# Limping on his back leg :(



## Boom Boom's Mom (Jul 27, 2004)

My poor lil boy is favoring his rear passenger leg (easiest way to describe)

His leg isnt popping.. He'll let me squeeze and move his leg.. He's not crying about it or is he less active than before.. 

Any thoughts? Hopefully its just a pulled muscle?


----------



## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

Oh me!!! Brinkley did that yesterday afternoon!!! But he came home and rested...and all seemed well into the evening. No problems today...I thought that he probably just pulled something...or landed wrong jumping of the couch or something...there is no telling-he is SO active sometimes. I was worried...but thought I would watch it before calling the vet too. Seems fine today.

I hope it is the same with Boom!!! Let us know!!!


----------



## Guest (Nov 7, 2004)

This kind of "lameness" if it is not caused by an injury can be considered a wait and see situation for a day. If it is there tomorrow or gone tomorrow and then returns agin...for sure go to the vet. When Boris was a puppy (bout 7 months) this happened to us...we zoomed to the vet. By the time he was examined his walking had already improved. He just turned 6 and has no other episiodes of lameness and does not have luxating patellas. So...just give it another 24 hrs and see what the story is. Hoping it is nothing at all...which is quite possible.


----------



## Boom Boom's Mom (Jul 27, 2004)

Unfortunately we've been doing the wait an see.

He had flees really bad and had been scratching madly and had a lot of sores on his legs from scratch (they're gone now thank god! Only took two flea baths!) I thought perhaps they had to do with the limping, but they're healing now and he's still doing it.

I just worry its something bad. He just doesnt really seem to be in pain. He's not laying around the house. He still runs an plays with my husband like normal. He hops up on the bed and off and on the couch an off. 

I dont so much have the money to pay for anything major right now, but I can't leave him be incase something really is wrong.


----------



## BrookeB676 (Oct 17, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Boom Boom's Mom_@Nov 7 2004, 05:35 PM
> *Unfortunately we've been doing the wait an see.
> 
> He had flees really bad and had been scratching madly and had a lot of sores on his legs from scratch (they're gone now thank god!  Only took two flea baths!)  I thought perhaps they had to do with the limping, but they're healing now and he's still doing it.
> ...


[/QUOTE]



Does he play or run around a lot, or do you guys have stairs? When my yorkie was about 9 months he started limping and we waited it out and decided that we should go to the vet because he LOVED to run around and play and he still did it but his leg was "hurt." He didnt cry or anything so after research I decided it was legg perthes. WELL, we went into the vet (this was after about a month and a half of waiting because he would limp for a few days and stop for a few so we just didnt know what to think. ANyways when I told my vet we thought he had something like legg perthes he thought I was completely crazy and said that iwas definitely not that. He gave us some pain medicine that Rocky took for a little over a week and after that he was completely fine! It is definitely worth going to check out, and hopefully your vet will reassure you that he just hurt it and just needs to rest with some pain meds. It is very rare that you will have to go into some emergency surgery or do some serious procedure immediately. Even if it was something like that, you usually wait a while before any surgeries, so I wouldnt worry too much. I think just a wuick vet check-up is all that is neccesary and hopefully he will be feeling better in no time


----------



## Boom Boom's Mom (Jul 27, 2004)

> _Originally posted by BrookeB676_@Nov 7 2004, 07:49 PM
> *Does he play or run around a lot, or do you guys have stairs? When my yorkie was about 9 months he started limping and we waited it out and decided that we should go to the vet because he LOVED to run around and play and he still did it but his leg was "hurt." He didnt cry or anything so after research I decided it was legg perthes. WELL, we went into the vet (this was after about a month and a half of waiting because he would limp for a few days and stop for a few so we just didnt know what to think. ANyways when I told my vet we thought he had something like legg perthes he thought I was completely crazy and said that iwas definitely not that. He gave us some pain medicine that Rocky took for a little over a week and after that he was completely fine! It is definitely worth going to check out, and hopefully your vet will reassure you that he just hurt it and just needs to rest with some pain meds. It is very rare that you will have to go into some emergency surgery or do some serious procedure immediately. Even if it was something like that, you usually wait a while before any surgeries, so I wouldnt worry too much. I think just a wuick vet check-up is all that is neccesary and hopefully he will be feeling better in no time
> 
> 
> ...


[/QUOTE]


If nothing else you made me feel like a much better mommy. Boom has been limping off and on for about 2 weeks. He'd do it a day.. then quit.. and a few days later do it again. We do have stairs, and he does play and run a lot (he's a year old). Hopefully it'll be a rest thing, god only knows how we'd do that.


----------



## Boom Boom's Mom (Jul 27, 2004)

Well, we're home.

Turns out the vet thinks he's torn his cruciate ligament in his knee.









She said they'd do x rays to check his knees and hips, put him under to see if his ligament is actually torn, and if it is do the surgery to repair it then.

All for the grand price of 400 dollars.

I don't know what I'm gonna do. I'm having ownership guilt, I cant afford him so why did I get him?

I feel like I'm gonna be sick.


----------



## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Boom Boom's Mom_@Nov 8 2004, 04:30 PM
> *Well, we're home.
> 
> Turns out the vet thinks he's torn his cruciate ligament in his knee.
> ...


[/QUOTE]


Maybe you can ask the vet about a payment plan? Especially if you go there all the time and are a regular...it is an option anyway...


----------



## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

I'm so sorry to hear about the diagnosis. Can't they do an X-ray without putting him under to see what's going on? My first Maltese, Rosebud, had X-rays all the time without anethesia. 

