advice for greyhound with a limp

[greygirl]

My greyhound is 10.we've had him 6 yrs now (he's an ex-racer). He has been fine until about a month ago, when he started to hobble a bit on his front right foot. He was slow to walk and seemed in a bit of pain. It was worse in the mornings. Dh and I looked very hard for a thorn and failed to find anything so I took him to the vets to see if they had any bright ideas.

They feel it is arthritis - he had an xray 2 yrs ago that showed this, it semed a bit better after some massage. They did a blood test (he's been weeing a bit much lately) which has shown his kidneys aren't too great (but he is an old dog so that's not really suprising).

Over the last two weeks he has really deteriorated to the point where he now will not put his foot on the floor at all, he holds it in the air. it isn't sore to touch, but it is a bit sore at the shoulder. I took him back yesterday, they still think it is arthritis. we are trying tramadol to see if this helps him

Does anyone else have experience of arthritis progresing as quickly as this? I have a suspicion it might turn out to be something nastier, anyone got any good advice?

[Scuttlebutter]

I would discuss having another X ray with your vet to assess the progress of the joint deterioration. We have a 12 year old greyhound girl with arthritis and we regularly discuss the management of her condition with the vet. You might also discuss a change to her anti inflammatories if she is on them, a variation in her pain meds, and have you considered doing hydrotherapy? Ours is shortly to have a physio assessment too, again to keep an eye on the joint/muscle progress.

Please also don't underestimate the importance of keeping your dog warm and comfortable. We notice a real seizing up in our girl when it gets cold and it has started to get pretty nippy here recently at night. We are very careful to ensure she has a little fleece coat she wears at night, plenty of warm coats for her walks, soft comfy dog beds in the car, and plenty of draught free places to snooze during the day.

I would also consider the amount of exercise you are doing and possibly cut back a bit to give him a break. What I find most worrying is the way you say "they feel" - of course your vet is an expert, but a condition like arthritis cannot be cured and must be managed, and one of the good things about our vet is that we have frequent discussions about just this - the owner has a critical role to play in ensuring the dog has the best care as well as the appropriate drugs/therapy.

I would also say that one of the things with arthritis is that although it starts as a degeneration of the joint, what can happen is that you then get muscle wastage around the joint which exacerbates the problem and you get into a kind of vicious circle of poor joint mobility and even worse muscle wastage, so it's important to keep the joint as mobile as possible for as long as possible. Please do have a discussion with your vet - most vets know us greyhound owners are absolutely paranoid about bone cancer (which is what I guess you are worried about). I took one of ours in last week with a severe limp and was worried sick and actually said that straight out to the vet - "Oh, God, i hope it's not bone cancer" - fortunately he was able to reassure me straight away. We then had the fun problem of having a large 37kg greyhound under house arrest while his shoulder improved!

How is your grey in himself? Apart from the foot, is he his normal self? Eating, drinking, pooing, playing?

Basically, this should be a partnership between you and your vet - a good vet will welcome your concern and want to involve you in the options for your grey's care. Good luck and hope your lovely boy is soon on the mend.

[greygirl]

thank you for your advice. we have got his winter coat out, and i will try massaging the foot (he will no doubt be thrilled for some extra fuss).
he's not really himnself (or his old self) - he doesn't get up to greet me when i come in, he doesn't want to go for walks (he used to be reluctant when it was raining but now it's everytime) and he is barking in the night to go outside - i think this is to eat grass, which is what he does when he is stressed.
all last night he was whimpering away to himself - my dh went down to find he was lying on his foot - after repositioning him he settled a bit better.
i am worried it is cancer - he didn't flinch at the blood test so his foot must be sore.
thank you, i will go back and discuss with the vet again.

[Scuttlebutter]

What you've described suggests he is in quite a bit of pain - I would get yourself back to the vet pronto and have a discussion.

[greygirl]

well i also spoke a lady at work whose daughter is a vet - she said is it his shoulder? - apparantly they often check shoulders in dogs with foot problems as sometimes they dislocate.

and his shoulder is sore. i rang the vets, they don't think so because they think he would be screaming a lot. i am taking him to see them later, we can all decide then. i really want it to be his shoulder (odd thought that sounds) because that is easily fixable. fingers crossed eh?

incidentally the vet i spoke to this time is my favourite vet who has worked on a dog track (whatever you may think about dog racing) so she does know greyhounds very well.

[greygirl]

odd THOUGH that sounds.

look at me - dog poorly and i forget how to type...

[blijemuts]

Hi greygirl,sorry to read about your lovely fellow's predicament! We are also greyhound owners and as you say bone cancer is always at the back of our minds. Our lovely girl had unexplained limping a couple of years ago. She even went as far as purposely walking on the white/yellow lines on the road as they are smoother. After lots of tests/x-rays it turned out she had developed a corn in one of her pads which is known to be VERY painful for them. Must admit we used to take her to a 'non-greyhound vet' and as this is a exclusively greyhound ailment he had overlooked it. She had her toe amputated and was right as rain after that. Am just trying to say sometimes you think the worst and it turns out to something very treatable. We also concentrated on her shoulder at first as she had adjusted her way of walking/standing in a way that made her look very uncomfortable in the shoulder to try and avoid the pain. Good luck with your boy.

[VivaLeBeaver]

I was just coming on to say has your vet looked for a corn as greys can get them and they cause real problems but see Blijemuts has beaten me to it.

[Scuttlebutter]

Please let us know how he is getting on and what vet says - am thinking about you.

[greygirl]

i don't normally post at a weekend but you have all been so nice i thought i would tell you the outcome.

When we went to the vet it wasn't a dislocated shoulder, as i had hoped, it was osteosarcoma (bone cancer). There was nerve involvement and it would have been a big amputation, and it might have already spread.
I had already thought through what i would put my dog through, and so I asked for them to put him to sleep. It was very sad, the vet agreed it was the kind option, please don't think badly of me but he had already suffered such a lot i don't think it was fair to do anything more, just so i could keep him around.

He was a good dog, i will miss him, but he's not whimpering at night with pain anymore (despite the drugs) so i think i took care of him as best i could.

Thank you for your advice and support.

But everyone remember: if you dog is limping get them to look at his whole leg, not just his foot.

[VivaLeBeaver]

I'm so sorry it was bad news. I really think you did the right thing. As a pet owner you have to put your dog first and make sure they don't suffer. Hope you're OK.

[blijemuts]

Aw Greygirl,so sorry to hear about your loss Remember the great times you shared that's all there is to it. You did the right thing to ensure he's suffering no more. He'll be waiting for you at Rainbow Bridge. Sending love and a greyhound grin from our girl.

[GruesomeShellChillingTortoise]

greygirl So sorry for your loss. I have a 7 yr old Greyhound and can imagine how you are feeling.