Rankin

So, in the later part of duck season my lab began to limp. didnt go away for a week so took her to the vet, he lacerated a 1 inch gap between the top of her paw between her toes. got the splinter out (cockaburs were everywhere we hunted this year.) week later still a bump so had to go back and get the damn stitch that was suppose to disolve cut out. 2 weeks later still was limping and found an ingrown hair on the bottom of her paw. Antibiotics taken and hair taken out. its been 2 months or longer and she is still limping. she is fine when i take her to throw bumpers or when shes playing tug of war. she later will begin to favor it. I called my vet he was at a standstill and referred me to a Osteo specialist. I think there is still something in her large part of her pad. This is the most tender spot. Sorry its so long but its been an ongoing problem for about 2 months. what do you guys think? I greatly appreciate it.

oh and shes been sedated 2 times and ACL has been checked. No xrays taken, and broken toe pretty much ruled out.

quackboomsplash

I dont know what it would cost to take her to a specialist, but maybe go to a different vet to see what thye think. I know that my wife as a younger vet will talk with the other vets she works with if unsure what might be going on, as everyone of them might see something just a little differently.

SBEII=1POS

Seem like paw/pad injuries heal very slow. 2 months dosen't seem like that long compared to small cuts I have seen that take a month or more to heal.

My dog has had her share of paw issues, and she does not like it when I inspect her paws, she acts like it hurts her when I look at them.

I guess you have to decide if you want to spend the $$ to see the specialist or wait it out longer. At least its not season right now.

Oscar

I would go to another vet before a specia list. I had a lab that had ran a small stiff broken piece of grass up in that area. Wasnt an issue unti it became infected but it was tough to discover because of the area and the item. I would ask for x-rays to begin with. A dog can also bruise that area and even sprain the area going up the leg.

Start w/ xrays and mabe a good anti inflamatory if not ppossible a anti biotic as well.

fig8

I would take her to ISU may cost A little more but they have always found what was wrong and fixed it for me. If you do choose to see another vet you may get the same answer which = money that could be spent at ISU where you will more than likely get the problem fixed.

Rankin

ISU is the only one with a MRI machine but it cost 1500$ and not guarentee that it'll find it. I think were gonna have xrays done and maybe go from there. Thanks a lot guys for the responses.

Rankin

Well update on Bella. Went to IVCR on merle hay got referred to a specialist there. He was a Dr. And teacher @ Ames. He did his exam, then did the drawer test and sure enough there was play in the ACL. Our primary supposedly did it while she was sedated and no play, I did it home and had no play. Sure enough x-rays confirmed what he thought torn ACL. Now we are up in the air. Gonna get a 2nd opinion and prolly have surgery at IVCR. He does the elevated repair with a plate. He said good chance of her blowing out the other. Estimated cost $2000. But got free xrays wow what a fn day. So I'm on Petoka catching trout trying to make the best of it.

BAILEY

my older lab tore her acl when she was 3yrs old. we had surgery done but it was only $650. they shaved a peice of bone and fused it to another part or something like that. but the surgery went well and it healed good. she did blow out her other acl a year or 2 later, and we decided to let it be. shes 9 now and doesnt have much of a problem except when its really cold. otherwise she is still a go getter.

good luck with your decision.

Oscar

A buddy of mine had to do that surgery for his dog. A dog he paid 1700 for as a 10 week old puppy. The dog was not quite a year and half old when it happend.

I know you are in a tough spot but when you get right down to it, how do you not do it? Take away the fact that she is your hunting partner etc Imagine the pain and discomfort she is in now and how bad it will get in the future??
One thing worth considering is maybe ask your vet if you put a certain % down at the time of surgery maybe you can pay a agreed upon amount each month until taken care of.

Just a thought but I did that twice with my vet on two seprate dogs surgeries.

duckfan1984

ya thats not to bad of price. we got our lab from the arl and he got gdv i think they call it where his gut flips had surgery was around $2500 then the vet stay for a week. And now he can only eat science diet food cause they had to sew his belly to his side to keep it from doing it again. its a hard desition to do all that but hes like a kid to me and my wife. hes even got his own credit card for all that and vet visits lol. dang dogs expensive but well worth it.

D.T.M.

Sorry to hear this Rankin. I just got your PM, so check for my reply.

It seems like an ACL tear is never easy to diagnose. I think it was 5 months of on and off limping before an x-ray showed a tear. The drawer test never worked.

My advise for the recovery is this.

Set up some sort of pen or area maybe 4'x4' for the first few weeks. It is going to be tough but take advantage of the sedatives they should send you home with.

Around day 3 you might see some swelling in the lower part of the leg, it may even look like is full of fluid. They did not tell me about this up front so don't be alarmed like I was. Call the vet when/if it happens, they may want to put a compression wrap on it, they may not.

Buy some pill pockets. Your dog is going to be taking a lot and may not mind it at first but will catch on quick. They were a life saver for us.

Once the staples are out your dog should be feeling better and want to be active more. We tied a leash to the leg of the couch and got a big comfy pillow and TONS of chew toys around this time.

There is a pretty typical recovery and rehab plan out there, if you don't get one I will try to find mine and I could email it to you. Stick the activity guidlines and you will be fine. Total recovery should be 12 weeks but we were cleared for normal activity in 10!

Good luck.
Dan

Rankin

This is very close to what our vet has went over with us. Surgery scheduled for Tue, thx for the call D.T.M and def know what ya had to go through.