The vet gave up on Butt today

[Butts Mom]

The Vet said he just doesn't know why he is limping,the xrays showed zilch,and the Rimadyl and Duralactin have not helped.So now he wants to send him to an orthopedic surgeon,he said the Ortho Vet may just perscribe a different med to try then what we have already tried.This Ortho Vet is 3 hrs away,I have to call Monday and see what the $ damage will be and go from there.So now I need positve thoughts for my big Butt and any advice for traveling that far with my not people friendly dog.

[kathryn]

I'm sorry that Butt is limping.  What leg is he limping on?  I was thinking that maybe if it's a rear leg that he might have a partial tear to the acl or something along those lines.  Lots of good thoughts for both of you.

[Scootergirl]

How long has he been limping? Maybe he just strained a muscle and is enjoying the babying. It may not even hurt anymore, but he knows if he limps of favors the leg he'll get extra lovin'! I've had dogs AND cats that have pulled that trick before. They sure know how to train us!

Good luck with the Buttster - I hope they continue to NOT find anything wrong in the long run.

[VdogLover]

Sorry I can not remember is he limping in the rear of front?
X-rays do not show soft tissue injuries and some of these can take months to fully heal. Often previously injured tendons and ligaments will act up off and on for life. Going to an othro can help pin point the problem but yes they are $$$$.

[macybean]

Poor Butt. Whatever it is, I hope it's something that the doctor can fix quickly and that won't keep coming up, like a ligament strain can.

[happiday]

Please take a look at this site:  

www.springtime inc.com  

esp. the Fresh Factors  -and-  Joint Health Chewables
I think this might help him.  I think it's worth a try before spending lots of time and money on a specialist.
Annie sends slobbers for a speedy recovery!

[Butts Mom]

More info: It is his right front leg that he is limping on.When it acts up he walks like he is stiff legged.It first started in April and we just tried Rimadyl then.In the beginning of June we went back and had xrays.He did xray knees,shoulders the whole works.When he was under for the xrays he checked him over top top bottom to make sure it wasn't something he was missing when the big guy was fighting him.When the xrays were done he saw nothing on them,so he sent them to a radiologist for a 2nd opinion and he saw nothing.Then we tried the combo of Rimadyl and Duralactin and still nothing.He doesn't act like it hurts him at all,I have pressed all over the area to see if I could get a pain response and never had.And it also doesn't slow him down when he and Tub are on a rampage thur the house.How would I go about picking a good Vet for a second opinion?? The one we have is the best in town according to my Avian vet,who I trust 100% with my birds and if that is who she takes her dogs too he has to be good.I'm just at a loss

BTW- Tub keeps bouncing his stuffed Elmo off the keyboard and barking,so I guess he wants to say Hi and make sure he isn't left out

[jabear]

Poor Butt. I wish you guys well on your long journey to the specialist and hope that they can figure out what is making the poor boy limp. 

[MagicM3]

Things like this just frustrate the H*** out of me and I'm sure you and your vet feel the same.

I would get another oppinion,as well,and also a question

did he do any blood work,I don't know where you live but the 1st thing they look for after obvious injury is valley fever.And that is done with blood work.

But I'm not sure that would be a problem if you are not in the south west part of the country. I just don't know.Goos luck finding the answers,and keep us all posted.

Tricia and the fur kids

[brandon]

What vdog said. 
We went through the same thing with Bava.  He limped on and off for a good while, and the vet would just prescribe more rimadyl.  We finally took him to an ortho who diagnosed OCD in his right front shoulder joint.  He had surgery to correct the OCD and remove some really large joint mice, and he walked out of there better than he had walked in a long while.  No problems since then, really glad he had it done and didn't wait "too" long.

Hope you can get butt fixed up soon and on the mend. 

PS:

Oh, here is a picture of what was causing Bava so much pain:
The joint mice:
http://www.haveparrotwilltravel.com/gallery2/albums/userpics/10001/joint-mice.jpg

The mice form after pieces of cartilidge break off and instead of being reabsorbed by the body, they calcify and become like bone and really irratate the joint.  I hope I have that explanation right, I am sure you could find lots more about it by searching for OCD.

[Fumble]

ooh poor butt!! fumble and our fam is sending lots of hugs and kisses your way!!  Hopefully the specialist will help tell you something good! or at least helpful!!  Sending lots of drooly kisses!

[Duramax]

oh that's too bad, hopefully the specialist will figure it out quickly and you wont have to mess with it more than once or twice.

[VdogLover]

I dealt with an off and on soft tissue injury in Luccis right foreleg for years. We did 6 weeks crate rest..no better... did no crate rest no better...it came and went when it wanted...xrays showed nothing multiple vets opinions helped none. Finally I found MSM which was fist used for race horses with tendon problems and IT worked!! She would go for up to a year with no signs. Over time and with old age it did stop working and she now is lame in that leg all the time but atleast she got years of doing her sports and living life pain free.
  I myself would not use Rimadyl for a soft tissue injury (unless the dog is in extreme in pain) if hoping for it to heal. Pain is there for a reason and by blocking that the dog will use a leg that may need to rest.

[navarre1316]

When Navarre started to get a bit worse (granted his was arthritis) and the Rimadyl and/or Duramax weren't doing as good a job the vet's office manager told me about Synovi G3.  I was just giving him glucosamine w/chondrontin and she said that probably didn't have the other necessary ingredients (she was right).  It has the MSM, chondrontin, vit, and min necessary for the uptake of the others and Navarre did awesome on it!  It took about a week or so to tell a difference.  Don't buy it from the vet, look on-line, oddly enough I just found it on Amazon (I googled it to confirm the name).  I'm thinking about going ahead and giving it to Daphne since she's a bit older before I see any signs.  And I may even start Issabeaux on it too.

[lins_saving_grace]

The OS may know more than your vet. they may be trained to see more than your vet has so far.  i'm surprised though with the Xrays the vet still can't see the problem. 
take Butt to the Ortho dude...i'm sure you'll have better luck and a more experienced, better trained doctor.