PLEASE! young Golden with extreme stiffness in hind. diifi..

External Since: Dec 19, 2003 Posts: 1

Hi all. Vet is coming up blank & xrays look clean. No
arthritis/dysplasia evident.

We have a 2 y.o. Golden who has recently been having difficulty
getting up after laying down. At times she has so much difficulty
that instead of getting up and walking away in a different direction,
she will rise to a sitting position with her hind legs not moving and
spin around before trying to get up. We have been to the Vet a couple
of times. Full x-rays showed nothing. Been on condroitin & buffered
asprin (which seems to help some). WHen she first gets up, she may
favor one leg and/or limp, and seems to be stiff, but after she's up
she just wants to run. She has no difficulty tearing around the yard.
It's been 3 weeks and she seems to get better, then worse. so there
hasn't been much change. Difficultt to tell how much pain she is in.
Does not whine or cry, but obviously it's not pleasant getting up.

She comes from a good bloodline, reputable breeder. No sign of hip
problems in siblings (our vet has a half-sister of hers). I have seen
other messages here that sound exactly like her symptoms but never a
follow-up with what the real diagnosis turned out to be.

I would love to see replies here from others who recognise their own
dog in this message. I would prefer to hear from those of you who
have actually been through this. We'd like to know what you have
found so we can make intelligent suggestions to the vet.

Thanks for all your help!
Bless!

External Since: Feb 17, 2004 Posts: 25

The fact that she is able to go tearing around and playing does not mean
that there is nothing wrong. Xrays will only tell is there is bone changes.
Has the vet specifically checked for ACL (ligament) damage. It often shows
itself as stiffness and/or limping after rest. Many dogs with this injury
are very stoic and able to still have a lot of fun. Unfortunately, if the
ACL is torn, continuing to run on it will eventually hasten arthritis in the
knee. Ask if he has done a "drawer test". It is a specific manipulation of
the rear leg that is only possible if the ligament is torn. Surgical repair
and recovery is a 3 to 6 month process. If it happens to be what's wrong,
you can email me. We've been through it twice
Carol Ann

"Rob" <rlak.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:24d0c9bb.0312191241.7397090@posting.google.com...
> Hi all. Vet is coming up blank & xrays look clean. No
> arthritis/dysplasia evident.
>
> We have a 2 y.o. Golden who has recently been having difficulty
> getting up after laying down. At times she has so much difficulty
> that instead of getting up and walking away in a different direction,
> she will rise to a sitting position with her hind legs not moving and
> spin around before trying to get up. We have been to the Vet a couple
> of times. Full x-rays showed nothing. Been on condroitin & buffered
> asprin (which seems to help some). WHen she first gets up, she may
> favor one leg and/or limp, and seems to be stiff, but after she's up
> she just wants to run. She has no difficulty tearing around the yard.
> It's been 3 weeks and she seems to get better, then worse. so there
> hasn't been much change. Difficultt to tell how much pain she is in.
> Does not whine or cry, but obviously it's not pleasant getting up.
>
> She comes from a good bloodline, reputable breeder. No sign of hip
> problems in siblings (our vet has a half-sister of hers). I have seen
> other messages here that sound exactly like her symptoms but never a
> follow-up with what the real diagnosis turned out to be.
>
> I would love to see replies here from others who recognise their own
> dog in this message. I would prefer to hear from those of you who
> have actually been through this. We'd like to know what you have
> found so we can make intelligent suggestions to the vet.
>
> Thanks for all your help!
> Bless!