Strange limping / hopping

[GaryThomlinson]

So Penny has been to see referred specialists in orthopaedics today at not inconsiderable cost. We have a diagnosis. Some form of degenerative disease due to some form of increased angle in her thigh and leg joints.

It will get worse, over an undefinable period and result in failure of the cruciate ligament which will then mean surgery.

For now, it's business as usual. Feel a bit sad.

They also mentioned that some terriers suffer from something called Scottie tick which is neurological and just the way they are built.

[Gina]

Oh I am sorry Gary - I have no experience of this so cannot give you any words of advice or comfort sorry. Would hydrotherapy help her in the meantime perhaps? Xx

[Robin black mini]

Sorry to relax your update..Ive been through two cruciate surguries on my mastiff...
You shouldn't wait too long or the joint s will become arthritic and cause further complications down the line.
On a positive note ,the mini schnauzer is small and relatively easy to carry to and fro outdoors etc for loo breaks...the recovery time is about six weeks and with a fairly lightweight dog the outcome is usually very positive..so I'd go ahead with what the specialist advises and stay positive.

[buxcey]

An update on Jess.
She now has Hydro therapy twice a week for her Hip Dysplasia and it seems to be doing the trick.
She was sent to a specialist vet in Norfolk who carried out the same X-ray but did not think he she had cruciate damage and just has hip dysplasia. Vet said she will have severe arthritis when she is older and she is on a supplements to help.
This was the situation in November last year and it's been the same up to a month or so ago.

Today I am waiting for the vet to call about her toe. She hurt her dew claw and had to have it pulled off, it was only hanging by a thread. Then her toe became swollen, so back we go for antibiotics, never got better, so back we go for more antibiotics with anti fungal. Still no better so they amputate toe, during surgery they X-ray it and see the bone had deteriorated. Now I am waiting to find out if she has toe cancer.
She has a padded bandage on it because it is taking a bit longer to heal because as she walks on it she puts the wound under stress but has to have a bandage change every 3 days.
Sometimes I just wonder why I attract such a lot of heartache. Not much I can do now but wait for the results. It's such agony. I have seen a copy of her X-ray, the end of the toe bone looked mottled, not deformed as some of the other X-rays I've seen on the internet but am driving myself nuts.
She is a bit down at the moment as she on lead walks only and cannot go very far at all.
i have pushed my luck and booked us into a hotel for the DoveDale walk and just hope this was a stubborn infection.
I'll update how she gets on.
Thanks Sylvia

[GaryThomlinson]

Sorry to relax your update..Ive been through two cruciate surguries on my mastiff...
You shouldn't wait too long or the joint s will become arthritic and cause further complications down the line.
On a positive note ,the mini schnauzer is small and relatively easy to carry to and fro outdoors etc for loo breaks...the recovery time is about six weeks and with a fairly lightweight dog the outcome is usually very positive..so I'd go ahead with what the specialist advises and stay positive.

I'm told it's a more serious surgery to correct called TPLO.

[Robin black mini]

Gary..here are two sites that give some info on the various options,should you have to go through this route..the first is a mine of information,the second goes through the options and tplo comes out the favorite. we did this on my mastiff( aged one) but at age three she had to have the knee reoperated on as she was limping again..we lost her the next day due to surgical complications.

http://dogkneeinjury.com/dog-acl-surgery/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And
http://www.canineortho.com/index.php/ca ... /acl-tears" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is serious surgery,but the fact the dog is smaller is a huge plus and many come through the op with good function restored.Be warned, there is a 40 per cent chance the other leg will be at risk in the future,so save up..this is expensive surgery.

[Robin black mini]

Sylvia...I hope you get good news for Jess..you have done everything you can at this stage for the best outcome..I will be thinking about you and and Jess today.We worry so much because we love them to the ends of the earth.

