Hello All, I have a 7yr old male Rottie who has been lame. Initially he had a cracked pad, which eventually healed and he came sound, then he went lame again on the same leg. He has been taken for x rays about three weeks ago, and had his whole leg x rayed, and they could not find anything, except a reaction to pain on the inside of his front leg. So he has been on rest, with Metacam, and until yesterday he appeared to improve, but yesterday he leapt up (not in the plan), cryed, and we are back to square one. His physio thinks he may have badly bruised his foot when his pad was cracked, and subsequently has used his leg differently causing a muscle strain to the inside of his front leg. Does anyone have any ideas?

I don't know much about physiology and your vet is better placed to advise you than people on a forum who have never seen you dog but it might be worth asking your vet to refer your dog to your local hydrotherapy pool.  When one of mine (not a rott) was recovering from an op on her leg we went to hydrotherapy a couple of times a week.  While my dog was in the pool the staff explained to me that they could tell a lot from the way the dog swam, which bits were strained, was it a leg, paw, shoulder etc that was hurting and they could see this by the way the dog used her legs in the pool.  This might give some indication of where the problem is and allow the area to be strengthened so he can start to walk properly again.

When my Rottie had his cruciate operated on my vet agreed he does the fixing but the physio was the best person to help with the recovery afterwards.

So I would suggest getting him to see a physiotherapist and possibly they would put him forward for hydrotherapy.  I was really pleased with my dogs treatment and I couldn't ask for a better result.

if x rays showed nothing then it could be a tendon/ligament/muscle injury which wont show up and can take months to heal properly, hope you get him sorted soon

Have been back to the vets to have another look at x rays, as I had a copy on disc, and wanted to check a couple of things with regard to his foot. Now they are saying he has fractured his dew claw (interior, not exterior), but a long time ago!!!! I did point out that I thought it looked a bit odd when I took him initially. Now because I am in total confusion I am going to get a second opinion on the x rays. Will let you know how we get on, and thanks everyone.

when you say dew claw (interior) what did they mean as all dew claws or on the inside of the leg??

Any more news?

My main concern about his lameness was the dreaded bone cancer, but thankfully, this has been ruled out. So when I was initially shown the x rays I was so relieved that I didn't look that closely at them. Since then I have asked for a copy, and was confused about a couple of things on the x ray of his foot, one part I am assured is normal, just a bit of arthritas, the other is apparently an old fracture, on the internal bone of his dew claw, (if that makes sense?). I am not sure what bone it actually is, but it is the internal bone part of the dew claw that has been fractured, not the exterior dew claw. They do say though that it is an old fracture, which perhaps could have been the beginning of the lameness and the split pad a red herring. Anyway I am waiting to get a second opinion on the x rays. Will let you know how we get on, and thanks for your concern.

Ok we have now had the second opinion, and the verdict is a pulled muscle/tendon in his shoulder area, so likely to be a long job. So drugs changed from Metacam to PLT, and still to keep him rested, (easier said than done when he lives with eight other dogs). I am to phone vet next Monday, and give him an update, so fingers crossed.