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My 15 y.o. min poodle hurt her leg on Sunday so I took her to the vet on Monday. Her leg is swollen and she's limping. He did a full exam including X-Rays. In reviewing the X-Rays there seems to be a hole in the bone, but we won't know for sure until the Radiologist looks at it. She's on a myriad of meds at the moment and doesn't seem to be in any pain.
I'll get the results in a couple of days, but in the meantime I thought I'd post here to see if any of you have had similar experiences with your dogs. I'm thinking the worst of course.
Up to this point her quality of life was good even though she has canine dementia and cataracts. She enjoyed walks, running in the backyard, good appetite and I anticipated her being around for awhile longer. Now I'm not so sure.
You best look where she hurt it. Something went thru her leg.
I think she twisted her leg in a snowbank (my b/f was there at the time) and there's no sign of a puncture wound. The vet couldn't find anything and he's flummoxed as to the cause of the swelling.
Not looking for something Big, Tiny wire or nail. Wound closed as she pulled back. Could be broke of tree limb. IF it Wire or metal, she Needs a Tetanus Shot.
Ok. Let's see here.
15 yr old mini-poodle. Symptoms are lameness and swelling of the limb. X-rays have an anomaly. Dog shows signs of advanced age in other respects: dementia, cataracts.
Well, she must be showing signs of some pain, or you wouldn't know she "hurt her leg". The swelling could be caused by soft tissue damage, like with what you were thinking, that she twisted her leg. Could be. Could also be an infection. The vet can do blood tests to look for that. Could be a response to arthritis or joint wear - which the x-rays should show.
Soft tissue damage, like a torn ligament, doesn't show up in x-rays. But a vet has other ways to examine joints for that. It could be a partial tear, in which case a regular vet might have trouble diagnosing it accurately, and you might go to an orthopedic vet surgeon to diagnose.
The vet will have looked at, and felt. the swelling to determine if it was also inflamed. It would be hot. Icing is an excellent tool to aid in reducing inflammation and pain from injury. If the vet suspects infection, they will have prescribed a course of antibiotics.
I would be less concerned, in the short run, about the x-ray anomaly (but I'm not a vet). In the long run, though, whatever has caused that could have caused the other symptoms. Some cancers can do stuff like this.
Your vet will have ruled out arthritis or joint deterioration, like hip dysplasia, I'll guess, or you would have known, and mentioned it. If this is soft tissue damage, like a CCL tear, you don't have to do the surgery, but getting a dog back to something close to 100% without surgery takes about a year. They can manage well enough after 2-3 months, tho. The surgeries are expensive, although for a mini-poodle you can do the least expensive variety of surgery for a torn CCL. Probably in the range of 1-2k. However, we are also talking about an old dog. While anesthesia is nowhere near the risk it was 30 years ago, age increases the risk, sometimes dramatically.
If it's an infection, what's the source? The infection itself should be easy enough to deal with, but whatever set off the infection may be a bigger issue - like cancer.
If I were you, I'd be thinking along the same lines, about end-of-life. I'm sorry that I don't really have anything else to offer, but I thought going over the possibilities that I can think of, might help. After all, what's REALLY scary is not the known, even when it's bad. It's the unknown that scares us the most. I hope you and your vet find an answer that means you can have some more time. Good luck.
My 15 y.o. min poodle hurt her leg on Sunday so I took her to the vet on Monday. Her leg is swollen and she's limping. He did a full exam including X-Rays. In reviewing the X-Rays there seems to be a hole in the bone, but we won't know for sure until the Radiologist looks at it. She's on a myriad of meds at the moment and doesn't seem to be in any pain.
I'll get the results in a couple of days, but in the meantime I thought I'd post here to see if any of you have had similar experiences with your dogs. I'm thinking the worst of course.
Up to this point her quality of life was good even though she has canine dementia and cataracts. She enjoyed walks, running in the backyard, good appetite and I anticipated her being around for awhile longer. Now I'm not so sure.
I would continue to hope that she will be around for awhile longer. Sure, it could be cancer but it could also be an injury, like a muscle strain, and the hole has always been there but never noticed until now because of the x-rays.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst…. and keep us updated!
Not looking for something Big, Tiny wire or nail. Wound closed as she pulled back. Could be broke of tree limb. IF it Wire or metal, she Needs a Tetanus Shot.
Neither visual inspection, nor X-Ray showed anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hiero2
Ok. Let's see here.
15 yr old mini-poodle. Symptoms are lameness and swelling of the limb. X-rays have an anomaly. Dog shows signs of advanced age in other respects: dementia, cataracts.
Well, she must be showing signs of some pain, or you wouldn't know she "hurt her leg". The swelling could be caused by soft tissue damage, like with what you were thinking, that she twisted her leg. Could be. Could also be an infection. The vet can do blood tests to look for that. Could be a response to arthritis or joint wear - which the x-rays should show.
Soft tissue damage, like a torn ligament, doesn't show up in x-rays. But a vet has other ways to examine joints for that. It could be a partial tear, in which case a regular vet might have trouble diagnosing it accurately, and you might go to an orthopedic vet surgeon to diagnose.
