Springer front leg injury

[Rowey]

I have a 2 1/2 yr old springer thats picked up a front leg sprain or worse about a month ago after slipping. I took him to the vets who prescribed Meloxidyl which I believe is similar to Metacam. He was given a 10 day course and 2 weeks minimal exercise which I observed. Last week he had his first real workout which he seemed fine with though he was a bit stiff later on so I put him back to minimal exercise for 4 or 5 days. Saturday morning as we were dogging in (not too much) he was seemingly fine but later that evening he was lame again and wouldn't put it down. I've read the horror stories about cruciate ligaments but I'm not sure this is the problem and neither was the vet, but I wondered if anyone has similar experience and just how long it took to get over a sprain. He is my right arm on the shoot but his health obviously comes first. He goes back to the vets later today.

Thanks

Rowey

 

[jimbo123p]

Try and make the main exercise swimming if you can. Exercise without weight baring. Springers are so active it is difficult to hold them back while they mend. Lead walk only. When ready use a long line. CL injury usually means no load baring. If you had a recovery in two weeks to be confident in letting him loose I would say it is not a CL but ligament damage (A sprain) cab take weeks to put right,
Jim

 

[SC243]

I had a similar problem with one of my springer spaniels, she would pull up lame on her front leg when running or jumping. We would check her over and find nothing wrong, she would heal after a few days be fine for a while then pull up lame again. This then involved a couple of trips to the vets and puzzled faces as there didn't seem to be anything physically wrong with her. After another time of her going lame and yelping in pain we had her x-rayed, the vet found a bone defect in her front knee. It's called incomplete ossification of the humeral condyle and can be found in springer spaniels. http://www.irishveterinaryjournal.com/Links/PDFs/CE-Small/CESA_July_06*.pdf

We caught it early and after a simple operation the dog has been fine, but if this is what is wrong with him then do not excersise him as if the bone goes it can be a nightmare, our vet told us if the bone had fractured it may not have been right again. The operation was done at an orthrapedic specialist vets in St Helens.

I would like to say at this point that I am not a vet or qualified in any way, just passing on my own experiences. I hope that this is not what is wrong with him but in case it is it's worth while getting him x -rayed or scanned to find out before it gets worse.

Let me know how you get on

 

[Gazza]

I would agree with Scott in that it may well be worth discussing with your vet an x-ray. My springer (now 10) used to go a bit lame but it disappeared when rested. At 7yr old he jumped a fence he had jumped many times before but on this occasion let out a yell. Incomplete ossification of the humeral condyle was the underlying problem causing the joint to break. Under x-ray it was found that the bone had split between the hole and one side. Apparently both sides can go. Two screws and some wire later along with a lot of surgical skill he was back just about as good as ever. At 10 he has a bit of arthritis but is still doing at a bit of dogging in. With an unexplained lameness in a springer I would certainly at least discuss this possibility with your vet.

 

[Rowey]

Update from the vets. He had a thorough exam yesterday and it appears he has a torn shoulder ligament. He has no pain in any other joint. It is now heel walking only for 6 weeks minimum and a long slow recovery from what the vet called a 'sports injury'. We'll see. To be fair he is a vet that only recommends surgery when all other options have been exhausted.10 days to go to our first shoot. That's how lucky I am.