# Sparky-worried- advice?



## Leaky (Sep 11, 2007)

Was pretty reluctant to post this since I have the utmost respect and confidence in my vet. What has driven me to this post is Sparky (the Sparkinator) is sooooooo valuable to me as a hunting dog and a personal basis, I think I need to check all bases.
Here's the deal, I was hunting with my best bud on the Weeb. on the 14th. and had pulled our pattened sneak and jumped dome mallards. Knocked 1 down a hit another. Well the Weeb has a lot of frozen water and Sparky spent some time looking for a crossing point since he's very cautious of frozen water (good thing). Anyway, he brought the duck back, no problem, good guy. Went up river, found the other duck across the river and sent him. He went bounding to it retrieved it and started back. He disappeared coming up the near bank and when he appeared he was only able to use 3 legs.    He carried his front left leg limp. Of course he wanted to keep hunting.. Obviously - no deal. Brought him home, the next day took him to the vet, no bone damage all soft tissue according to the vet. Limit his activity to rest and minimum for 6 weeks with Rimadyl for a few weeks to allow healing. She does want to see him again this week after 2 weeks.
Well I'm, still worried. it's been 9 days now and only minimum change. Still a lot of heavy limping. It does seem to diminish after getting up and doing some activity during the day, such as playing, etc. that is hard to control.
Here's the question - is there a way to determine what "soft tissue" damage there is and whether it's serious enough for surgery or am I just too impatient to worry? Just want some experienced opinions. :? I do love my guy.


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## truemule (Sep 12, 2007)

I'm not a vet Leaky but, I cant see any situation that would need surgery for a soft tissue injury unless the area is infected. That would be evident by puss and foul smelling drainage. If he happend to stretch or tear a muscle which can be very painful. It would take some time to heal. So nine days I think would be right on the edge of where he would start to actually show physical improvement. Hopefully he did not tear a ligament becasue that could possibly need surgery. If like you say however he gets up and moves little better after some movement. I would bet on muscle strain. 

You could always geta second opinion if money isn't an issue. I personally would give him another couple of days if he is not in any extreme pain or danger.


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## Leaky (Sep 11, 2007)

Thanks bud, that helps a lot. Just in case, any recommendations for vet surgeons? He does seem to move with less and less limp with some minimal activity.


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## TAK (Sep 9, 2007)

Does the leg look like it is deformed in any of the muscle areas? I ask because a friend of mines dog once hit a point so hard that when he stopped his body kept going and it tore some tissue and caused the dog to limp a bit. You could see that he had what looked like a charlie horse or some sort of cramp. It was not bone sticking out but muscle. Well the dog continued to run the next day after he loosened up a bit.
The leg seemed to get better over a few weeks then it went limp. The Vet told him that he must have torn a muscle and or pinched and tore a nerve.
On great thing is Jinx is still alive and hunted a ton after that, the only thing he would run and that leg would flip all over the place.

Some things to think about doing.... Make sure your dog is not over weight(not saying it is) but the added weight is not good. Rymadel only if needed in my opinion. It is a inflamatory(good) but also works as a pain killer(bad). I have been told a hurting dog won't push the limit. Not if there is some bad pain and you can see it, by all means, but if you want to limit the dog for a bit you might look at that.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Seems like the most obvious alternative would be to get a second professional opinion, I am not familiar with any in the Ogden area. Have you tried calling the vet just to see if the current status is what he would expect after 9 days?


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## Leaky (Sep 11, 2007)

All of a sudden, today he seems better. :shock: Still limping a bit, but not so much. I hope I'm not seeing just wishful seeing.  Will be seeing the vet again latter this week. Hopefully we will be able to reduce or eliminate the Rimadyl. He is definitely not over weight, can feel his ribs,, etc. and is 61 lbs.


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## flint (Sep 13, 2007)

I broke an ankle three years ago. During the fall, I also did a lot of soft tissue damage to may foot--tearing ligaments, muscles and tendons. I was still feeling pain from those damages weeks after the bone was healed. Give it lots of time and it should be fine.


