We are taking care of our daughters dogs this week while they are at the
beach. Whiskey, the ten year old rottie/ridgeback mix, is not putting any
weight on her rear left leg. I've checked it out completely, paw, leg,
joint, etc. Felt all around on her leg and hip area. She does have a bit
of arthritis sometimes, sometimes limps a little when she first gets up
after laying for awhile, etc. But this is the second day she's been not
using that leg at all. I called the housecall vet, the one we all use,
yesterday, and he suggested we try giving her coated aspirin. I gave her
two yesterday and one so far today. Yesterday afternoon, when I went to
give her the first aspirin, I laid her down on her bed and tried giving her
a massage in that hip and leg. She didn't yelp or show any signs of pain as
I was massaging the leg and hip. So this morning when I went over, they
live next door to us, so when I went over to feed the dogs their breakfast,
give whiskey another aspirin, and let them outside, I took another look at
her leg again, trying to figure out WTF is wrong with her. It almost looks
like her knee joint is a bit swollen. It's hard to tell because of the way
she is holding the leg up. So I felt around on the knee joint to see if
that would evoke any signs of pain from her, but it didn't. I'm at a loss
as to whether I should call the vet back or wait another day or two as he
suggested, to see if the aspirin might help??

td

If the aspirin were going to help you would have seen some results by now.
I would call the vet and take her in to have it looked at. If she's got
swelling as you say then some anti-inflamatories from the vet are more than
likely what she needs.

Celeste

"tiny dancer" wrote in message
...
We are taking care of our daughters dogs this week while they are at the
beach. Whiskey, the ten year old rottie/ridgeback mix, is not putting any
weight on her rear left leg. I've checked it out completely, paw, leg,
joint, etc. Felt all around on her leg and hip area. She does have a
bit
of arthritis sometimes, sometimes limps a little when she first gets up
after laying for awhile, etc. But this is the second day she's been not
using that leg at all. I called the housecall vet, the one we all use,
yesterday, and he suggested we try giving her coated aspirin. I gave her
two yesterday and one so far today. Yesterday afternoon, when I went to
give her the first aspirin, I laid her down on her bed and tried giving
her
a massage in that hip and leg. She didn't yelp or show any signs of pain
as
I was massaging the leg and hip. So this morning when I went over, they
live next door to us, so when I went over to feed the dogs their
breakfast,
give whiskey another aspirin, and let them outside, I took another look at
her leg again, trying to figure out WTF is wrong with her. It almost
looks
like her knee joint is a bit swollen. It's hard to tell because of the
way
she is holding the leg up. So I felt around on the knee joint to see if
that would evoke any signs of pain from her, but it didn't. I'm at a loss
as to whether I should call the vet back or wait another day or two as he
suggested, to see if the aspirin might help??

td

In article ,
tiny dancer wrote:
I'm at a loss
as to whether I should call the vet back or wait another day or two as he
suggested, to see if the aspirin might help??

A lot of orthopedic problems are minor soft tissue injuries
and will tend to clear up pretty quickly with a few days'
rest. When I have a slightly gimpy dog I generally don't
bother with the vet unless it extends past a few days.
However, when I have a dog that's more than slightly gimpy,
as you do in this case, we go straight to the vet without a
lot of dawdling. When a dog is limping or is not using a
limb normally it's because the is experiencing some (or a
lot of) pain. Dogs can be very stoic and just because the
dog isn't whining and carrying on doesn't mean it's not very
uncomfortable.

