Hey everyone.

Got abit of a problem with our setter girl wit the fact sometimes she seems to go slightly lame on her back leg, noticing it while she's in the ring.  She has done it a couple of times now and outside the ring ourselves and her breeder have noticed it (although judges haven't mentioned it and still placed her 1st/2nd)

She doesn't do it all the time and yesterday I took her for a jog with me and nothing, this morning she was trotting on a flexi round teh fields and nothing.

Sometimes she has seemed abit stiff in her back leg but it doesn't hurt her (she doesn't look in discomfort or yelp/wimper) when you pull it out gently.

I know it could be a 1000 things but wondering if anyone has any idea's.

She's 18 months so we will get her hips tested soon as we have thought this could be one possibility and at the same time will get our vet to give her a check over to see if he can feel anything not quite right.

It could also be as simple as they way she is lying on it in the car to shows possibly but it's happening on too many occasions for it to be that simple.

Also slightly paranoid about hips as she is now the 3rd bitch we have brought in hope of being our foundation bitch, the past two have had health problems (vWD carrier and high hip score) which has prevented breeding...Really want this girl to be it as the lines are what we really want and are slowing going in the breed.

ARGH!!!!!

So anyone with any idea's we can look out for or ask our vet to look out for.

Sounds like the problem I had with Izzy last year................ruptured cruciate ligament, but it could be something completely different, I queried hips at the time too, but they are fine.

Thanks for that.  Will look into it.  I would rather rule things out to narrow it down in hope of finding the problem.  :)  could be so many things on a scale of serious to nothing.

I've even thought a possibility is a lack of muscle tone.  she runs off so doesn't get free running.  Trying hard to get her muscle up by jogging with me and lots of walking but it's not the same as free running....Shame we just can't trust her like the others but if she see's a bird she's off.

Just a daft idea maybe, but having owned soppy longdogs for years who scream at the stupidest "injury"(as they see it). I'm thinking cramp?

Hi Viv that is another thing we do think it could be. 

I took her for another run today with me and she seemed fine in movement (when I ran fast enough to make her trot rather then pace!!!)

Next few shows we are going to try warming her up at the shows, keeping her off benches and moving around plenty before going in the ring to loosen her up.

It's just annoying when you have a quality dog who's out shining everything in her class on the stand but is doing something funny with her movement. 

Heres hopeing that it is something that simple. Blooming dogs, they have a way of leading us up some dark alleys sometimes don't they? Your a caring owner though, that doesn't give up and you really deserve that good foundation bitch you wish for. Good luck with her and all the best.

I'm thinking Patella Luxation. I had an Irish Setter that had it, and the symptoms were intermittent. I remember the treatment options were surgery, which we avoided, or plenty of free running and jumping excersise to build up the muscle. The excercise  worked. :)

I hope it is something simple. :)

Dawn R.

One of my friends dogs does exactly the same at shows!  She's had hips scored, cruciate ligaments checked etc. etc. and nothing wrong has been found.  She can go months with nothing and then all of a sudden it will happen again.  It's a shame with her too because although she's won quite a lot she's not won as much as she should because of it.  I also think it may be due to cramp or something similar.  When you think they sometimes travel in the cage for quite a distance to the show, then we rush to the benching (if you're late like me :d) and then into the ring.

Thank you both of you for the input. :)

Dawn, I have up'd her exercise now, if only she had a 100% recall rather then 30% she might get offlead running but unfortantly the most she gets is running along side me or troting on a flexi.  She is so bird orientated it's unbelievable and we just have visions of her chasing birds, ignoring us and going towards the roads (which arn't exactly close but in setter terms.....)

Will deff be taking idea's to the vets.

However again today at the show my parents said she moved fine (excluding bunny hops!) and troting on the flexi she was fine (although she did mis judge depth of crop field and fell front first into the ditch! luckily she was ok :) )

Chiro, make sure a disc isn't slightly out of alignment causing a pinching on a nerve?