[redalert]

Just reading the latest posts on Penny and Jess and I am so sorry to read that they are both still suffering what more can I say, my heart goes out to both you and your fur babies

[Morgana99]

I can only echo what Sue says and wish you both and your little ones many healing vibes xx

[Chez]

Hi

About 6 weeks ago Dougie, our two and a half year old miniature schnauzer, started to exhibit something between a limp and a hop with his rear right leg. You can see a short video of him doing it here:

He only does it at walking pace and it's intermittent (although he does it to some extent every day). When trotting or running his movement is completely natural.

We took him to the vet (of course we couldn't get him to demonstrate the limp while we were there). The vet examined him very thoroughly and could find nothing wrong, either with his pads, nails etc. or with his leg. He prescribed a course of anti-inflammatory tablets and we restricted Dougie to lead walks for a week. This made no difference and the limp / hopping continues.

He has never shown signs of being in any pain. He has never licked the leg or paw or paid it any attention. He can run like a greyhound and jump and play just as he always has. He doesn't extend or stretch the leg, other than his usual stretching (of both front and rear paws in turn) which he does first thing in the morning or when waking up from a long sleep.

We are totally mystified as to what it could be, and while he's not in any distress, I'm worried it could get worse or affect his other legs.

Does anyone recognise the hopping movement in the video or have any idea as to what could be causing it?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Ian & Dougie

Hi Ian,

I was quite surprised to see how many Schnauzers do the same thing as mine, and then I read about Dougie and he does exactly the same as Novak! This is both a relief and a concern when reading some of the more serious conditions though.

My 3, 1/2 year old Miniature Schnauz, Novak, started hopping about two and a half years ago. It's always his right rear leg. It only occurs when he is walking and jogging and running does not affect him at all and there is absolutely no hopping.

I've had him at three different Bets to check it and none of them can see anything wrong with him. He is not in pain and never wins or shows any reaction when we examine his leg. He is a very friendly, healthy Schnauzer and the hopping does not seem to bother him at all....he just seems to take it in his stride.

I will start him on joint supplements but I do want to know if I should ask my Vet to do X-Rays?

Here is a link to a video of Novaks hopping:

https://youtu.be/nj8-Dpeac6c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regards from a fellow Schnauzer mom!

[Chez]

So Penny has been to see referred specialists in orthopaedics today at not inconsiderable cost. We have a diagnosis. Some form of degenerative disease due to some form of increased angle in her thigh and leg joints.

It will get worse, over an undefinable period and result in failure of the cruciate ligament which will then mean surgery.

For now, it's business as usual. Feel a bit sad.

They also mentioned that some terriers suffer from something called Scottie tick which is neurological and just the way they are built.

Sorry to hear about Penny Gary, my thoughts are with you.

I'm glad I read his post though about "Scottie tick" as my husband I have felt that this could be neurological especially because we had Novak on Bravecto since he was 1 years old. We stopped Bravecto last year after he had a seriously bad reaction to it, but we felt that perhaps because of the Fluralaner, the hopping that Novak displays was more neurological than anything physical.

It would be interesting to see how many of the dogs linked in these posts are on or have ever on Bravecto or Vectra 3D.

[zeta1454]

Hi

About 6 weeks ago Dougie, our two and a half year old miniature schnauzer, started to exhibit something between a limp and a hop with his rear right leg. You can see a short video of him doing it here:

He only does it at walking pace and it's intermittent (although he does it to some extent every day). When trotting or running his movement is completely natural.

We took him to the vet (of course we couldn't get him to demonstrate the limp while we were there). The vet examined him very thoroughly and could find nothing wrong, either with his pads, nails etc. or with his leg. He prescribed a course of anti-inflammatory tablets and we restricted Dougie to lead walks for a week. This made no difference and the limp / hopping continues.

He has never shown signs of being in any pain. He has never licked the leg or paw or paid it any attention. He can run like a greyhound and jump and play just as he always has. He doesn't extend or stretch the leg, other than his usual stretching (of both front and rear paws in turn) which he does first thing in the morning or when waking up from a long sleep.