Also, to be clear, aspirin masks symptoms and makes it
easier for the dog to rest, but it's not going to fix
anything. It's the rest that the pain relief allows that
does the fixing, and if rest isn't going to take care of the
problem all the aspirin does is make the dog more
comfortable (which is something, but not enough).
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:27:35 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

We are taking care of our daughters dogs this week while they are at the
beach. Whiskey, the ten year old rottie/ridgeback mix, is not putting any
weight on her rear left leg. I've checked it out completely, paw, leg,
joint, etc. Felt all around on her leg and hip area. She does have a bit
of arthritis sometimes, sometimes limps a little when she first gets up
after laying for awhile, etc. But this is the second day she's been not
using that leg at all. I called the housecall vet, the one we all use,
yesterday, and he suggested we try giving her coated aspirin. I gave her
two yesterday and one so far today. Yesterday afternoon, when I went to
give her the first aspirin, I laid her down on her bed and tried giving her
a massage in that hip and leg. She didn't yelp or show any signs of pain as
I was massaging the leg and hip. So this morning when I went over, they
live next door to us, so when I went over to feed the dogs their breakfast,
give whiskey another aspirin, and let them outside, I took another look at
her leg again, trying to figure out WTF is wrong with her. It almost looks
like her knee joint is a bit swollen. It's hard to tell because of the way
she is holding the leg up. So I felt around on the knee joint to see if
that would evoke any signs of pain from her, but it didn't. I'm at a loss
as to whether I should call the vet back or wait another day or two as he
suggested, to see if the aspirin might help??

First, I'd call your daughter and ask her if she can shed any light on
it.

Depending on what she said, I'd stop giving her aspirin, and then I'd
find a vet who could take radiographs of her leg, perform an exam,
etc.

If the knee joint actually is swollen, there's a reason for it.

--
Handsome Jack Morrison

Hmmmm. About that recent Israeli strike at Syria...
http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2007...w-details.html

Global Warming Leads to Record Ice Levels in Antarctica! Take that, Al Gore!
"It’s hard to see a global warming signal from the mainland of Antarctica right now."
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/joes-b...tal_ice_extent

What If MoveOn.org Existed 65 Years Ago?
http://redstate.com/stories/war/what...d_65_years_ago

The Worst School in America.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles...A-0CEB4B17EEDE

Zogby poll: 42% of "reality-based" community are either 9/11 Truthers or Quasi-Truthers (reinforcing, once again,
just how freakin' "smart" these maroons are! Like Mel, they apparently watch Keith Olbermann! Heh.
http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=9747

The horrors of political correctness.
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/09/06...l-correctness/

Some "consensus," eh?
"Less Than Half of all Published Scientists Endorse Global Warming Theory"
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.c...c-6880767e7966

The "reality-based" community: Hopelessly Devoted to Failure.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...ZhYjU5ZjEzNDE=

Why "liberal" doesn't quite fit:
"In the short term, this reflects the failure of the Republican Party to secure its hard-won victories. In
the longer term, this may provide a new opportunity for the heirs to authentic liberalism - today's conservatives -
as they often thrive when lovers of big government, by whatever name they go by, overreach."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/...beral-doe.html

"The main proponents of 'universal coverage' want to throw more money at the current health care system,
which strikes me as unwise. I believe that the 'universal coverage' mantra is dysfunctional for the same
reason that 'more money for public schools' is a dysfunctional mantra for education. When your current
approach is digging you into a hole, the sensible thing to do is not to dig faster. It is to stop digging."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=080607B

"Handsome Jack Morrison" wrote in message
...
snipped


Tacking on here because you all had things to say.

First, Whiskey is a dog that does let you know if she has pain of any kind.
The vet always muzzles her when he see's her. I wouldn't call her stoic
when it comes to pain. That's what puzzles me about this, because if she
felt pain, she'd let me know I think.


First, I'd call your daughter and ask her if she can shed any light on
it.

I did, and she said Whiskey sometimes has trouble with arthritis, but
usually walks it out.



Depending on what she said, I'd stop giving her aspirin, and then I'd
find a vet who could take radiographs of her leg, perform an exam,
etc.

If the knee joint actually is swollen, there's a reason for it.


That's what I've been debating here, calling housecall guy back again. He
told me to give it a couple days. I thought aspirin has a bit of an
anti-inflammatory in it for things like arthritis? I take the coated
aspirin myself for my arthritis, the reason I have plenty on hand here to
give her. She does put the leg down to poop, I've seen her do that.

