Poor dog has hurt her leg, again :(

[longtompot]

She's an 8 year old cocker spaniel. Had several unexplained leg issues over the years, vets have said it's a sprain/muscular to rest then lead walk when ready and take Metacam
She's had a bad back left leg for approx a month, after trying and failing to jump onto our bed. Did the rest etc and got her on golden paste which has helped enormously.
Last night, let out for bedtime wees and notice she is walking a bit oddly on her back right leg this time, shaking like crazy, panting and generally very unhappy. I can only think she pulled or twisted her knee or hip whilst chasing one of our cats. We had her upstairs with us overnight as I was worried about her.
She's wasn't interested in her ultimate treat of chips. She has had some food, but it takes a bit to get her to eat. She's had a small amount of water, and only had a few wees today, no poos.
She has an appointment tomorrow with the vet, a new one as the last weren't that great. She is nervous with strangers, so I am worried about her having to go in alone.
I hope it's just a sprain and needs rest, but she is acting so differently to previous times I'm worried it's something worse. She's currently sat in front of the heater, breathing hard and looking really sad :( She's my first dog and she is so loved, despite having a few issues. Hates being groomed and her nails are a bit long (I expect a telling off about that).
I'm just dreading what they will say.

[vanillandhoney]

Have they looked into hip dysplasia or problems with her cruciate ligaments at all?

I hope your lovely girl is okay

[longtompot]

@vanillandhoney thank you for your reply. She's just had a follow up at the same practise but a different vet. Much preferred this one. She didn't make my dog yelp when she had a look, and has said she thinks she has arthritis in her hip. Two more weeks of meds, rest and lead walks, and if no improvement then X-ray to see what's happening in the joint.

[Wolfiefan]

I’m sorry she is suffering. I’ve known some people find yumove or golden paste can help arthritis.

[longtompot]

She is on golden paste after we tried yumove which didn't seem to do anything. I think the gp has helped with her movement generally.
I am really missing our long countryside walks :(

[PenelopePitstop49]

It sounds like she's in a lot of pain.

My cocker is 7, and showing signs of arthritis in his back legs. I'm waiting until the vets come out of lockdown before taking him in though as it was madness taking our other one in last week with an upset stomach.

We had a lab with arthritis, and she used to have a course of Cartrophen injections every 6 to 8 months. It's given 1 injection a week over 4 weeks, and made a massive difference. We think they gave her an extra 5/6 years. And she had JointAid supplement with her food, oily fish a couple of times a week.

Hope your girl is better soon.

[longtompot]

We are a few days on and she actually brought he toy to me! She is starting to weight bear more and is following us around a lot more. We are just doing one lead walk a day of approx 20 mins. Tomorrow I'll be trying her on a longer one, with a rest stop half way through. Dh will be at home on standby just in case it's too much for her. Hopefully she will continue to improve, though I am going to ask what the costs for an X-ray are to maybe see what is happening with the joint. I don't really want to put her through it if she is herself again.