there is a vet in my area that does chiropractic work so I might take him in to see her. I know people who have had dogs with knee injuries and didn't go the surgery route and instead used a brace and monitered their activity and their dog got better. I've researched on the surgery and know that there are plenty of alternative options to surgery that are very successful. I don't want to pay that much for surgery and the injury happen again (which I've seen).

I think at this point taking him to see a chiropratic vet will be my next step and from there a brace. My co-worker's lab blew its knee and they put a brace on it for close to a year and after they took the brace off, the dog's knee was better so I think that is a viable option.

Barkingdog
November 3rd, 2012, 08:43 PM
http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/health/americanstaffordshireterriers.html



This link said hip and elbow dysplasia is common in your dog . Maybe it would help to have a ramp for your dog to get into the car and bed if he sleep with you.

MaxaLisa
November 4th, 2012, 02:43 AM
This yahoo group might be helpful?

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ConservativeManagement/

goguenm
November 7th, 2012, 08:57 AM
Thanks Barkingdog, he doesn't sleep in bed with us as he has his own bed in the livingroom and we started putting stuff on the couches so he couldn't jump up on them so the only up and down he gets to do is going up about 6 stairs to go outside. I'm pretty sure it has to do with his leg/knee because if I massage it it seems to make it feel better quicker when he gets up.

MaxaLisa: I actually was signed up for that group when his leg first started bothering him back in February/March. I've read a lot on what other people have done and so far his leg is still bothering him despite making him take it easy.

It's actually been pretty lame the past two or three days. I suspect the cause is from a little playing he did at my friend's place who also has a dog. They were playing in the livingroom for maybe 10 minutes before I seperated them and his leg has been noticebly sore since :(

We have an appointment with the vet next week so we are going to discuss purchasing a brace for him.

diandpat
November 24th, 2012, 05:08 PM
What happened at the vet? Did you get a brace? Did they recommend surgery? Prescribe meds? Having issues with Zoey...interested to hear how others are dealing. Good luck!!!

HadTomEff132
June 17th, 2014, 09:58 PM
My dog has this exact injury. Was this dog ever diagnosed or treated effectively? I'd love an update on what you did next and how it worked out. Thank you

Longblades
June 18th, 2014, 03:47 PM
Tom, this thread is old and the OP only ever made 3 posts. I doubt he/she will answer. Maybe someone else who had this with their dog will. Good luck with your pup.