Anything we can do?

[gooeydog]

I've noticed a few things lately about Haley that have me concerned. First, it seems like her front leg is "bending" in more than it was before, and her foot is more centered towards her body. I've heard that this is common, but I'm just wondering if it's going to be a problem (not that there's much we can do about it) later in her life. Second, when she stands/walks/runs/hops, her "ankle" (errm... wrist?) bends so much sometimes that her pastern is almost completely on the ground. She's just under 50 lbs, and not fat at all (my mom and her vet thinks she still needs to gain a lb or two, I think she's fine where she is), and it's more noticeable when she's running or walking (hopping), but sometimes if she's tired, she does it while she stands, too. She's not on any joint supplements, but I'm going to check with my mom about getting her on one (she can't have gloucosamin/chondroitin because of her diabetes, so any other suggestions would be great). The vets said there's not much we can do about it, just try to keep her "high impact" exercise to a minimum. If anyone has any other ideas, I'd really appreciate it :lol:

[alicat613]

I'm not quite sure I understand fully.
Did the vets tell you what it was?

How old is your dog, and what breed?

[gooeydog]

Sorry I wasn't more clear about that, Alicat. Haley only has 3 legs, one in front, two in back, and the change I've noticed is in the remaining front leg. She's a pit bull (though she's a rescue, so there's no guarantees that' she's "purebred", and around 2 1/2 yrs old, has been a tripod for almost 2 years. It's hard to explain exactly what her leg is doing, so here are a couple pics that show what I mean a little better. Hope this makes it a little more clear :oops:

Foot/leg turned in


Another


Pastern down


And for comparison, here's one from last summer

[Daisysmom]

She is very pretty!!!
So her front leg is twisting???? Turning in? I would think that it is just trying to compensate for the loss of the other leg, to give her balance. Almost like the leg is in the middle of her body. :roll: Does that make any sense?

[DogPaddle]

Prosthetic? Some guy made his tripod a prosthetic - looked like the bottom of a crutch, not perfect but stops the dog from having to compansate so much.

[mouseatthebusstop]

SHE IS VERY PRETTY :D DIDN'T THE VET SAY ANY MORE

[Guest Anonymous]

Ask your vet if you can get her on L-Arginine and L-Glycine. (Im not sure since she cant have glucocimine and they convert into it naturally.) The two together will help her body produce its own creatine and that will strengthen her muscles. L-Methionine will help her body obtain the natural creatine.
Looks as if her leg is adapting for proper balance.
She is beautiful!!

Some quick info to help a dog with diabetes:
Avoid the soft moist bagged dog food- usually very high in sugar, preservatives and artificial colors.
Lower the fat intake. Use good oils in food... 1/2 tsp cod-liver oil alternated with veg oil or my personal favorite flax seed oil (contains all the omegas!)
Feed millet, rice, oats, cornmeal and rye bread. Green beans (the pods contain hormonal substances closely related to insulin)
Alkalize foods like raw veggies and yogurt (fermented milk products) to help counter overacidity (due to the disordered metabolism of diabetes)
Add Vitamin C - (around 1000mg since she is around 50lbs) daily divided into two doses.

[Rosebud]

:) She is such a pretty girl. I'm sure you love her very much and that she knows you love her and are taken good care of her.

Usually any change in the way a dog uses their legs is to compensate for an injury or defect somewhere else. The change in her front leg is to compensate for loss of balance in the front. I'm not sure that any supplements will help this, although they would help with discomfort and mobility. I would look into a prosthetic to help her balance her front if the vet feels it is feesible.

Good luck

:angel:

[alicat613]

No worries Gooeydog, I understand now. I asked because puppies can get growth problems from foods (certain breeds too high protein, etc).

I showed this to Parker's breeder who is quite the 'Jack of all trades' with animals and she says:

"The dog is doing normal compensation for a three legged Critter! Dog typically carry 65% of their weight in the front and 35% on the rear, so the centering of the leg is a structural compensation. The normal biostructure has changed so the new biostructure must 'redesign' it's function and form.

If they feel that glucosamine/chondrotin can not be given...which if bought through the vet shouldn't contain any extra sugars....they can try MSM. I have two friends with three legged dogs who have seen dramatic improvement when taken for acupuncture and given Cartrophen (used to help build up joint fluid) injections by the vet. This might be a suggestion for them.

Hydrotherapy is also a great form of muscle building in a non-concussion to the joint form. This way the built up muscle can relieve a bit of the bone stress."

Hope that helps! You can also feed cartilage - if you eat a chicken, give her the raw or cooked cartilage you find in there, its a natural source of all that good joint stuff.

[Hobbit]

Goo, when Guy was recovering he didn't use the injured leg for about 5 months. He didn't center, but when he would get tired his pasturn would lax. As he became stronger, this stopped. We made sure that he didn't become tired (didn't want him to strain any ligaments or tendons). Of course now, he has recovered and is using the other leg.

[gooeydog]

Thanks for and the advice (and compliments) :lol: I know the "turning in" of the front foot is normal, but all the dogs that I've ever seen missing a front leg are usually smaller dogs, or dogs with fairly light bodies and sturdy legs. She's not too heavy, but her legs aren't really "big boned" either, and sometimes I almost expect to hear a "snap" when she tries to shoot off the couch (we're working with her on the furniture diving stuff :o ). I'm going to look more into the supplements suggested, and do some checking with the vet to see what's ok and what's not. And there are no hydrotheraphy places nearby, but as soon as it warms up, I'm going to try to get her in the water to do some swimming (so far she won't go within 4 or 5 ft of it :roll: ). The vet had mentioned something about a prosthetic, about a year ago, but also said that he had never heard of one being used on a front leg (anyone? :lol: ), and that it could cause more problems because she's already had problems with fluid buildup in her "stump" from banging it on things, and if she put weight on it (and the prosthetic), it might cause the same thing to happen again.

[Hobbit]

Gooey,
What about a prosthesis that fit the chest, so the weight would be on the chest and not on the stump? It would have to be custom made. A saddle maker could make one out of leather, easily. It would buckle over the back to help hold it in place. A large flap of leather, looks like a shoulder holster (the back part) would fit underneath the stump and up the chest, taking in the shoulder. Understand? It could be lined with fleece, to avoid chapping.