Wouldn't you guys think if something more was wrong she would show me some
signs of pain? I've checked her pads, her leg, her hip, poked and prodded
everything, moved her leg, manipulated it. After my physical therapy this
afternoon, I planned on going back over there to give her another massage.
My murphy, around this age, used to get sore hips at times, and I massaged
her a lot. She really seemed to enjoy those massages and stopped limping
pretty quickly afterwards. But those times, I was able to give her nice
long massages. Right now I'm trying to handle five dogs with my own injured
back.

td



--
Handsome Jack Morrison

Hmmmm. About that recent Israeli strike at Syria...
http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2007...w-details.html

Global Warming Leads to Record Ice Levels in Antarctica! Take that, Al
Gore!
"It's hard to see a global warming signal from the mainland of Antarctica
right now."

http://icecap.us/index.php/go/joes-b...tal_ice_extent

What If MoveOn.org Existed 65 Years Ago?
http://redstate.com/stories/war/what...d_65_years_ago

The Worst School in America.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles...A-0CEB4B17EEDE

Zogby poll: 42% of "reality-based" community are either 9/11 Truthers or
Quasi-Truthers (reinforcing, once again,
just how freakin' "smart" these maroons are! Like Mel, they apparently
watch Keith Olbermann! Heh.
http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=9747

The horrors of political correctness.
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/09/06...l-correctness/

Some "consensus," eh?
"Less Than Half of all Published Scientists Endorse Global Warming Theory"

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.c...c-6880767e7966

The "reality-based" community: Hopelessly Devoted to Failure.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...ZhYjU5ZjEzNDE=

Why "liberal" doesn't quite fit:
"In the short term, this reflects the failure of the Republican Party to
secure its hard-won victories. In
the longer term, this may provide a new opportunity for the heirs to
authentic liberalism - today's conservatives -
as they often thrive when lovers of big government, by whatever name they
go by, overreach."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/...beral-doe.html

"The main proponents of 'universal coverage' want to throw more money at
the current health care system,
which strikes me as unwise. I believe that the 'universal coverage' mantra
is dysfunctional for the same
reason that 'more money for public schools' is a dysfunctional mantra for
education. When your current
approach is digging you into a hole, the sensible thing to do is not to
dig faster. It is to stop digging."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=080607B

"tiny dancer" wrote :

... Whiskey, the ten year old rottie/ridgeback mix, is not
putting any weight on her rear left leg. I've checked it out
completely, paw, leg, joint, etc. Felt all around on her leg and hip
area.

ACL tear?

http://www.berkshirevet.com/infoacl.htm

In article ,
tiny dancer wrote:
Wouldn't you guys think if something more was wrong she would show me some
signs of pain?

Like, oh, I dunno - not putting weight on the leg?
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:00:46 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

[...]
If the knee joint actually is swollen, there's a reason for it.

That's what I've been debating here, calling housecall guy back again. He
told me to give it a couple days. I thought aspirin has a bit of an
anti-inflammatory in it for things like arthritis? I take the coated
aspirin myself for my arthritis, the reason I have plenty on hand here to
give her. She does put the leg down to poop, I've seen her do that.

Because the aspirin doesn't appear to be doing anything, I'd stop
giving it to her. I'd keep her quiet, too.

Wouldn't you guys think if something more was wrong she would show me some
signs of pain?

But there may be no pain. A limp is a hard thing to diagnose. It
could be so many things. E.g., a soft tissue injury.

Only an in-person exam, maybe some radiographs, etc. can get to the
crux of this matter, TD.

But I'd stop giving her aspirin until I found out what is was. If she
does need somthing for her arthritis, there are better medications
available.

