Italian Greyhound foot/toe/wrist injury

[Miss C C H]

hello,

I am the owner of a 7y/o Italian Greyhound. Back in February she hurt her foot/wrist/toes (we don’t know exactly what she did) she was running Around playing and then just lifted her foot and refused to walk, I carried her the rest of the way home and by the time we got home, the foot was swollen and she was in a lot of pain, couldn’t walk on it and cried out if it was touched. We took her to the vet, they examined her and we were told it was unlikely broken, she was given pain relief and anti inflammatory and sent home to rest. A week passed, there was little improvement, so I took her back and insisted on an x-ray, we were told there was no break and that she just needed to be rested and it would get better in time. We are now mid May and she still limps and is clearly still in pain with it, the paw and toes are larger on the injured foot (front right) and feel stiff and inflexible. We do take her out for short walks, mainly keeping her on the lead but she always suffers afterwards with severe limPing and swelling. I am very keen to know if any other Italian Greyhounds owners have experienced anything similar and would love any advice any one might have on how we can help our little girl heal. I can’t bear the thought of her being disabled in this way for the rest of her life...

Thank you,
Claire

 

[JudyN]

I've no experience of this, but I think I'd be looking for a second opinion, or a referral to a specialist.

 

[Miss C C H]

Thanks JudyN. I have asked our vet for a referral to a musculoskeletal specialist.

Still very keen to hear from other dog owners, especially other IG owners, with any advice.

Claire

 

[Violet Turner]

Hi Claire,

I have read the first post and if you don’t mind I will run through some options and questions with you.

When your dog had her X-ray, was there anything on the X-ray to be concerned about? What test did the vets do? How is she walking now compared to then? Better/Worse?

What was she doing exactly before she was injured? Walking in long grass?

Sprains to the accessory carpal ligament happen when dogs are pulling up. It could be a sprain. (Look at the picture I have linked below.)

It could be canine tendonitis I have attached a picture and a link for you to have a look at. – Canine Tendonitis

You could buy this but this but should only be used after you get seen by a specialist vet by their discretion. - Carpal Joint Protector

It also could be that your dog has stood on a needle of some kind. Have the vets done bloods on your greyhound? Has this ever happened before? Is she normally healthy?

Can you send a picture of your dog’s paw that is injured and one that isn’t sore please?

If you want you could get a second opinion from another veterinary surgeon if the vets are not giving you enough information. Or you could go to a special greyhound vet in your area.

I hope this helps if you require any more information please ask – Violet

 

[Biker John]

My suggestion is to take her to an experienced sight hound vet. I know in the UK IG's are in the toy group but in reality they are sight hounds.

 

[Miss C C H]

Hi Violet,

Thanks for your very detailed response to my post.

Elsa was running through a wooded area when the injury happened, she likes to bounce around in the bracken...

The vet didn’t show US the x-ray but I was assured that there were no breaks and was not informed of anything else that had showed on the x-ray that should cause concern, presumably they would have mentioned this if there was, one hopes!

It’s definitely not an external injury, no skin breakage, no splinter or graze or puncture wound..

The vet didn’t do any ‘tests’, only a physical examination. She is much better than she was when the injury happened in February, she has gone from not being able to walk at all to now being able to walk, however, she stands awkwardly on that foot, slightly twisted positioning of her foot when she puts weight on it, presumably because it is uncomfortable or maybe not possible (due to swelling, stiffness etc) to stand normally and with her weight evenly distributed in all four legs/paws...

Struggling to upload a pic at the moment, will have to do it from my computer rather than my phone, watch this space, will do it when I get back to me desk.

Thanks so much for your thoughts and advice.

Claire

Hi Claire,

I have read the first post and if you don’t mind I will run through some options and questions with you.

When your dog had her X-ray, was there anything on the X-ray to be concerned about? What test did the vets do? How is she walking now compared to then? Better/Worse?

What was she doing exactly before she was injured? Walking in long grass?

Sprains to the accessory carpal ligament happen when dogs are pulling up. It could be a sprain. (Look at the picture I have linked below.)

It could be canine tendonitis I have attached a picture and a link for you to have a look at. – Canine Tendonitis

You could buy this but this but should only be used after you get seen by a specialist vet by their discretion. - Carpal Joint Protector

It also could be that your dog has stood on a needle of some kind. Have the vets done bloods on your greyhound? Has this ever happened before? Is she normally healthy?

