Poppy limping on front left leg

M

M.F.

So difficult to know if we’re making the right decisions! If it’s any consolation, our vet refuses to operate on Snowie saying he’s now 11.5 years old and it’s too risky for an old dog. (Put aside that we were shocked to hear we have an “old” dog! I guess in vet’s terms…) Our vet’s first choice is the least invasive. For us, it’s conflictual because we wonder whether surgery will just cure the problem once and for all. In your case, you can always revisit the surgery option if you find the meds aren’t working. Have you tried turmeric paste?
 
MellowYellow

MellowYellow

We've had a bit of a set back... Poppy's been very happy and mobile, but on Saturday I made the mistake of taking her for a longer walk (about an hour). She was having such a fun time on her walk that near the end she jumped into a stream with Merlin, ran up and down through the water, and then jumped out again - after which she limped very badly. The limp has improved over the past two days, but I take it as a warning that she must not do longer walks, and she really should not do any jumping, if we can avoid it. We upped her dose of anti-inflammatories again, but she now has runny poos, so we have to reduce that again. Ho hum. I expect this will be our new normal... Feeling very guilty and a bit sad. :(
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
MellowYellow said:
We've had a bit of a set back... Poppy's been very happy and mobile, but on Saturday I made the mistake of taking her for a longer walk (about an hour). She was having such a fun time on her walk that near the end she jumped into a stream with Merlin, ran up and down through the water, and then jumped out again - after which she limped very badly. The limp has improved over the past two days, but I take it as a warning that she must not do longer walks, and she really should not do any jumping, if we can avoid it. We upped her dose of anti-inflammatories again, but she now has runny poos, so we have to reduce that again. Ho hum. I expect this will be our new normal... Feeling very guilty and a bit sad. :(
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@MellowYellow , I’m really sorry to hear this and completely feel your guilt and sadness. We’ve learned that there’s little value in unlocking what happened when and whose fault it was, simply acknowledge it’s all useful (if upsetting) information for future management. I look at it as fettling our approach - each set-back or overexertion helps to tailor your care for Poppy and will help to reduce the chance of such things happening in future. It’s all a learning curve, and sometimes you have to go over threshold to work out where the threshold is. Sending much love, it can be a wretched business :confused:
 
Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
MellowYellow said:
We've had a bit of a set back... Poppy's been very happy and mobile, but on Saturday I made the mistake of taking her for a longer walk (about an hour). She was having such a fun time on her walk that near the end she jumped into a stream with Merlin, ran up and down through the water, and then jumped out again - after which she limped very badly. The limp has improved over the past two days, but I take it as a warning that she must not do longer walks, and she really should not do any jumping, if we can avoid it. We upped her dose of anti-inflammatories again, but she now has runny poos, so we have to reduce that again. Ho hum. I expect this will be our new normal... Feeling very guilty and a bit sad. :(
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Please don't feel guilty. You took Poppy for such a fun walk that she completely forgot about her aches and pains and ran around through the water without a care in the world.
 
M

M.F.

I do the same with Snowie: take him on a fun outing, and then he limps. But I keep reminding myself that I also get sore when I do some exercise I’m not used to, so limping isn’t the most terrible thing; he’ll rest and then feel less sore. But I totally understand your feelings of guilt and sadness. I get those same feelings.

BTW we’ve found 3/4 paracetamol tablet (3/4 of 500mg) works great for pain. Suggested by our vet. Might be better if Poppy is getting runny poos from the anti inflammatories?
 
Stacia

Stacia

Location
Malvern Worcestershire
Rourke sometimes has long walks and strangely enough sometimes it makes him a little better, sometimes worse. Have you thought of hydrotherapy, Rourke goes in the water treadmill and although it can never be cured, he is often so much better afterwards, I go once a fortnight. Now doing a course of Laser, madly expensive, but prepared to give anything a go. He cannot take Metacam or anything like that, he does have 1/2 a paracetamol twice a day and Yumove Advanced. He is terribly lame but seems quite happy at the moment. Might be worth trying hydro and laser.
 
MellowYellow

MellowYellow

Jelinga said:
Rourke sometimes has long walks and strangely enough sometimes it makes him a little better, sometimes worse. Have you thought of hydrotherapy, Rourke goes in the water treadmill and although it can never be cured, he is often so much better afterwards, I go once a fortnight. Now doing a course of Laser, madly expensive, but prepared to give anything a go. He cannot take Metacam or anything like that, he does have 1/2 a paracetamol twice a day and Yumove Advanced. He is terribly lame but seems quite happy at the moment. Might be worth trying hydro and laser.
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Yes, I think we will give hydrotherapy a go once Merlin has finished his current twice-weekly hydrotherapy sessions. (He is doing a six-week course, to help strengthen his hind legs muscles to help hold his dodgy hips in place.)

I have also managed to source YouMove Senior Max, which I really think is helping her.
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Loraseal said:
Do not feel guilty. You are on a learning curve for Poppy's new "norm" :hug:
We are looking in to buy a laser for Hunter. The vet suggested this as she said once a week is really not enough for it to be effective plus it will be cheaper in the long run.
It is going to be trial and error but you will get there. X
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That’s interesting @Loraseal - we’ve got a Photizo red light therapy unit for Kipper, and whilst I’ve not noticed a dramatic improvement I think it does ease his joints when he’s stiff.
 
MellowYellow

MellowYellow

Poor Poppy has not been well at all this week. She has had runny poos and a tummy ache. We saw the vet on Tuesday, but she just told us to give her very light food and keep an eye on her. Yesterday she refused her lunch (yikes!!!), and then sicked up a bit of food OH gave her later. She has not had anything to eat since then, and has just had a bit of chicken broth to drink. Back to the vet this afternoon...
 
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