The vet will have looked at, and felt. the swelling to determine if it was also inflamed. It would be hot. Icing is an excellent tool to aid in reducing inflammation and pain from injury. If the vet suspects infection, they will have prescribed a course of antibiotics.
I would be less concerned, in the short run, about the x-ray anomaly (but I'm not a vet). In the long run, though, whatever has caused that could have caused the other symptoms. Some cancers can do stuff like this.
Your vet will have ruled out arthritis or joint deterioration, like hip dysplasia, I'll guess, or you would have known, and mentioned it. If this is soft tissue damage, like a CCL tear, you don't have to do the surgery, but getting a dog back to something close to 100% without surgery takes about a year. They can manage well enough after 2-3 months, tho. The surgeries are expensive, although for a mini-poodle you can do the least expensive variety of surgery for a torn CCL. Probably in the range of 1-2k. However, we are also talking about an old dog. While anesthesia is nowhere near the risk it was 30 years ago, age increases the risk, sometimes dramatically.
If it's an infection, what's the source? The infection itself should be easy enough to deal with, but whatever set off the infection may be a bigger issue - like cancer.
If I were you, I'd be thinking along the same lines, about end-of-life. I'm sorry that I don't really have anything else to offer, but I thought going over the possibilities that I can think of, might help. After all, what's REALLY scary is not the known, even when it's bad. It's the unknown that scares us the most. I hope you and your vet find an answer that means you can have some more time. Good luck.
Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful response Hiero2. Her blood work didn't reveal any infection and her temp was normal at the time of the vet visit. I think the swelling could be the result of her twisting her leg, but that's just my opinion. I don't think she has a torn CCL because the vet didn't mention it as a possibility. As I mentioned previously, she's on a slew of medications for 7 days:
Tramadol, Gabapentin, M-Eloxyn (for pain) and Metronidozle (antibiotic). The meds are having the desired results in that she's back on her paws and no longer limping, so at least she's comfortable. The not knowing and not wanting to know is stressful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarlaJane
I would continue to hope that she will be around for awhile longer. Sure, it could be cancer but it could also be an injury, like a muscle strain, and the hole has always been there but never noticed until now because of the x-rays.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst…. and keep us updated!
Fingers crossed StarlaJane! I'll update when I get the results.
Neither visual inspection, nor X-Ray showed anything.
Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful response Hiero2. Her blood work didn't reveal any infection and her temp was normal at the time of the vet visit. I think the swelling could be the result of her twisting her leg, but that's just my opinion. I don't think she has a torn CCL because the vet didn't mention it as a possibility. As I mentioned previously, she's on a slew of medications for 7 days:
Tramadol, Gabapentin, M-Eloxyn (for pain) and Metronidozle (antibiotic). The meds are having the desired results in that she's back on her paws and no longer limping, so at least she's comfortable. The not knowing and not wanting to know is stressful!
Fingers crossed StarlaJane! I'll update when I get the results.
M-Eloxyn I've never heard of (edit: looked it up see *), but tramadol and gabapentin are both strong pain meds. They will also make your pup pretty logey (sleepy, calm, doped up, not with it) for a week or two. But that's ok for a few days to a week, and can be helpful. And, in case you're wondering, tramadol and gabapentin are often prescribed together for severe pain, and when one wants a calming effect to promote healing time.
Since the bloods came back ok, and no temp, AND the vet pro-actively prescribed an antibiotic (as a just-in-case), I'd think that possible angle was well-covered. With metronidazole, your pup will most likely benefit by adding a pro-biotic to their diet. In my experience metronidazole often causes diarrhea. You can use human probiotics, they'll help a-ok. You can also get dog pro-biotics that have a slightly different set of gut bacteria. Which makes sense, since dogs are not people. I have a strong preference for those probiotic products that contain multiple different organisms, not just one or two strains of gut bacteria.
You've never mentioned whether the limping was front leg or rear. A CCL tear would be rear. If it is the rear, I'd be sure to ask the vet about that possibility, even if they haven't mentioned it. OTOH, it could be just a more ordinary strain, just like we get strained and sprained knees and ankles. If that's the case, a few days of rest should see her pretty much back to normal. I wouldn't let her resume an active lifestyle, if she still had one before, until she seems back to normal AND is off the tramadol and gabapentin. Those two are very strong drugs, and she could think "oh, I feel FINE" even when she really doesn't.
And, btw, you're welcome. I'm glad I could be of help!
*M-Eloxyn is just a different brand for meloxicam, which is a standard NSAID for dogs and cats.
I should have indicated in my original post that it's her right front leg that's been injured. Her course of meds is for 7 days total and yes, Hiero2 they do make her sleepy and that's a good thing right now. So far the metronidazole has not caused diarrhea and her activity is limited (no walks).
Still waiting on the X-Ray results <sigh>.
Katie1 I don't understand your post. "Not the Dog the Area she was hurt in... sheesh"
Maybe you can explain what you mean?
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