Hoppitty Madge

Madge, aged nearly 2, has had a weird back leg hop since just before Christmas. Always the same side and only when walking, it just seems to happen at any time and she looks just like she's doing a skip or hop. She runs ok and it doesn't happen then. Vet prescribed Metacam for ten days then to go back; he gave her a good exam and pulled the leg back and forth but we couldn't get her to replicate the hop for him. Any ideas in the meantime ??

I guess the vet checked her paws/pads too for any foreign bodies or cuts or tears or any nails that may be split or cracked.

Moo had a limp not so long back on the front, quite badly, I resisted the vets for a week as I know what she is like, and I also no they would just give antiinflamitry (sp) and she was running fine also.

After about 9 days it went away anyway.

What has the vet suggested it may be? And this sounds silly but have you kept exersize to a minimum as that is what I did and it seemed just a pulled muscle ? Xx

I would avoid high impact exercise until it gets better.

Could be Patella Luxation - the knee cap slipping out of place for a step or two. It's very common in the smaller dog breeds, but has been creeping into staffs for a while now. Did the vet check her knee cap?

Thanks, yes vet checked toes and claws carefully and pulled around on the knee joint too as he first thought it might be the patella luxation, but he wasn't sure so hence the 10 day trial. Will update with more news later.

I agree with jstaff on this.

Avoiding high impact exercise won't make any difference if it is patella luxation. Whatever the dog does the knee cap will slip out every so often.

Hopefully it isn't that & the pain killers will see the problem off!

Update: vet examined, pushed and poked and said now thought injury to back and not leg or knee - maybe slightly slipped disc with pain referral to hip, gave her a cortisone injection and to come back in two weeks for another. No improvement at all after one week, discussed with trainer who suggests dog chiropractor who she has used successfully for back problems with one of her dogs previously. Anyone had experience ????? Don't like just keep having the cortisone, what else does it do ???

More serious then. Poor you, sorry to hear that. Do you have any hydrotherapy pools near you, Marty's dog used them and I have heard they are fantastic for ease of excersize, not sure if this would help but might be an avenue to lookk down.

Thanks for the update and do let us no Xx

Poor girl. I have a freind whose Newfie goes for hydrotherapy regularly and it works wonders for orthopedic problems

Update on the Hoppity - back to vet as no improvement and said didn't just want another cortisone as we don't know what is wrong with her. Referred to orthpaedic specialist and went today. Very thorough, full exam and was able to see it in action in field next door. Result - never seen it before except in horses ! Discounted back, hip, knee and feet. Another appointment in six weeks as he doesn't think she's in pain and that it might just go away. If worse or no better by then, another referral for nerve tests and scans - 150 miles away ! Thanks for interest and all views welcome.

I hope they get to the bottom of this for her

at least she is in the hand of experts and hopefully they will get to the bottom of this

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Herman had a back injury some months ago. Vet said that jumping on and off things was dangerous while it healed, especially jumping off of things as that caused the joints to absorb the shock from the entire weight of the dog. We bought a ramp for Herman and still don't let him jump out or off of anything. Sounds like Madge is getting the best care available. Here's to a swift and complete recovery!

Amazon has some portable dog ramps. You might want to check your local pet supply stores also. If you decide to go with a ramp make sure to check how much weight it was built to hold. The ramp Herman uses is retractable so it can go anywhere we go.

For what it's worth, Herman's injury, called a "Lumbar Subluxation", had symptomology similar to Madge's issue. Herman still has some days where he doesn't use a given leg as much as other days. He is not in pain and still gets around fine. (too fine sometimes) There are days when the cold seems to be a factor, even in warmer weather he sometimes favors a given leg. I'm not a vet, but Madge may be fine.

Thanks for these supportive posts will certainly try to restrain her somewhat

Pictures of Herman's Ramp. Hope it helps.

Thanks Matt, Herman sure is a lucky boy !

lovemystaffies wrote:Thanks Matt, Herman sure is a lucky boy !

Thank you. Right back at ya! Madge is blessed to have the dedication you bring to her life.

How's Madge doing lately?

Still hopping, but it's so difficult to know whether she's in pain or not. They are stuch stoics - Murphy has had a huge amount of surgery on his legs - both cruciate ligaments and more recently a nasty lump that we're just hoping will not re-occur, but he never whines or complains. I think it's just a breed attribute - or not ! Thanks for asking

lovemystaffies wrote:Update on the Hoppity - back to vet as no improvement and said didn't just want another cortisone as we don't know what is wrong with her. Referred to orthpaedic specialist and went today. Very thorough, full exam and was able to see it in action in field next door. Result - never seen it before except in horses ! Discounted back, hip, knee and feet. Another appointment in six weeks as he doesn't think she's in pain and that it might just go away. If worse or no better by then, another referral for nerve tests and scans - 150 miles away ! Thanks for interest and all views welcome.

Hmmmmm, cortisone jabs, orthpaedic specialist, nerve test's and scans ..... $-)

"hoppity Max" does it sometimes, lifts his rear leg right up high for a few steps and hops on the other three like a thorn has gone in, but every time I have had a good look, found nowt, and then he's back to normal !! thrashin around like a nutter ... we've put it down to cramp in all that thick muscle tissue

Hmm, thank god for Tesco insurance, they're really great, pay up without a whimper !

Interesting to hear about Max - and aint he a beauty ! Madge is very muscly on her bum and back legs, so now I'm wondering - is it the same ?

Thanks for letting me know.

same thing with Herman. hope she's o.k.

any updates?