I try to do occasional soundness tests on my dogs, so I can catch anything before it gets bigger. Until this past weekend, I never caught anything, but on Saturday as I was picking up each of Wall-e's feet, I noticed that it was harder to pick up his right hind leg than his left hind leg. I looked at his back legs while he was standing and yep, he was putting less weight on his LH and more on his RH...so something was up with the LH. He was also slightly limping, so slight that I definitely would not have noticed it if I hadn't noticed his offset weight transfer.
Hm. Well. I really really hope it's not something to do with his CCL (cranial cruciate ligament). I know it could be anything really, but he's been lame in that left rear leg since Saturday and reading the CCL articles in The Agility Advantage by Chris Zink, I don't think that's a good sign. He has gotten better and is placing his weight a bit more evenly, but I can still see him putting more weight on his other rear leg. He has to have an annual vet check-up soon anyway, so while we're there, I'll mention it. We have a good vet who has a holistic approach and she tends to notice things really well, so I'm sure she'll be able to see if it's anything we should worry about.
I'm giving him low activity for a week and moderate activity for the rest of the month.
Ignorance is bliss. If I had never known that it's good to do soundness tests on agility dogs, I would never have started worrying and wondering if Wall-e has a partially or fully ruptured CCL! Then again, if he does, we can catch it and take the necessary actions before it turns into arthritis.
I always make too big of a deal out of everything, hahaha.
So sorry to hear this - I am having a bit of a problem too after a fall/jump off my DW at home. Mine is front leg/shoulder and mom is constantly watching me walk and looking to see if I am putting my weight on both feet evenly. We don't know about soundness checks - how do you do it?
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you find it's nothing serious with Wall-e! Mom has trouble not thinking the worst all the time but she (and you)should really try not to make it a worst case scenario all the time - sometimes it's just a little strain or soreness, you know?
I have been worried recently about Hobbs' soundness too! I would love to hear how you do the soundness tests.
ReplyDeleteWow, its seems like all the dogs are having problems. I hope everything is ok. Diana
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about Wall-e's leg!! What makes you think it's a CCL thing - is it just from reading the article and having it in the front of your mind? Or has he had issues with it before?
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I hope he's okay and it's nothing minor.
I'm so glad you noticed something. Let's hope it's not too late now. I hope that it turns out ok.
ReplyDeleteI hope Will-e's hind leg will be healed soon. At least it is good that you noticed before it gets worse.
ReplyDeleteBoy, I really hope it is just a minor thing that will clear up quickly.
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