Rocky Goes To The Vet,2.0

[Gelcoater]

Poor Rocky,he's having a tough week.
Friday when I got home from work I noticed he was favoring his right front paw,noticed it right off as he stood up to greet me.
I kept an eye on him,within 20 minutes or so he and Daisy were out back yahoo'ing around like normal so I figured maybe the way he was sleeping his paw fell asleep.
Later that night he was favoring it again,slight limp.
Saturday morning early we heard him yelp going down stairs.I go look and he's limping bad,won't even touch paw to the ground.
So I go to him,make him sit and start feeling around his paws looking for stickers between toes or wounds,torn nails,etc.
Don't find any,and he's yelping if I touch him.
Daisy came trotting up and he's yelping because she almost touched him.Gave him some low dose aspirin.He was holding a grudge,like somehow I was responsible for his pain.Wouldn't come when called.
My assumption was(is) pulled a muscle somewhere.
Texted April for advise,she advised bed rest for the weekend,if he's no better by Monday take him in.
Sunday I worked,gone most of the day,wife and kids kept him from moving too much.Still wont put the paw down,poor guy was a pitiful sight trying to go out to pee.He did greet me and was more cooperative though.Someone is turning into a mamma's boy
Monday he is walking(very softly) on it but picked it up to trot "No running boy!"
He seems to be a little better,Tuesday about the same.He was instigating play with anyone who would,poor guy.
We decided to take him in today,still favoring the paw.They checked him out pretty good and prescribed an anti-inflammatory.If he doesn't improve in a weeks time they want to get an x-ray.He's not going to need it.
On top of all this,this morning he was standing just outside the kitchen watching me make lunches for the kids,turned his head to walk away and bonked his head on a table.It was loud!!
Add to that we dremeled his nails later in the morning,he was trembling with fear about that even with ham as the treat.The stinking collet on the dremel came loose on paw #3 causing a startling buzzing noise,freaked him out.Then even the ham was of no interest.
Trembled with fear all the way to the vets office today.
Poor guy is now worn out.

 

[MelissaP.]

Oh my goodness! Feel better soon Rocky.

 

[Gelcoater]

I want to add,after reading about the muzzle thread and the thread about Doberman image that are both going at the moment.
jmorposmo comment about her vet's comment about Dobermans in a house with kids...probably has little experience with the breed?

Our vet clinic has a male and female vet,all the techs and staff are female besides that one doc.
They(the girls there)all love my dogs!
The only time Daisy has worn a muzzle was at the request of the male vet.She's never been fond of strange men,they need to earn her trust.He came in a bit too forceful on her visit and she growled at him.Since he needed to look in her ears it was I guess a little too close to Daisy's business end for his liking.
She's always liked women and older kids(toddlers kind of freak her out) so since the day of the muzzle incident the female vet deals with her.
Today when I walked in with Rocky,the lady behind the counter was up with a treat and greeting us before we were half way to her!
She called him by name,"Rocky!What are you doing here,buddy?" And loved all over him.

 

[ariegel]

Poor guy hope he feels better soon! We have a few dog that are schedule with female docs only.

 

[JanS]

Aww poor guy. I know ours have strained a muscle once in a while but it's usually better within a couple days.

 

[obbanner]

Hope it's not Lyme. When a dog comes into my vet limping, a Lyme test is the first thing they do. Heal fast, Rocky!

 

[Gelcoater]

Hope it's not Lyme. When a dog comes into my vet limping, a Lyme test is the first thing they do. Heal fast, Rocky!

Hmm.Never thought of that?Vet didn't bring it up either.

 

[gettinggreyer]

How is he doing today?

 

[Gelcoater]

How is he doing today?

Better.He wants to play,but we're not letting him.He's still walking softly.

 

[gettinggreyer]

I would ask about the Lyme, just call to ask. He just had been like this a few months ago, right?
Lyme is so prevalent here, that our vet just does a check with their heartworm every year.
If you saw him hurt himself, that's different. When Geist hurt his leg doing a quick turn stop, he had to be
on doggie ibuprofen, outside on leash, and kennel detention. It was NOT fun, for either of us.

 

[Gelcoater]

I would ask about the Lyme, just call to ask. He just had been like this a few months ago, right?
Lyme is so prevalent here, that our vet just does a check with their heartworm every year.
If you saw him hurt himself, that's different. When Geist hurt his leg doing a quick turn stop, he had to be
on doggie ibuprofen, outside on leash, and kennel detention. It was NOT fun, for either of us.

No,a few months ago he had an ear infection,vet prescribed an antibiotic and he had a bad reaction to it.

 

[obbanner]

Hmm.Never thought of that?Vet didn't bring it up either.

