Hello all,
I need some advice about my 21-month old saluki. When I came home the other night Dill was limping badly and seemed in quite a lot of pain. The vet took an x-ray the next day and said that since there was no broken bone he must have pulled some ligaments by jumping and landing strangely (although he did no tests or anything to confirm this). He packed me off with some painkillers and advice to rest the dog for a while, and that was it.

5 days later and Dill still can barely walk or put the offending foot (front left) down, and I'm really quite worried. Is it really just a matter of time? Would the foot be better bandaged? How long can I expect to wait for a full recovery?

I'd be really grateful to anyone with any knowledge/experience/advice.

Cheers,
Phil & a temporarily disabled Dill.

I'd go back & (preferably) see another vet. I took a limping dog once & was given antibiotics ( infected bite, well puppy play bite really) When the AB were finished he was still limping so I took him back & the (different) vet wiped the floor with me "How long has this dog been like this?" he had a broken metacarpal (meta tarsel?, small bone anyway) & ended up in plaster. I know you say your dog was xrayed, but did they xray his foot?
Anyway, if your worried, take him back. If it is ligaments, I think it can take a while, but would have thought you'd see a little improvement by now.

Hi Anwen, :)
Metatarsals are any bone of the foot between the ankle and the toes. Metacarpals are any bone of the hand between the wrist and fingers.
So in a dog Metatarsals/back foot, metacarpals/front. :)

Phil, ligaments can take a long time. My hubby strained his ankle a few years ago and it was 6 months before it was fully better, although he's a milkman so couldn't rest it much :( It was very swollen at first and the best thing for that is ice packs. He had to have a bandage on too to help keep the swelling down and support it for a while. Is Dills foot swollen?

Kath.

Thanks Kath. Tarsals -Toes I'd forgotten how to remember that one. Anyway, it was a metacarpal - front leg - he used to whack me with his plaster as he went past!

Hi all.
Thanks for the replies - I'm on a big time difference here (Tokyo) so it takes me a while to catch up.

Anyway, Dill is still more or less the same - his limp seems slightly better and the swelling on his foot seems to have gone down a little, so perhaps it is just a matter of time.

The vet did x-ray his foot - it was very clear that no bones were broken, so at least I can rule that out. I might wait another couple of days, and if there's no real improvement, take him to another vet.

It's just very depressing to see a limping saluki who should be out running 3 billion miles an hour! Also, vets don't exactly have the best reputation here, and although I think I've found a reasonable one, he didn't seem particularly thorough.

Oh well, thanks for your concern. I'll keep you posted.

Phil