We have an English Setter who is about 8 years old. For several
months he has shown a condition that comes and goes. When he has the
condition where he limps sometimes on the back legs and sometimes on
the front legs. Recently he has started responding with yelps when we
touch various parts of his body including his face. However, the
condition doesn't last long and when we touch the same place again, it
doesn't seem to hurt. We took him to a vet and he checked for lymes
disease as well as Ehrlich- iosis. Also, he did a complete blood
workup checking for liver and kidney problems. Everything was
negative. He just couldn't find anything so he gave him an
antiinflamitory shot and gave us a round of antibiotics. For the
rest of that day, he acted normal but then the condition returned.

We are wondering about the food he eats. About two months ago my wife
started buying the Kibbles and Bits homestyle.

Any thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks

"Jack" wrote in message
...
We have an English Setter who is about 8 years old. For several
months he has shown a condition that comes and goes. When he has the
condition where he limps sometimes on the back legs and sometimes on
the front legs. Recently he has started responding with yelps when we
touch various parts of his body including his face. However, the
condition doesn't last long and when we touch the same place again, it
doesn't seem to hurt. We took him to a vet and he checked for lymes
disease as well as Ehrlich- iosis.

........These are both good thoughts. One comment though. Since this has
only been going on for a few months it is still possible that your dog has
Lyme disease and is just not making antibodies yet. That's what the tests
measure - the antibodies to the organism that causes the disease.

http://blackgsd.googlepages.com/tests
*Any titer number indicates that the dog has made antibodies to combat a
given disease. However, a negative titer is not necessarily conclusive in
determining that a dog doesn't have that disease. Mistakes in handling the
serum sample can result in a negative titer...or a positive one, for that
matter. .......If tests are run too soon, it could be that the dog has not
had time to make enough antibodies to be detectable.*

Also, he did a complete blood
workup checking for liver and kidney problems. Everything was
negative. He just couldn't find anything so he gave him an
antiinflamitory shot and gave us a round of antibiotics. For the
rest of that day, he acted normal but then the condition returned.

........ONe shot of antibiotics won't do much. It was the steroids probably
which gave the dog relief. Though I think that in some tick diseases
steroids are contraindicated. By complete blood workup do you mean
chemistry panel (liver & Kidney) AND a CBC? And if you didn't do a
urinalysis, the health of the kidneys is still not necessarily known.

Some reading for you:
http://www.vetinfo.com/doglame.html
Excellent review of all parts of the body possibly involved in lameness:
http://www.newmanveterinary.com/lameness.html
Your dog seems too old for pano:
http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/lpano.htm
Polyarthritis?
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/autoimmn.html#P
http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proce...ID=6505&O=Gene
ric
OCD?
http://www.provet.co.uk/petfacts/hea...chondrosis.htm

..........You'd have to ask your vet if it would make any of the above
possible conditions worse, but I'd put the dog on doxy to absolutely rule
out that he doesn't have Lyme disease. BTW, do you live in an area where it
is prevalent? I'd read all of this site on tick diseaes and find out what
tests they ran on your dog. Also note under the treatment section that the
dosage of doxy is much higher than normal to treat this disease.

http://blackgsd.googlepages.com/tests
*If a test comes back negative but everything he sees when he looks at a dog
is telling him this is a dog with Lyme, erhlichiosis or RMSF, most likely
your vet will advise putting your dog on doxycycline. If the dog improves
almost at once, in a matter of days, you have a presumptive diagnosis right
there and you know to keep him on the antibiotic as long as necessary.*

http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/s...cle.cfm?id=256
*Signs of Lyme disease in dogs are fever, unwillingness to eat, sore joints,
a stiff gait, or
lameness that may shift from one leg to the other. The lameness may be
sudden in onset.
Keep in mind that many diseases exhibit these same signs. If your dog shows
these signs,
see your veterinarian. Lyme disease responds within two days to treatment
with antibiotics,
but the animal should be kept on the medicine for two to four weeks to
ensure a cure.*

........Two days! Seems worth it to me to give it a fling. If you get no
response from the doxy, I'd do X-rays. The cause could be neurological,
orthological or some kind of autoimmune disease. In the meantime, keep a
log of what limb was affected, what exercise the dog had, or any other
behavior or symptom that is not normal for your dog. And think back, did
your dog ever have a fever or seem off for a few days before this started?
Make any changes around the house - new carpet, new cedar dog bed, bug
spray, etc. before this started?

We are wondering about the food he eats. About two months ago my wife
started buying the Kibbles and Bits homestyle.

........To rule out any kind of reaction to the food, put him back on what he
was getting before. Isn't Kibbles and Bits multi-colored? Could be he's
reacting go the dye. There's no way to know until you eliminate the food as
a possibility. One hopes that it could be this simple! I'd do that today!

best of luck
buglady
take out the dog before replying