--
Handsome Jack Morrison

Hmmmm. About that recent Israeli strike at Syria...
http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2007...w-details.html

Global Warming Leads to Record Ice Levels in Antarctica! Take that, Al Gore!
"It’s hard to see a global warming signal from the mainland of Antarctica right now."
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/joes-b...tal_ice_extent

What If MoveOn.org Existed 65 Years Ago?
http://redstate.com/stories/war/what...d_65_years_ago

The Worst School in America.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles...A-0CEB4B17EEDE

Zogby poll: 42% of "reality-based" community are either 9/11 Truthers or Quasi-Truthers (reinforcing, once again,
just how freakin' "smart" these maroons are! Like Mel, they apparently watch Keith Olbermann! Heh.
http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=9747

The horrors of political correctness.
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/09/06...l-correctness/

Some "consensus," eh?
"Less Than Half of all Published Scientists Endorse Global Warming Theory"
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.c...c-6880767e7966

The "reality-based" community: Hopelessly Devoted to Failure.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...ZhYjU5ZjEzNDE=

Why "liberal" doesn't quite fit:
"In the short term, this reflects the failure of the Republican Party to secure its hard-won victories. In
the longer term, this may provide a new opportunity for the heirs to authentic liberalism - today's conservatives -
as they often thrive when lovers of big government, by whatever name they go by, overreach."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/...beral-doe.html

"The main proponents of 'universal coverage' want to throw more money at the current health care system,
which strikes me as unwise. I believe that the 'universal coverage' mantra is dysfunctional for the same
reason that 'more money for public schools' is a dysfunctional mantra for education. When your current
approach is digging you into a hole, the sensible thing to do is not to dig faster. It is to stop digging."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=080607B

"Handsome Jack Morrison" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:00:46 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

[...]
If the knee joint actually is swollen, there's a reason for it.

That's what I've been debating here, calling housecall guy back again.
He
told me to give it a couple days. I thought aspirin has a bit of an
anti-inflammatory in it for things like arthritis? I take the coated
aspirin myself for my arthritis, the reason I have plenty on hand here to
give her. She does put the leg down to poop, I've seen her do that.

Because the aspirin doesn't appear to be doing anything, I'd stop
giving it to her. I'd keep her quiet, too.

Wouldn't you guys think if something more was wrong she would show me
some
signs of pain?

But there may be no pain. A limp is a hard thing to diagnose. It
could be so many things. E.g., a soft tissue injury.

Only an in-person exam, maybe some radiographs, etc. can get to the
crux of this matter, TD.

But I'd stop giving her aspirin until I found out what is was. If she
does need somthing for her arthritis, there are better medications
available.


I have to leave soon for my physical therapy appointment for my ruptured
discs in my back. That appointment in about 20 to 30 minutes in the
opposite direction from Raleigh. When I get back home from that, I may just
have to take Whiskey into Raleigh, about a 50 minute drive in the other
direction, to the 24 hour dog hospital we've always used in emergencies.
Where we live now, we are kind of in the middle of nowhere as far as vet
services. I've got to wait for my husband to come and get me to take me to
my own therapy. We both drive stick shift cars, and I can't use the clutch
right now, because it's my left side/left leg that is effected by the
ruptured discs. I'm able to drive very short distances, but no way could I
drive the 50 minutes each way into town to take Whiskey to the vet myself.


I so much appreciate all of you guys giving me input on this. I hate it
when something happens to someone elses dog. If it was my dog, I can make
my decisions easily myself. Last year, before we lived next door to the
kids, their other dog, Monte, scraped the bottoms off two of her paws when
they delivered her to our house for their last vacation. They brought the
dogs in the back of their pick-up and Monte tried to jump out the moment she
saw it was *grandma's house*. My son in law had her fastened into the back
of the truck by her leash. Yes, I know, something I never would have done
myself, but it was my son in law. Long story short, he dropped the dogs and
left. After he was gone, I noticed blood on my carpet and kitchen floor.
Upon examining all the dogs, mine and theirs, I discovered monte's scrapped
paw pads. So we immediately rushed her to the 24 hour clinic. We still
lived *in town* then. And spent the rest of their vacation, taking Monte
back and forth to the clinic daily to have her bandages changed and her pads
examined, etc. Now Monte is a trooper, doesn't show pain, one of those
stoic dogs. But Whiskey has always been just the opposite. If she's in
pain, you know it. Everybody know's it, she lets us know loud and clear
she's in pain. She wouldn't bite or snap at me, but if somebody else tried
to mess with an in pain Whiskey, I'm pretty sure she'd bite them, that's how
*vocal* she is about it. That's why this one had me stumped.