We are totally mystified as to what it could be, and while he's not in any distress, I'm worried it could get worse or affect his other legs.

Does anyone recognise the hopping movement in the video or have any idea as to what could be causing it?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Ian & Dougie

Hi Ian,

I was quite surprised to see how many Schnauzers do the same thing as mine, and then I read about Dougie and he does exactly the same as Novak! This is both a relief and a concern when reading some of the more serious conditions though.

My 3, 1/2 year old Miniature Schnauz, Novak, started hopping about two and a half years ago. It's always his right rear leg. It only occurs when he is walking and jogging and running does not affect him at all and there is absolutely no hopping.

I've had him at three different Bets to check it and none of them can see anything wrong with him. He is not in pain and never wins or shows any reaction when we examine his leg. He is a very friendly, healthy Schnauzer and the hopping does not seem to bother him at all....he just seems to take it in his stride.

I will start him on joint supplements but I do want to know if I should ask my Vet to do X-Rays?

Here is a link to a video of Novaks hopping:

https://youtu.be/nj8-Dpeac6c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regards from a fellow Schnauzer mom!

There can be a range of different causes for "hopping" from very serious to inexplicable If you Google 'terrier skip' or hop you will see that this is not uncommon among certain breeds of small dog and does not always seem to be linked to a condition that is causing pain or affecting the dog's life in any way.

One of our mini schnauzers started this rear leg lift (at about 2 years old) occasionally when walking (similar to your video clip although not as constant as in that clip). We took her to the vets and to a McTimoney chiropractor both of whom assured us that there was no evidence of a physical problem with her leg. Several years on from that she is still doing it, no evidence of pain and it has not stopped her from running at speed and jumping on to chairs, tables, walls etc.

There is a condition called patella subluxation where the knee joint can be loose and, if it slips out of place, can cause a sudden intense pain which may cause a dog to hop or limp until the joint slips back into place. The condition affects a number of small breeds (including the affenpinscher of which we have seven) and, as there is some evidence that this may be hereditary, certain breeds are patella tested (a simple manual test by a vet which does not require sedation) and this should highlight a patella problem. Luxating patella can be mild or severe and the impact on a dog's life will depend on how serious the condition is, but as I understand it, and have witnessed in a dog, the moment the knee joint slips is very painful and evident even if only for a moment or two and the dog will usually stop walking or noticeably limp.

There is some more information on patella subluxation here:

http://www.cedargrovevets.com/media/168 ... n-dogs.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With our mini schnauzer, now seven years old, her rear leg hopping has not got worse, she shows no sign of being in pain at all, and is very active, and as such, we decided to leave any further investigation unless anything became more worrying. She has never had Bravecto or Vectra 3D as I know of a number of dogs that have had serious side effects and a friend whose dog had seizures and died following the use of Bravecto so, in our mini's case that would not have contributed to her hopping. My view is that, unless there is serious concern about the health or wellbeing of our dogs, we would prefer not to subject them to unnecessary medical or surgical intervention which of itself can be stressful to the dog. You could try the joint supplements which are not likely to do any harm but if the condition is a quirk or neurological issue, it may not affect the hopping.

[Chez]

Thanks for the feedback zeta1454, » 25 May 2017, 08:24.

I will keep an eye on him and his Vet is already aware of this so whenever we have one of his regular check ups the paw and leg are always examined. As he is not showing any signs of pain, we are just going to continue with the joint supplements.

Wishing everyone all the best with their little Schnauzers.

[GaryThomlinson]

Penny now hops like this every other step and my concern is the stress on the rest of her body especially spine. While TPLO has been suggested I'm just not convinced as my observation and research would suggest something more akin to the patella issue.

She only hops at full walking speed, if I slow her slightly it stops. so we walk at snails pace a lot.

[Denisejoy]

Ruby (nearly 10mths) has just started doing this too. She also doesn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort. Seems there are a variety of reasons why it happens. We take her for a monthly puppy check so I will ask my vet.