# Dog limping front leg



## simon11 (Sep 21, 2009)

Hi! I am Simon.


I have an 8 year old sheltie called Sally. She was perfectly healthy and was used to 10 mile walks over the mountains. One day I took her out with a ball and after running after it very fast and putting her brakes on she came back limping badly on her front leg.. I rested her a few days and all seemed well. Two weeks later like a fool I threw a ball again and the same thing happened but this time it didn’t mend.
I t seemed mild at first and I kept walking her as she seemed no worse coming back than going.
Then it got bad and I took her to the vets. They said she had arthritis and gave her Metacam which didn’t seem to do much. They have now x-rayed her and state that her shoulder is a bit arthritic and her left knee looks a bit swollen. She is on Metacam and glucosamine. I am resting her and stopping her jumping on things but as yet it is not mending. She usually doesn’t limp on the lead walking slow. But when she speeds up she has a definite limp and now doesn’t want to walk very far.
Can anybody on here read X-rays? I am posting them to see if there is any advice.

The other thing is she was chewing at her right paw and made a hole in it. The vets didn’t find anything in it and said she must have chewed it out. They gave her antibiotics and that now seems o/k. She does lift each front paw of the ground at times though.


http://www.simon11.ukfsn.org/SHOULDER.JPEG
http://www.simon11.ukfsn.org/SHOULDERA.JPEG
http://www.simon11.ukfsn.org/ELBOW.JPEG
http://www.simon11.ukfsn.org/ELBOWA.JPEG
http://www.simon11.ukfsn.org/RADIUS.JPEG


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Ask your vet about starting her on Adequan. It helps the joints make the fluid that lubricates them so that arthritis pain is relieved, and further joint damage is reduced. It is given in a series of shots, and then given monthly. It is given in addition to Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM. (Buy that at the grocery store or Walgreens/CVS in the people supplement section...it's cheaper, but the same as Cosequin or "dog" Glucosamine.)

There are many types of NSAIDS that you can try if Metacam isn't working. Talk to your vet.

If your dog is arthritic, it's important to not let them get overweight, and to make sure they get regular exercise (but try not to do impact/jarring runs/jumps.) Swimming is great if you have someplace for that.


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## Hawaiipethealth (Sep 11, 2009)

Aloha Simon!

My name is Bry and I am a vet tech and journalist. I do have some experience reading x-rays so I took a look. There is nothing obvious otheriwise so I think your vet probably right on the arthritis. Metacam works well for some but not for others. The previous comment suggested Adequan which works well for many too, but a lot of times NSAIDs are going to be the best if you want to control pain and inflamation. Once the inflamation is reduced it may be easier to maintain a comfort level. Below is a link to an article I wrote on arthritis earlier this month. Hopefully it will help. Good luck 


http://www.examiner.com/x-22293-Honolulu-Pet-Health-Examiner~y2009m9d7-Does-your-pet-have-arthritis

-Bry


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## simon11 (Sep 21, 2009)

Thanks for your replies.
They give me something to work on. 
The vet did say that her knee tissue looked slightly inflamed on her left leg and that she had less muscle probably through not using it.
I still wonder if she may have torn a ligament or muscle as she did it suddenly turning for the ball. I believe this does not allways show on an x-ray?
This last few days her limp seems to be less prominent. So I am hoping for the best. I know muscle and tendon tears can take months of little activity to repair.
I am restricting her from jumping on and off things in the hope it will mend.
I am glad that her X-rays don't show anything major!

Thanks.


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