Limp back leg HELP

[Fabbidavisjr]

Hello fellow boxer lovers,

So my 2 year old female boxer and I are house sitting my sisters dog...I walked them three times yesterday so they can sleep at night...So on are third and final walk my boxer was going 100 mph around a grass field by my house....Everything was fine she came home at dinner, took a nap...My mother in law brought her little dog my boxer got all excited wiggling her body all over the place. She later naps when she wakes up from her nap she is not putting any weight on her rear leg.

I thought maybe she had a cramp or her leg was asleep. Her thigh muscle was real tense...I massaged it a bit and put her to bed hoping it will be better in the morning. Morning comes and shes limping putting weight on it but limping... I checked her paws, bones, and joints they all seem fine yet her thigh is still real tense.... So I keep massaging it. The more I read up on it the more it seems its either a strained muscle or a strained/torn ligament.

I've set up a scheduled vet visit and they said it sounds like a ligament...any experience in this I'm hoping its just a muscle and not a joint because I know the joint will have long term affect arthritis/surgery/ etc etc

any advice is appreciated thanks

 

[LILYLARUE]

Hopefully it's just a muscle strain. The vet can diagnose it better than we can. I would massage it to help loosen the muscle. Even if it is a ligament, having the muscles relax would help with the pain she may be feeling. Keep her as calm as you can, , and take her out on leash so you can monitor her activity. Keep her from jumping up on furniture and try to keep her relaxed.

Let us know what the vet diagnoses! I hope it's just a few days of rest and slowly back to boxer burns!

 

[Fabbidavisjr]

Hoping

I'm really hoping its a muscle sprain...I pushed her to hard yesterday and if she tore her acl I would feel horrible. One vet told me its probably her knee the other told me its probably a muscle sprain so I'm kind of in limbo, couldn't sleep last night....she is my first baby my pride and joy I hope she bounces back.

 

[LILYLARUE]

They always bounce back! LOL Theyre boxers!

My girl needs a knee replacement. Been keeping her calm for a year now trying to save up the $3000. She has good days, some bad, sometimes pain meds needed, sometimes iced. We are both in the same situation, as I have a torn ACL and need a replacement as well.

We both just gimp along, slowly and rest when we can. She's a real trooper!

Good luck at the vets!

 

[Karenanne]

Limp

My boxer just turned 1 last week. She too runs at 100 mph. We take her for jogs and bike rides to tire her out. We also go to the dog beach every week. If she's had a lot of exercise she will limp on her back right leg for a few days. We massage it, make her rest (hahaha), and don't run her for a few days. The vet said she basically doesn't know her physical limits and gets a muscle strain/sprain. She's a lot like a 5 year old kid, she runs until she falls over asleep, eats, then does at all again. Lol.

Hope your problem is somethig similar and not serious

 

[Fabbidavisjr]

90 percent chance torn

So the vet is 90 percent sure she has a partially torn ACL in her right knee.....Its been 4 days now and she's still limping so I have to say I have to agree with his assessment. Don't run your dog to hard this was her third run of the day and I encouraged her to run faster poor thing tore her knee up making a turn to fast while hitting a hole. So the doctor wants to put a titanium plate into her knee, he says that will be the best way to get her back to 1000 percent but it will cost me 3500......

Any suggestions on other options or experiences will be great thanks

 

[Karenanne]

Oh, no :(. That's awful. Sorry to hear that. I not to let Nina surpass her limitations, but as you know, boxers have lots of energy to burn. I will definitely be more careful with her on runs now. Hope yours feels better soon!

 

[Fabbidavisjr]

yes

@karenne Yeah be careful although boxer appear to be super human they are made up just like us.....Just be careful where you run her don't run her on fields with lots of goofier holes....The boxer dog has no limits they will run as hard as you'll push them, so just use me as a lesson you don't have to see your dog dead tired to think they are happy.

 

[Sansal]

My boxer just turned 1 last week. She too runs at 100 mph. We take her for jogs and bike rides to tire her out. We also go to the dog beach every week. If she's had a lot of exercise she will limp on her back right leg for a few days. We massage it, make her rest (hahaha), and don't run her for a few days. The vet said she basically doesn't know her physical limits and gets a muscle strain/sprain. She's a lot like a 5 year old kid, she runs until she falls over asleep, eats, then does at all again. Lol.

Hope your problem is somethig similar and not serious

Exercise is great but at one year old I wouldn't take her running or biking. It can cause damage to the growing bones/joints and is not rcommended until 18 months old. Please be careful, especially since you have already noticed some intermittent limping

 

[Sansal]

So the vet is 90 percent sure she has a partially torn ACL in her right knee.....Its been 4 days now and she's still limping so I have to say I have to agree with his assessment. Don't run your dog to hard this was her third run of the day and I encouraged her to run faster poor thing tore her knee up making a turn to fast while hitting a hole. So the doctor wants to put a titanium plate into her knee, he says that will be the best way to get her back to 1000 percent but it will cost me 3500......

Any suggestions on other options or experiences will be great thanks

Unfortunately a torn or partially torn ACL sounds like a real possibility :( have you consulted with an orthopaedic specialist (board certified)? If you are going for surgery make sure to choose a specialist that has a lot of experience and good outcomes.
I would definitely get at least one other opinion.

In the meantime you could try resting her for a week or even longer and see if there is any improvement. You would have to keep her from any kind of running, jumping, walking stairs etc. Only short leashed potty breaks and calm activities like chewing bones. If you are lucky it is a minor injury and maybe you can get around the surgery.