Also, if surgery is indeed necessary, can a family member help you out? When my first Malt, Rosebud, was at the NC State Vet Hospital many years ago, my Mother bailed me out by paying the $2,000 bill... thank goodness! These little babies can be very high maintenance, indeed.

If a relative can't help, can you have a yard sale to drum up some cash? Or sell some items on eBay? I sure hope things work out for you and Boom Boom.


----------



## ButterCloudandNoriko (Aug 26, 2004)

I'm sorry to hear this! Don't worry too much for now. You don't know yet. And if he does need surgury, see how long you can go without the surgery and start your emergency fund. My bf and I were talking about creating a fund for our babies. Because I have 2, our stash is going to have to be pretty big. 

I don't even know if this is possible, but my sister's bf takes their baby to a vet school and everything is much cheaper there. Do you know of any vet school that's near that may help out? Good luck.


----------



## Boom Boom's Mom (Jul 27, 2004)

they can do the xrays w/o puting him under, but they want to put him under so they can examine his knee without tension on the ligaments. if they find that the knee indeed has a torn ligament they do the surgery then.

We're gonna try to wait til I'm on Christmas break so I can be with him. The dr said the long we wait it could lead to arthritis.


----------



## ButterCloudandNoriko (Aug 26, 2004)

Does anyone know if the Glocosmine would help a little or not in this instance so that boomboom's mom can wait til christmas for surgery?


----------



## dr.jaimie (Mar 23, 2004)

i dont think it would, b/c its not a cartilage problem...is boom over weight? i dont want to mention this but it is common for the cruciate to rupture in the other leg, so it is good to determine the cause. dont mean to cause further worry, but i hope you can prevent it from happening to the other leg...did the vet prescribe any pain meds? well i wish you and boom boom the best of luck!


----------



## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Have you talked to your vet about a payment plan? If you are a regular client, they may be willing to work something out with you. I have had to do that twice with Lady. 2 years in a row almost to the day she had to be hospitalized and her bill was nearly $1,000 both times. It took me nearly a year to pay it off, but my vet was great about it.

No, glucosamine won't really help as it takes several months to even start working and it sounds like your vet wants to do surgery before then. It makes sense not to wait as once arthritis sets in, there really is no fixing that, you're talking about a lifetime problem.

I'm having ownership guilt, I cant afford him so why did I get him?

It is easy to get these little ones, isn't it, without thinking about the big financial picture, isn't it? I nearly adopted another one about a year after I adopted Lady. Thank heavens I didn't - I can barely afford her!

I think an emergency fund is a great idea. You almost have to think worse case scenario when it comes to your pets and be prepared. I have a co-worker who has multiple animals and she sends her vet a check every month so she can keep a running account, just in case. I think that's an excellent idea.


----------



## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

> _Originally posted by LadysMom_@Nov 9 2004, 07:53 AM
> *I have a co-worker who has multiple animals and she sends her vet a check every month so she can keep a running account, just in case. I think that's an excellent idea.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=15505*


[/QUOTE]


That is a GREAT idea...also...just to always have the money in there for flea meds, heartworm meds etc. I may start doing that! We have been really lucky so far with our pets...and our vet is great about paying in installments...but keeping a "credit" would be much easier than keeping it in a savings account and transferring etc.


----------



## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Isn't that a great idea? I keep saying I am going to do it, but.......! 

The nice thing is that if you had a good year with no emergencies or extraordinary bills (in a perfect world......!), you could use the money at the end of the year for vaccinations, heartworm check, etc.

I used to have more pets than I do now and never felt the money pinch before, but it has really become a lot more expensive to go to the vet's in the last decade. Lady had a urinary tract infection right after Labor Day and she was on 10 days of Clavamox, but it came back with a vengeance a week after we stopped the medication. My vet switched her to Baytril for 2 weeks, but that still didn't take care of it. (I have test strips at home for infection since diabetics are prone to uti's)
I spoke with my vet and she said to bring a urine sample in so they could check it themselves. I brought Lady along with me just in case.....

Well, the urine sample turned into blood work, which turned into xrays for stones, then a sterile sample for a culture to find out what medication would get rid of the infection. $300 later I found out she just needed to stay on Clavamox longer!


----------



## ButterCloudandNoriko (Aug 26, 2004)

Boom Boom's Mom--I hope all is well for you and your baby.

I think one of the things we need to start doing is telling ppl to have an emergency fund when they ask what they need before bringing their babies home. This is crucial. It doesn't even have to do with whether your babies came from the best breeder or not. You just gotta be ready for the unexpected.


----------



## BrookeB676 (Oct 17, 2004)

> _Originally posted by ButterCloudandNoriko_@Nov 9 2004, 10:25 AM
> *Boom Boom's Mom--I hope all is well for you and your baby.
> 
> I think one of the things we need to start doing is telling ppl to have an emergency fund when they ask what they need before bringing their babies home.  This is crucial.  It doesn't even have to do with whether your babies came from the best breeder or not.  You just gotta be ready for the unexpected.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=15563*


[/QUOTE]


Im so sorry to hear this. I hope that everything turns out okay. Youre a good mommy and dont feel bad for giving him the best home her could have







Boom Boom almost looks like a westie, he is very cute. Im sure your vet will workout a payment plan, most vet REALLY care about the well being of their animals. Please talk to us for support.

Ladysmom- you vet bills sound awful







poor lady. Gosh I have 3 and couldnt imagine if something happened. We are students so it is hard to save. Hopefully one of our parents would come to the rescue for the meantime...I knoe someone would atleast be willing to set up a payment plan, I would hope


----------

