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My Border Collie Is Limping - Not Much Anymore!


Lollipup
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ITS GOOD NEWS :p

No signs of any problems on the xrays. Although the specialist vet will be double checking when he returns on Tuesday, all the other vets could find nothing. No sign of OCD or similiar. So this means its some kind of sprain or muscle prob and the anti-inflams are working. However Chester will need 3 weeks full rest :cheer: That is going to be a challenge! Still I am SO releived it was nothing more serious! :cheer:

Great news. I'd also suggest some chiro with the rest.

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The vets called me tonight - the more experienced doctor is back today and he has found a very slight sign of fragmented coronoid process on Chester's left elbow. So the xrays are now being sent to a specialist for a recommendation. :rofl:

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Oh no! I'm sorry. :(

I hope the specialist has good news for you & it's only minor.

He said it looks very minor. It would have to be minor because the first two vets that looked at it could see nothing :rofl:

Well fingers crossed that he's just seeing some sort of artifact or shadow then, instead of being right. :(

Radiographs can be pretty hard to take & interpret. The specialist will be able to tell what's up.

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Does anyone know of a chiro for dogs in wide bay area qld? I'm in bundaberg which I believe is about 50 years behind anywhere else.

If you need a Chiro, I suggest contacting Animal Options at Ormeau for a recommendation in your area. He is a fantastic chiro and a vet too. Their ph number is 5546-6756

Good luck!

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The vets called me tonight - the more experienced doctor is back today and he has found a very slight sign of fragmented coronoid process on Chester's left elbow. So the xrays are now being sent to a specialist for a recommendation. :laugh:

I didn't want to say anything initially for fear of coming across as pessimistic, but now that FCP has been diagnosed, I thought I might share some of my experiences with it.

My lab bitch first went lame at 4mo and X-rays at that time showed nothing either. Given the joint issues labs are prone to, I took her straight to a specialist who believed it was most likely to be FCP which, unlike other forms of Elbow Dysplasia such as UAP, often won't show in radiographs in the early stages. CT scans at around 6mo showed exactly what she had and she ultimately had surgery on both elbows - one was much worse than the other. Having said that, she eventually recovered very well and is now a healthy, active 3yo girl who loves to retrieve (she's from working lines). In fact, she competed very successfully at Novice level till I decided on a change of tack. Oh, and btw, the surgeon did try to tell me that Gidget would never be able to run off lead again...we sure proved him wrong! :laugh:

Good luck with your BC Tenille W and try to remain optimistic. It is a long road to recovery if surgery is required but it can be done.

Please keep us updated.

w2s

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The vets called me tonight - the more experienced doctor is back today and he has found a very slight sign of fragmented coronoid process on Chester's left elbow. So the xrays are now being sent to a specialist for a recommendation. :laugh:

I didn't want to say anything initially for fear of coming across as pessimistic, but now that FCP has been diagnosed, I thought I might share some of my experiences with it.

My lab bitch first went lame at 4mo and X-rays at that time showed nothing either. Given the joint issues labs are prone to, I took her straight to a specialist who believed it was most likely to be FCP which, unlike other forms of Elbow Dysplasia such as UAP, often won't show in radiographs in the early stages. CT scans at around 6mo showed exactly what she had and she ultimately had surgery on both elbows - one was much worse than the other. Having said that, she eventually recovered very well and is now a healthy, active 3yo girl who loves to retrieve (she's from working lines). In fact, she competed very successfully at Novice level till I decided on a change of tack. Oh, and btw, the surgeon did try to tell me that Gidget would never be able to run off lead again...we sure proved him wrong! :laugh:

Good luck with your BC Tenille W and try to remain optimistic. It is a long road to recovery if surgery is required but it can be done.

Please keep us updated.

w2s

Thanks for the encouragement w2s. I really hope he doesn't need surgery. I should be hearing back from the specialist within the next cople of days. I will certainly keep this updated. I'm glad your lab recovered so well :laugh:

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Thanks for the encouragement w2s. I really hope he doesn't need surgery. I should be hearing back from the specialist within the next cople of days. I will certainly keep this updated. I'm glad your lab recovered so well :rofl:

I hope your news is good and that's the end of that little saga! It is a worrying wait - I remember it all too well. :rofl: Fingers (and everything else) crossed for you. :) I'll be checking in to see how things pan out for you. :rofl:

w2s

Edited by woody2shoes
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Our vet called. He has finally heard back from the specialist. They definately see elbow dysplasia there. They have recommended 4 weeks strict cage rest with some more anti-inflams for now. Then after that if he is still lame we need to go to surgery. The vet said he can do it up here but he strongly recommends we go to the specialist instead, which is in Brisbane, a five hour drive from here. Still, if it comes to that I will be going to Brisbane. Surgery would mean his elbow would likely never be 100% and that he would have a high chance of arthritus later in life.

Chester is already going mad from the one week rest he has had and that hasn't even been full cage rest, its been in the laundry rest.

I have to buy a large crate when I get paid on Friday so that I can give him proper cage rest. He's going to go even more mad and depressed.

:D

Edited by Tenille W
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I'm sorry you're going through this. :D I'd hoped it was something minor.

Can I ask, what type of surgery are they proposing?

Hopefully he'll just need the cage rest.

Thank you. He said it would be Arthroscopy first which would then tell them whether they would need to progress to major surgery. I don't know if he meant in the same session or not, its a bit hazy right now.

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Aw that's no good Tenille :D

Can i suggest you contact the breeder and let them know of the diagnosis. Any reputable breeder will want to know about it.

Thanks Piper, I contacted the breeder as soon as I got off the phone to the vet. I had also told her a while back about his bilateral cryptorchidism and how it complicated his desexing. She said I'm not having much luck and she'll soon owe me a puppy! But she is glad that I keep her informed. I highly doubt this is a hereditary issue but I beleive it is from an injury at some point.

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Oh you poor thing!

One of Mindy's friends is actually a failed guide dog- due to elbow dysplasia.

She had surgery on both elbows and was given a prognosis of arthritis at around 8-10 years old which doesn't seem so bad, in fact I would almost say that is a typical age to see onset of arthritis.

This dog had severly dysplastic elbows due to a noticable conformation defect (you can see it in her gait quite obviously).

The dog nows runs around and plays with other dogs like a normal dog.

I'm not sure if she would be much of an agility prospect due to her conformation though.

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His conformation seems normal to me. When he is walking you can hardly even notice there is a problem. Although sometimes I am watching so closely and wondering if I am seeing him favor it or not, or if he is walking funny. It must be mild and its only the one elbow. I am trying to be positive there but I'm still worried. I need him to be okay. I want him to be happy and healthy and have the best start in life :D If he could still do dog sports later on that would be really good too

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