I did finally get a call back from my daughter at the beach. She said
Whiskey has done something like this before. We had a very bad connection
at the beach though and I couldn't really hear what she was saying about how
long she's gone in the past without using the leg. Like I said, were it my
own dog, I wouldn't be hesitating. Our Murphy had the same sort of problem
one Saturday night, and we took her into the 24 hour place. They examined
her, said it was most likely a soft tissue injury, and put her on an
anti-inflamatory. Told me about not giving her anything for pain, so she
would *naturally* not use the leg until it had time to heal. Explained to
me about not wanting to stop her pain, so she wouldn't over use the leg,
etc.

td

On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:32:07 -0400, "tiny dancer"
wrote:

[...]
Only an in-person exam, maybe some radiographs, etc. can get to the
crux of this matter, TD.

But I'd stop giving her aspirin until I found out what is was. If she
does need somthing for her arthritis, there are better medications
available.

I have to leave soon for my physical therapy appointment for my ruptured
discs in my back. That appointment in about 20 to 30 minutes in the
opposite direction from Raleigh. When I get back home from that, I may just
have to take Whiskey into Raleigh, about a 50 minute drive in the other
direction, to the 24 hour dog hospital we've always used in emergencies.
Where we live now, we are kind of in the middle of nowhere as far as vet
services. I've got to wait for my husband to come and get me to take me to
my own therapy. We both drive stick shift cars, and I can't use the clutch
right now, because it's my left side/left leg that is effected by the
ruptured discs. I'm able to drive very short distances, but no way could I
drive the 50 minutes each way into town to take Whiskey to the vet myself.


For whatever it's worth, I don't think you have an emergency on your
hands. Waiting until tomorrow probably isn't going to do any harm, if
you keep her quiet, and keep an eye on her.

[...]
They examined
her, said it was most likely a soft tissue injury, and put her on an
anti-inflamatory. Told me about not giving her anything for pain, so she
would *naturally* not use the leg until it had time to heal. Explained to
me about not wanting to stop her pain, so she wouldn't over use the leg,
etc.

Which is precisely why you should stop giving her aspirin.

A little pain can be a good thing.

Good luck!

--
Handsome Jack Morrison

Hmmmm. About that recent Israeli strike at Syria...
http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2007...w-details.html

Global Warming Leads to Record Ice Levels in Antarctica! Take that, Al Gore!
"It’s hard to see a global warming signal from the mainland of Antarctica right now."
http://icecap.us/index.php/go/joes-b...tal_ice_extent

What If MoveOn.org Existed 65 Years Ago?
http://redstate.com/stories/war/what...d_65_years_ago

The Worst School in America.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles...A-0CEB4B17EEDE

Zogby poll: 42% of "reality-based" community are either 9/11 Truthers or Quasi-Truthers (reinforcing, once again,
just how freakin' "smart" these maroons are! Like Mel, they apparently watch Keith Olbermann! Heh.
http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=9747

The horrors of political correctness.
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/09/06...l-correctness/

Some "consensus," eh?
"Less Than Half of all Published Scientists Endorse Global Warming Theory"
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.c...c-6880767e7966

The "reality-based" community: Hopelessly Devoted to Failure.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q...ZhYjU5ZjEzNDE=

Why "liberal" doesn't quite fit:
"In the short term, this reflects the failure of the Republican Party to secure its hard-won victories. In
the longer term, this may provide a new opportunity for the heirs to authentic liberalism - today's conservatives -
as they often thrive when lovers of big government, by whatever name they go by, overreach."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/...beral-doe.html

"The main proponents of 'universal coverage' want to throw more money at the current health care system,
which strikes me as unwise. I believe that the 'universal coverage' mantra is dysfunctional for the same
reason that 'more money for public schools' is a dysfunctional mantra for education. When your current
approach is digging you into a hole, the sensible thing to do is not to dig faster. It is to stop digging."
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=080607B