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Tail Held To One Side After Fall


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My mum's old iggy slipped while trying to jump onto a couch yesterday. She fell backwards, yelped and for a couple of seconds held her left hind leg off the ground, trembling slightly. Soon afterwards, Maggie put the leg down and now walks mostly normally, albeit a bit wobby/uncertainly. She will still squat to pee and poo, but when sitting in the 'down' position, will have her rear left leg extended while the right is gathered underneath her.

The most noticeable signs that she is still in pain are that

(1) she now holds her tail bent slightly towards the left leg:

(2) she won't jump up to greet you although the tail still wags. She tries to, but stops - it obviously hurts to do so.

Does this sound like a leg or back injury? The way she holds the tail to one side is particularly odd.

She already had a vet appointment scheduled in 10 days and plans to keep Maggie on metacam until then, since the pain is obviously not extreme and in past experience, that's most likely what the vet would suggest anyway - although obviously if things don't improve by the end of the week, will make the appointment earlier.

But what does it sound like - leg or back injury?

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Sounds similar to what my old poodle did a few months ago, she misjudged the bed and fell backward on her back and tail, she was also holding her tail sideways and was very uncomfortable.

We went to her Chiro and she ended up on anti imflamms and pain relief and he adjusted her lower back and around the tail base.

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Thanks for the feedback.

Well I went and visited tonight and Maggie tried to jump up and say hello but she immediately yelped and fell backwards. So I rang the vet and they squeezed her in. The vet said she had very sore muscles down either side of her lower spine. Essentially she had pulled the muscles in her back. She was given prilocaine injections in the area and 10 days worth of tramolol to take with the metacam.

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Thanks for the feedback.

Well I went and visited tonight and Maggie tried to jump up and say hello but she immediately yelped and fell backwards. So I rang the vet and they squeezed her in. The vet said she had very sore muscles down either side of her lower spine. Essentially she had pulled the muscles in her back. She was given prilocaine injections in the area and 10 days worth of tramolol to take with the metacam.

I would still suggest a visit to a decent canine chiropractor.

That's a lot of painkillers for sore muscles!

Edited by Haredown Whippets
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Thanks for the feedback.

Well I went and visited tonight and Maggie tried to jump up and say hello but she immediately yelped and fell backwards. So I rang the vet and they squeezed her in. The vet said she had very sore muscles down either side of her lower spine. Essentially she had pulled the muscles in her back. She was given prilocaine injections in the area and 10 days worth of tramolol to take with the metacam.

I would still suggest a visit to a decent canine chiropractor.

That's a lot of painkillers for sore muscles!

Well I guess you can only follow the advice you're given. I know I pulled a muscle in my neck once and the pain was the worst I have ever experienced. Literally needed someone to lift my head off the pillow as the pain in my neck was excruciating.

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I would still see a Chiro ASAP, if your dog has put anything out the muscles will continually be a problem.

I was given Tramadol and Metacam for my old girl and the vet said the same thing just sore muscles if I hadn't taken her to her Chiro so quick no one would have diagnosed the underlying problem, vets are only gp's there is lots of things they don't have the knowledge or experience to treat.

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I would still see a Chiro ASAP, if your dog has put anything out the muscles will continually be a problem.

I was given Tramadol and Metacam for my old girl and the vet said the same thing just sore muscles if I hadn't taken her to her Chiro so quick no one would have diagnosed the underlying problem, vets are only gp's there is lots of things they don't have the knowledge or experience to treat.

Yes, I agree. I would hate to see Maggie lose her free movement which IMO has been much better than her age suggests. And I remember with my neck, once the pain receded the stiffness remained until after a few sessions with a physio.

Can you suggest a good doggie chiropractor in the eastern suburbs?

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Eastern suburbs of where? Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth....

Melbourne (sorry - was looking at Rascalmyshadow's location)

Dogs in Motion is a physio in Melbourne http://www.dogsinmotion.com.au and they can help the same way your physio helped you, as well as giving you exercises with the aim to prevent future injuries, rather than just treating the ones she currently has with the chiro. Physio can also reduce pain which it sounds like Maggie could use!!

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Michelle at dogs in motion is fantastic and actually qualified ( many chirps and physios have nonspecific dog qualifications). A warning about the cost so you don't keel over.... I believe anninitial consult is about $180. You will get a long , thorough consult and a written up plan thougET: when I hurt my back my physio said it was better not to manilulate it until it calmed down a bit as even touching made me yelp.

Edited by megan_
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