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## TAK (Sep 9, 2007)

Leaky said:


> All of a sudden, today he seems better. :shock: Still limping a bit, but not so much. I hope I'm not seeing just wishful seeing.  Will be seeing the vet again latter this week. Hopefully we will be able to reduce or eliminate the Rimadyl. He is definitely not over weight, can feel his ribs,, etc. and is 61 lbs.


Great to hear!

And by the way... Thanks I will pass this information on... "He is definitely not over weight, *can feel his ribs*,, etc. and is 61 lbs"....

On me I can still kinda/sorta feel my ribs! That means I don't need to lay off the Chow!!!!! :mrgreen:


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

Leaky said:


> Thanks bud, that helps a lot. Just in case, any recommendations for vet surgeons? He does seem to move with less and less limp with some minimal activity.


This observation leads me (again, not a vet) to think that the damage is a muscle tear. With some movement, it will loosen up a bit, and allow more movement. Can you tell he's in pain, or does he still act like himself, just with a limp? I have always been told to RICE an injury like sprains, strains, and such: Rest Ice Compression Elevation. Try your best to get him to rest. Hold an ice pack on it for ten to 20 minutes at a time if you can. If he is going to get up and move around, try wrapping it for compression. Elevation is a tough one with a dog, but getting them to lie down when they rest should help somewhat.

My parents have a Golden Retriever, and she has had injuries like Sparky's from time to time. You just have to do your best to get them to chill out until it heals.


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## Dekashika (Oct 23, 2007)

Hi Leaky,

Glad to hear that your pup is improving. 

I had a dog with a similar injury, only in the front leg. I was very concerned as well, and started to imagine surgery, permanent limp, etc. However, it did heal up 100%. Those type of injuries can take a little time to heal. It took about 6 weeks before I felt my pup was back to normal. Give it some time, but continue to track improvment and consult with your vets. I bet Sparky will be back to normal in a month or so. 

Good Luck


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Chaser said:


> This observation leads me (again, not a vet) to think that the damage is a muscle tear. With some movement, it will loosen up a bit, and allow more movement. Can you tell he's in pain, or does he still act like himself, just with a limp? I have always been told to RICE an injury like sprains, strains, and such: Rest Ice Compression Elevation. Try your best to get him to rest. Hold an ice pack on it for ten to 20 minutes at a time if you can. If he is going to get up and move around, try wrapping it for compression. Elevation is a tough one with a dog, but getting them to lie down when they rest should help somewhat.
> 
> My parents have a Golden Retriever, and she has had injuries like Sparky's from time to time. You just have to do your best to get them to chill out until it heals.


Leaky,

Along with Chaser's statement.....are you putting any heat on that sore spot? Not Ben-Gay type of heat but a hot water bottle or a small electric heating pad? Once in awhile my old lab seems to get 'recharged' with 20 minutes or so with some nice comfortable warmth.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

The heat on the injured area will also help aid circulation, which can help healing. Be careful not to do it too soon however, as it can cause problems if there is swelling. It makes it worse. But if the swelling is gone, try a heating pad like .45 suggested. It may speed up his recovery.


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## Leaky (Sep 11, 2007)

Bad news According to vet there is very little if any improvement. It's still very sore and now is having "mussel waste" in the shoulder area. They re took a series of x-rays and still couldn't find anything.????? She felt him up pretty good and could locate the sore area easily but could feel no evidence of ruptured tendons, etc. He's going to be examined by a specialist 8 Feb.


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## TAK (Sep 9, 2007)

Leaky said:


> Bad news According to vet there is very little if any improvement. It's still very sore and now is having "mussel waste" in the shoulder area. They re took a series of x-rays and still couldn't find anything.????? She felt him up pretty good and could locate the sore area easily but could feel no evidence of ruptured tendons, etc. He's going to be examined by a specialist 8 Feb.


Nerve..... It is to my understanding this is not painful to the dog, so it is not hunt ending... Sorry to hear man


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