[cruelas01]

We found a poodle mix in May, the vet guesses he was about 1 year at the time based on his teeth and that he was 'lost' for at least 6 months based on his fur and skin conditions. Nursed back to health he is a great house dog. He is a jumper and can hop over just about any fence (wonder how he got 'lost'?).

Last month he hopped over a 3ft fence and landed with a yelp. His left hind leg was crooked and we thought it was broken - he was yelping a lot! We called the vet and before we left the house (about 20 minutes later) his leg was back to normal and he was walking and jumping like nothing happened. The vet said no breaks and gave him pain meds and muscle relaxers.

Last night he was chewing a rawhide goody alone on the rug while I was watching TV and he suddenly yelped. His right front leg was sticking out straight and he could not bend it at the elbow/knee. Again he was yelping like crazy so my husband took him and laid with him calming him down and rubbing his leg while I called the vet again. By the time I got off the phone, his leg was normal and he could walk and jump on the bed like nothing happened, again.

I would think displasia, but two oposing legs? I cancelled the ER appt (last one was $300) and will schedule a normal appointment to see what they say.

Has anyone heard of this?

 

[Dangels]

Actually, I have heard of this.... although I don't remember what it was called. A friend of mine had a Yorkie mix about 6 years ago & she had the same problem. The dog had to have surgery to correct the problem & I remember my friend saying that it's common in small dogs. Sorry I cannot be of more help!

Best of luck!

 

[pawzaddict]

I would think your vet may want to do xrays which I think is a great idea. Please keep us updated on what the vet finds out

 

[Cardigirl]

could it be luxating patellas?

 

[Criosphynx]

Sounds like luxating patella to me. Very common in toy dogs


A vet can diagnose by touch
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[Tess]

Last month he hopped over a 3ft fence and landed with a yelp. His left hind leg was crooked and we thought it was broken - he was yelping a lot! We called the vet and before we left the house (about 20 minutes later) his leg was back to normal and he was walking and jumping like nothing happened. The vet said no breaks and gave him pain meds and muscle relaxers.

Last night he was chewing a rawhide goody alone on the rug while I was watching TV and he suddenly yelped. His right front leg was sticking out straight and he could not bend it at the elbow/knee. Again he was yelping like crazy so my husband took him and laid with him calming him down and rubbing his leg while I called the vet again. By the time I got off the phone, his leg was normal and he could walk and jump on the bed like nothing happened, again.

So I'm having a little trouble understanding... are you saying this has happened with a front AND a hind leg? You are using mixed-terms here.

Dog anatomy is just like human anatomy. Their back legs are like our legs, and their front legs are like our arms.
Hind legs have a hip, a knee and an ankle (or sometimes called "hock")
Front legs have a shoulder, elbow then wrist.

Which legs and joints exactly were involved? You'll want to be able to tell your vet very accurately which joints were involved.

 

[cruelas01]

Sorry if my terms are confusing. I'll try again:

The first incident occured in his hind leg on the left side, it was the hip that looked 'off'. By the time we took him to the ER Vet he was already jumping around like nothing happened - but did favor it. The vet moved it around and said everything looked good. He took XRays and confirmed no breaks and eveything was normal. He thought it had popped out of socket then back in and sent us home with some pain meds and anti-inflamitary meds.

Yesterday it was the front right leg, and it was straight as if his elbow was locked. He was yiping like crazy and could not stand so we carried him in the room where my husband calmed him down while I called the vet. By the time I was off the phone (less then 5 minutes) he was jumping off the bed and running around.

He is only 1 1/2 years old, and I have never had a dog with this type of problem. We did have a Chihuahua a few years ago with bad patella's in both her hind knees and had to have surgery on them both. This is different. It is kind of like when my toes get cramped and I can't bend them and the hurt like heck until they relax and get back to normal.

We have an appointment for him to be seen by his vet in a couple days. I hope he can diagnose it while he is not having the immediate problem because last time the XRays didn't show anything and he recovers so fast that we can't get him there in time before he is back to normal.

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had a similiar problem with any of their dogs.

Thanks

 

[Tess]

OK, now I'm not confused about your description, but this IS a confusing case!

Hips that pop out and in again are not all that uncommon. The issue with the elbow sounds like there is a bit of cartilage in the joint or something that is slipping around in there. Elbows generally are difficult to dislocate, usually needing real trauma to have it happen, and then they don't as easily pop back in again.

Anyway, it could be two totally separate problems that just by luck (or unluck) happened on the same dog at nearly the same time. On the other hand, its possible there is some sort of metabolic or orthopedic disorder that results in loose joints all over the dog at the same time. I'm outa my league at that point!

Definitely you are doing the right thing to get the dog checked out by your vet and maybe even a specialist... if the problem happens again. Good luck and do let us know what you find out!

 

[cruelas01]

It seems that the two issues were unrelated.

Lucky is healthy with no abnormalities in his joints so far. The hip issue was most likely due to me yelling when he was jumping and scaring him, which caused him to incomplete his fall and catch his leg in the fence (pulling his hip out of socket when he landed).

The front elbow cannot be explained, other then he may have had a cramp and got scared. Nothing the vet could recommend at this time other then 'keep our eyes on it' and take him back if something similar happens.

My fingers are crossed that it was just a couple of wierd fluke that happened close to the same time.

 

[Tess]

It seems that the two issues were unrelated.

Lucky is healthy with no abnormalities in his joints so far. The hip issue was most likely due to me yelling when he was jumping and scaring him, which caused him to incomplete his fall and catch his leg in the fence (pulling his hip out of socket when he landed).

The front elbow cannot be explained, other then he may have had a cramp and got scared. Nothing the vet could recommend at this time other then 'keep our eyes on it' and take him back if something similar happens.

My fingers are crossed that it was just a couple of wierd fluke that happened close to the same time.

Thank you so much for the update! Good to know your dog is doing fine right now.

Hopefully none of this is too serious. We do worry about our beloved animals for sure!

 

[cruelas01]

Yes. They have taken over our hearts after the kids moved out. We will keep an eye on Lucky and hope this doesn't happen again. It is worrisome because this little guy was 'lost' from his original owner for 6 months during winter and had to fend for himself. He loves having a family and warm house and is a very good house dog. But he freaks out if he cannot see us and tries to jump or climb everything if he is outside. He has the potential of hurting himself if we don't keep him caged or inside the house when we are gone and have him at our side every moment when we are at home. We also have wild chickens and ferral cats that go through our yard, so even when we are outside he gets tempted to jump to chase them (which is how he hurt his back hip). He is a challenge for sure, but has become my husbands Best Friend - so he is definately worth the trouble. Fortunately our original two dogs (Chihuahuas) are not overly jealous of him.