# Hind leg injury



## Dennisv21 (May 15, 2008)

My 5 year Golden female came up lame today as she came out of the river from several stick retrievals and swims. Her left hind leg is the problem. She puts weight on it, but barely, and she limps and drops her butt down as she walks on it. The leg quivers a little when she puts weight on it. It appears the foot is pointing slightly outward as she walks. She is not whimpering and doesn't seem to be in pain. I inspected the pads and there are no cuts or embedded foreign objects between the pads. I felt and massaged the muscles and joints in the leg, and she did not flinch or jerk. There is no swelling. She is overweight at 95 pounds, she should be about 80.

I hope it isn't a torn ligament, but does it sound like it is?

:wave:

Dennis v.
New member, joined 10 minutes ago!


----------



## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Welcome Dennis...sorry you had to find us under the circumstances...
Cant help much only to say...they can sprain/tweak muscles easily...
Certainly a trip to the vet is in order, if it is serious you will want care the sooner rather then later...if nothing more then a sprain then offer her some pain relief is in order...
Im sure other will be chiming in soon...


----------



## daddysgirl (Feb 27, 2007)

Welcome to the forum. sorry your girl hurt herself, hopefully its nothing too serious. i would take her to the vet as soon as you can. sounds like it could be an ACL injury or a luxating patella. hope shes feeling better soon. Denise


----------



## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Welcome Dennis. I, too, am sorry you had to find us because of an injury. I think you'll need to get your vet to examine her asap. Our rescue springer came up lame last Sat. in his lt front leg and it turns out it is his shoulder. The vet seemed to think rest and some non-steroidal pain relief would do the trick..... and we are trying that before anything else. Getting her to the vet sooner rather than later will not only give her some pain relief ( and these sweet fur babies can mask pain REALLY well !!!) but early treatment could perhaps prevent further injury. Please keep us posted on what you find and how she does. Also, she'll do much better if you can help her get some of the weight off..... it's something many of us here have had to do and there are TONS (no pun intended) of threads under the nutrition section that might give you some ideas or help.


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

***bumping up***


----------



## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

It very well may be a torn ACL. My golden had this with her left leg a year ago and now may be dealing with the same thing again with her right leg. 

It's very important that you get her weight down. Be very serious about this and get it done any which way you can. I used Science Diet R/D with my dog for about a year, before her surgery and after, because weight management is so critical for joint injuries and recovery. Check into this. It's not the best food but sometimes weight loss is the priority.

You need to take her to a vet. It's a fairly simple examination. Don't hesitate to get a 2nd opinion if it makes you feel more comfortable. And then do your research. You have several options if it is a ligament injury but you want to make an informed decision -- your golden is young and has many years ahead of her, she needs her legs to work for her.

Please give us an update....


----------



## Dennisv21 (May 15, 2008)

Here's at update at 7:10 a.m.

Jules had a restful night, and when we got up this morning, there was no noticeable hobble. She is putting full weight on the leg. However, she is a little listless, didn't go pee-pee this morning right away, like she usually does. Instead she is laying on the front stoop as I write this message.


Update at 7:15 a.m. She saw a cat across the street, got up off the stoop and walked down the sidewalk with no hobble or limp at all. Then she went on the yard to do normal business. If anything, she is lifting the leg just a tad higher than usual as she walks. And she appears to be just a little tentative.

I'm assuming she has not torn a ligament, but I don't know for sure. If it was an ACL, wouldn't she continue to limp around like she was 15 hours ago? I guess I'm not sure how to proceed.

Any recommendations?

Dennis v.

P.S. I'm wondering if it could be a bone bruise. There are a lot of rocks on the shore of the river.


----------



## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

I would still consider a trip to the vet. My golden Max tore her CCL (dog equivilant of ACL) she "managed" for 4 months with good days and bad days. I just thought it was age related. "IF" it is the CCL the earlier you catch it the better, because less risk of menicus damage and increased arthritis. 

I hope it is just a pulled muscle, but I like to error on the side of caution and have my vet check it. 

Good Luck
Keep us posted oh and WELCOME!!!! Come by to just chit chat too! This is a fun board.


----------



## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I hope Jules does well today. Any chance of Lymes?


----------



## Eupher (May 9, 2008)

If it were me, I'd be at the vet's already with the dog. You never know what the problem can be without an examination by an expert.


----------



## goldensmum (Oct 23, 2007)

I would get it checked to be on the safe side


----------



## Dennisv21 (May 15, 2008)

Update at 4:15 p.m., eastern time

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Jules made a visit to the vet. It's somewhat of a mystery, but the vet ruled out a complete tear of the CCL or ACL. That's because Jules has been putting weight on the leg and has no noticeable limp most of the time and no swelling. However, the vet did not rule out a partial ligament tear, muscle or ankle sprain, Lymes, and bone bruise. The thigh muscle is slightly smaller in the affected leg than the one in the good hind leg, so the vet was wondering if the bad leg has been a chronic thing, with Jules favoring it. I never noticed her having a problem, so I'm not too sure about that. Anyway, I think the vet was inclined to think it was a problem in the knee (based on her exam). But she wanted to put Jules on a pain killer and keep her very quiet for 2 weeks before taking other steps. No wrap, no steroids, just a boring time laying around the house, popping Rimadyl, and the twice a day 'elimination' walks. My poor lab will really be bored with her playmate out of action. 

If there is little or no improvement, the vet strongly recommended X-rays and tick titer tests. I'm hoping it doesn't get to that stage.

Does anyone have any treatment advice for partial ligament tears?

Dennis v.


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

**bumping up***


----------

