Limping dog
On 10/17-03 we found Simon (the pug) very lame, cried when he walked and spent most of his time lying down. On 10/18/03, we took him to the vet and she said he had a possible spinal injury. She put him on a 30 tablet 5mg Rx of prednisone tappering down to every other day until gone. He responded well within 2 days of starting the predisone. On 11/14/03 we woke up to Simon in the same condition he was in on 10/18, unable to walk, wimpering, limping and spending most of his time lying down. We took him back to the vet on 11/14 and she suggested arthritus & put him on Rimadyl 25mg cut in half, twice daily... He does not seem to be improving. He is eating and drinking well. No xrays have been done. Blood work has been done to rule out heartworm & lyme. He will not walk more than a few feet without lying down and has to be carried up & down stairs, etc...he is only 5 years old, we have ased twice for an x-ray but since there is no obvious sign of "injury" the vet declined. Where do we go from here... Simon is in pain... could this be something internal i.e., cancer and what tests should be done ? Thank you. |
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Dog with problems walking
When I came home from work yesterday, Sparrow(6yo female neutered mix breed), who stays in my basement with access to the crawl space under the house, was having trouble going up the stairs. She seemed sick - hot nose & depressed. She has a knot midway up her tail about the size of a quarter. Her hindquarters are slightly swollen and tender. Her behind was dirty with dust, some fecal matter, and little black dots that looked like flea eggs (she doesn't have fleas - she's on med from the vet.) It seemed she had been dragging her bottom on the ground. My gut feeling is that she may have been bitten by a spider or god forbid a snake (in my basement?!!) but I'm also worried that she's hurt her back. She can still walk - even jump on the bed - but she is not moving correctly. She is still eating and drinking. She's not any worse this morning, but no better. She's not limping, but she acts stiff - is not moving her hind legs with ease, but I don't see where they look out of whack. For example, when she goes up steps, she just goes one step at a time, very slowly and carefully when she usually bounds & skips steps. It doesn't look like she's knuckling over, and her feet and legs look normal. Another thought after babying her this morning - she has had trouble in the past with her anal glands being blocked. Usually I try to massage & expel them when I bathe her. I haven't noticed her dragging her butt, which usually happens when her glands are filled and need expelling, but is it possible this could be the problem? Or constipation?
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