Is Lyme common there? It's common enough here that the vets start with a blood test to eliminate a diagnosis of Lyme, then proceed from there if it's negative.

Anna was limping last August and I took her in. She had a swelling, but not Lyme. The vet tech told me their procedure was to first rule out Lyme.

 

[Gelcoater]

Is Lyme common there? It's common enough here that the vets start with a blood test to eliminate a diagnosis of Lyme, then proceed from there if it's negative.

Anna was limping last August and I took her in. She had a swelling, but not Lyme. The vet tech told me their procedure was to first rule out Lyme.

Not that I know of?
Maxie never once had a tick,Daisy in 5 years has had 2.

 

[gettinggreyer]

If he was on Doxy for the abx he prob was covered, that is what they use to treat lyme.
I never saw ticks on my dogs either. They get once a month frontline, and since we have been here,
have had 3 different dogs get it, one got it twice.

 

[Judith]

aww poor Rocky, probably just twisted on it while rough housing, rest is the answer even though they don't want to but it is hard when you have two dogs, hot and cold compresses may help as well may help it heal a bit quicker.

Initiating cold for up to 20 minutes at a time can do several things.

• By decreasing the cell metabolic rate it slows the requirement for nutrients, oxygen, and perfusion. Slowing its work capacity allows for a quiet environment in the face of trauma and the changes that brings to the area.
• Vasoconstriction helps to stop bleeding, reducing bruising and swelling.
• Decreasing an inflammatory response means less redness, less pain, and potentially less chance for infection.
• A decreased nerve conduction velocity is achieved by the chilling effect. Slowing nerve transmission is how it reduces pain.
• Decreasing muscle contraction helps further to prevent nerve irritation and pain. Contraction of muscle at the site of a fracture can make a surgical reduction more difficult when the muscle must be relaxed to achieve positioning again.
• Increased pain threshold means that it takes more pain before the minds would perceive pain exists. This effect helps the body deal better with what has happened and keeps the adrenal cortisol stress response lower.
• Decreasing collagen and muscle capacity and response to stretch keeps the tissue in more of its true shape and size so that less swelling occurs.

For all these reasons it is wise to apply cold therapy for the first 3 days after injury or at the end of a busy day when a body suffers from a chronic arthritic or inflammatory condition. Utilizing massage with cold therapy yields better results than either done alone.

How: 15 minutes per treatment (do not exceed 20 minutes) 3 to 5 times per day

What: You can use any of the following. Cold plus massage benefits more than cold used alone.

• Ice cups – fill Styrofoam cups, freeze tear off part of cup and use to massage and chill the area
• Cold packs – these are commercially available or you can make your own with a freezer zip lock bag. Mix 2 parts water and 1 part isopropyl alcohol. Put in freezer where it will become a cold pliable icy bag. Wrap in a small towel before applying to the animal’s body.

Heat Therapy
Heat is used starting 3 days after an injury or for a chronic condition like arthritis to help create circulation and relaxation in tissue. Heat helps with muscle spasms, tendinitis, bursitis, scars and contracted tissue, sprains and strains after 3 days, and chronic pain. It does this by:

• Increasing the body’s capacity to use oxygen.
• It further increases membrane diffusion and enzymatic activity using the oxygen and moving metabolic wastes (toxins and trash) out of the traumatized tissue area. Getting the old cellular debris expelled further reduces pain.
• Opening up blood vessels (vasodilation) also gets more nutrients into the joints and tissue.
• Relaxation of irritated muscle spindles at the heart of the trigger points will neutralize those zones allowing the muscle to function more optimally.
• Locally heat decreases pain by decreasing muscle spasm and t and lengthens the shortened fascia that had been putting pressure on nerves.
• Heat causes a reflex pain inhibition by increasing the temperature of sensory nerve cells. The message of heat travels rapidly to the brain, blocking out the pain message and raising the threshold of the sensory nerve endings resulting in long term pain relief.

Applying Heat Therapy
When: After 72 hours or with a chronic condition

How: Up to 20 minutes or divided doing 10 minutes on/ 10 off/10 on. The temperature of the target tissue must elevate at least 5 degrees F but DO NOT exceed 12 degrees elevation. Moist heat is preferred.

What: Flax pillows or heat-activated applications can be used. Or take a small towel and saturate with water then ring out most of it. Put it into a plastic bag and place in the microwave for 1 minute, invert the towel exposing the inside and heat for additional time if needed. When finished heating take the towel out of the plastic and wrap it in a dry towel then lay across the affected area.

 

[Gelcoater]

Yeah,he's feeling better. Fortunately she's minding the "keep it mellow"

 

[DocReverto]

Glad he's better, that stuff always scares that crap out of me.