Well, Scout does indeed have an injury. The vet thinks she has a slipped disc in her back that is pressing on the nerve of the left rear leg. It's bad, but not as bad as I had feared.
For now she's on severely restricted activity. Absolutely no jumping or stairs and a complete minimum walking. She must be carried out to go to the bathroom. The vet also suggested we attach a heat lamp to her crate as the heat will help alleviate her pain. He gave her 3 shots today and they have had an immediate effect. She's clearly feeling better although she has some weakness in that rear leg. She goes back to the vet for therapy on Friday (it's not clear what kind of therapy, but something) and will be on restricted activity for an undetermined amount of time.
Poor little dog. This is the second back injury she's sustained in about 6 months. I don't know how much good it will do, but I intend to take her to an orthopedic specialist upon our return to the states. I want to get her completely checked out including x-rays in case there's something we have missed. I hope this doesn't portend a lifetime of back trouble, but if it does, we'll deal with it. In the meantime she's getting lots of extra petties and treats.
Posted by Shelby at May 19, 2004 02:17 PMOh no! Poor Scout! Our family dog (a lab/beagle mix) had problems with her back as well and it did the same things to her legs. She still gets arthritis in her back sometimes, but she has improved dramatically over the years. The big problem with us was trying to keep any excess weight off of her during that time.
I know how it feels though and I'm sending lots of "mental treats" Scout's way.