Can you send a picture of your dog’s paw that is injured and one that isn’t sore please?

If you want you could get a second opinion from another veterinary surgeon if the vets are not giving you enough information. Or you could go to a special greyhound vet in your area.

I hope this helps if you require any more information please ask – Violet

Hi Claire,

I have read the first post and if you don’t mind I will run through some options and questions with you.

When your dog had her X-ray, was there anything on the X-ray to be concerned about? What test did the vets do? How is she walking now compared to then? Better/Worse?

What was she doing exactly before she was injured? Walking in long grass?

Sprains to the accessory carpal ligament happen when dogs are pulling up. It could be a sprain. (Look at the picture I have linked below.)

It could be canine tendonitis I have attached a picture and a link for you to have a look at. – Canine Tendonitis

You could buy this but this but should only be used after you get seen by a specialist vet by their discretion. - Carpal Joint Protector

It also could be that your dog has stood on a needle of some kind. Have the vets done bloods on your greyhound? Has this ever happened before? Is she normally healthy?

Can you send a picture of your dog’s paw that is injured and one that isn’t sore please?

If you want you could get a second opinion from another veterinary surgeon if the vets are not giving you enough information. Or you could go to a special greyhound vet in your area.

I hope this helps if you require any more information please ask – Violet

Hi

My suggestion is to take her to an experienced sight hound vet. I know in the UK IG's are in the toy group but in reality they are sight hounds.

 

[Violet Turner]

Hi Claire,

Thank you for your reply, I will keep my eye open for the pictures.

I require some more questions answering if you don’t mind.

Does she do any of these things?

Chew her paw pads, Blood from her paws, cracked paw pads, excessive licking of her paws, odors, lumps on her feet, redness and warmth?

It could also be a Patellar Luxation but if the vets have done an X-ray it should have been picked up on that.

Angular Limb Deformity- This is an emergency and requires rapid intervention to avoid permanent deformity. It’s caused by the fact that the forearm is made of two parallel bones: the radius and ulna. If one of the four growth plates is damaged, the other bone keeps growing and the leg starts to bow out. Believe it or not, treatment requires us to cut the bone that stops growing so the other one can grow straight.

It could be Arthritis but it hasn’t got worse over time so highly unlikely.

Soft Tissue Injuries- The advantage of X-rays in most cases is that they neatly separate the dogs that need intervention from the dogs that can be managed conservatively. Until dogs learn to talk, we’re going to need to use tests like these to know which dogs need help. For example, muscle tears don’t show up on x-ray and that’s fine.

I would defiantly get another opinion and you could ask for an ultrasound and X-ray could be done.

I hope this information helps - Violet

 

[JudyN]

Sources, Violet, sources Much of this came from here I think? http://www.walkervillevet.com.au/blog/why-dog-limping/

 

[Violet Turner]

Yes @JudyN it did come from there. Sorry i always forget i know its copy right if i dont link it...

 

[JoanneF]

The original post said this came on suddenly and is a foot/toe/wrist injury. So arthritis, luxating patella and ALD seem somewhat unlikely ...

 

[Violet Turner]

The original post said this came on suddenly and is a foot/toe/wrist injury. So arthritis, luxating patella and ALD seem somewhat unlikely ...

As i said in my post but it could be that the dog had arthiristis, but mild then the impact made it worse. I cant really tell you unless i have pictures and also as i keep saying go to another vets for a seccond opinion.

 

[JudyN]

It could also be a Patellar Luxation but if the vets have done an X-ray it should have been picked up on that.

Can dogs get that in their front legs? And can it cause a swollen foot?

 

[Josie]

I require some more questions answering if you don’t mind.

Please be careful @Violet Turner as this sounds very much like what a vet would ask. The original poster must be able to see that all advice given on the forum is purely advice, opinions or personal experiences. NOT on a professional medical basis.
Also to match JudyN and make sure you always post the source of your information. Thank you

 

[Violet Turner]

?Patellar Luxation - Fitzpatrick Referrals
I'm sorry @Josie i didn't mean to be like a vet, i was just asking so i could try and explain what it could be. I don't mind to delete it if you want @Josie?