A partial tear was the initial diagnosis last Friday by my vet. Thursday evening we played a little backyard Frisbee when I got home from work. After they ate, we went on a long walk as thunder rumbled in the distance. Of course it started sprinkling when we were at the farthest spot from the house. We jogged back and I spent about an hour on the computer before Zio followed me into the bedroom so he could hide from the storm in my closet. When he came out he was hopping and wouldn't put weight on his right rear leg. I examined him a number of times thinking he had something in his paw or pulled a muscle. No matter how I manipulated him I couldn't get a reaction from him.
The next morning he was hopping or toe touching. I took him to the vet and of course he started putting some weight on it. The vet tech initially had to ask which leg was the problem because his gait was close to normal. He wouldn't relax enough for Dr Morey to examine him, so she put him on Rimadyl and asked me to let her know Monday if he wasn't putting 90-95% of his weight on that leg. She suggested that I give him six weeks of rest with no walks for a while.
The rest of Friday was a mix of toe touching and then walking normal. I did notice that he was pointing that leg slightly while in a sit. By the time we went to practice Sunday, he had a pretty normal gait while trotting or walking. While standing, he was still favoring the leg though. Other than the issue with pointing his leg in a sit, he was acting normal... chasing birds off of the power lines, playing with his jolly ball, and generally being in a good mood. He did hop one time last night after being inactive about 45 minutes.
Today, I haven't seen him hop once and there has been only a slight favoring in a stand. I've taken him out for a 5 minute walk twice today (without a leash) and he trots and walks normally. He's scheduled to go back to see Dr Morey again tomorrow morning. She's going to sedate him to try and get a better idea of what is going on. I keep debating whether I should just let him continue with limited activity or take him in and see what she comes up with.
Part of my concern is that my research said it's hard to pinpoint a partial tear by manipulation. I know too much about the surgical options now too. TPLO seems to be the gold standard for surgical procedures, but TTA and Tightrope have their supporters too.
Here's a video of him Sunday evening in the backyard. There are a few times when I notice him slightly favor it, but if you didn't know about it, I'm not sure you would see anything out of the ordinary.
The next morning he was hopping or toe touching. I took him to the vet and of course he started putting some weight on it. The vet tech initially had to ask which leg was the problem because his gait was close to normal. He wouldn't relax enough for Dr Morey to examine him, so she put him on Rimadyl and asked me to let her know Monday if he wasn't putting 90-95% of his weight on that leg. She suggested that I give him six weeks of rest with no walks for a while.
The rest of Friday was a mix of toe touching and then walking normal. I did notice that he was pointing that leg slightly while in a sit. By the time we went to practice Sunday, he had a pretty normal gait while trotting or walking. While standing, he was still favoring the leg though. Other than the issue with pointing his leg in a sit, he was acting normal... chasing birds off of the power lines, playing with his jolly ball, and generally being in a good mood. He did hop one time last night after being inactive about 45 minutes.
Today, I haven't seen him hop once and there has been only a slight favoring in a stand. I've taken him out for a 5 minute walk twice today (without a leash) and he trots and walks normally. He's scheduled to go back to see Dr Morey again tomorrow morning. She's going to sedate him to try and get a better idea of what is going on. I keep debating whether I should just let him continue with limited activity or take him in and see what she comes up with.
Part of my concern is that my research said it's hard to pinpoint a partial tear by manipulation. I know too much about the surgical options now too. TPLO seems to be the gold standard for surgical procedures, but TTA and Tightrope have their supporters too.
Here's a video of him Sunday evening in the backyard. There are a few times when I notice him slightly favor it, but if you didn't know about it, I'm not sure you would see anything out of the ordinary.
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