Hi.
A few weeks ago, I posted suggestions about removing a tick from Kira's neck.
I removed it, and appeared to have gotten all of it.
The area had an obvious lump, and a crusty feel to it. It's still crusty, and she still has a lump under her skin.
I see no signs of an engorged tick.
Anyway, because of hurricane Sandy, the only exercise has been daily walks, and fetching in my back yard. I mention this because there hasn't been any opportunity for injury.
On to my concerns....
Kira hasn't been herself for a number of days. She gets tired much quicker, and has an obvious limp coming from her rear left leg. It bothers her mostly after getting up from sleep, or laying down for an extended period. I've squeezed and poked around, but can't seem to located any soreness or obvious sore spots. Her paws are clean too.
Her gate is not smooth, she has a "skip" in her gate.
In your opinion, could these symptoms be related to that tick?
Kira is almost 17 months.
Her hips were xray'd when she was spayed at 11 months. I posted images here, and some thought she may have a problematic hip. I sent the Xray to be OFA'd, and the report came back as inconlusive due to improper positioning.
So, in all honestly, the jury is still out.
Prior to this limp, I can say that she normally runs like heck. She's a lightning bolt, and has never shown any signs of pain in her rear.
I also want to add that 6 weeks ago, she made an unusual growth spurt for her age. She gained about 7 pounds, and a couple inches in height.
Afterwards, she had a slight limp in her front leg, and the vet dismissed as some pano.
I'm not sold. I have other suspicions.
i find it mind boggling that people purpose all of these
questions to people who aren't Vets. i'm going to the
Vet first then ask for the forums opinion.
I was told to wait 6 weeks after the tick to run the blood test, because apparently it takes that long (or longer) for it to show up. However, they did do a Snap4 test to check against, this being the test that showed he was lyme-negative to begin with.
It's hard to say and I've no experience with ticks or tick borne illnesses. Are they common in your area?
Just on a side note although it may not be the best advice but you say she hasn't been exercising a lot? I've noticed that when I don't exercise my pups they get tired easily as well. I think their stamina gets less if we don't keep up with their exercise.
My puppy had his tick removed by the vet, and it came out whole (ugly little bugger!) and he had a lump too. My vet told me there would be a lump there for a while, so don't panic - that's normal.
If I were you, I would get some correct xrays done and have them evaluated. I would bet that your breeder has a 2 year guarantee - best to get some conclusive results on the hips, especially if there are suspicions already.
The rapid growth could have brought on pano and some growing pains. Xrays and vet visit will tell you more.
I would be more concerned about getting some xrays done on elbows, spine and hips at this point.
If I were you, I would get some correct xrays done and have them evaluated. I would bet that your breeder has a 2 year guarantee - best to get some conclusive results on the hips, especially if there are suspicions already.
The rapid growth could have brought on pano and some growing pains. Xrays and vet visit will tell you more.
I would be more concerned about getting some xrays done on elbows, spine and hips at this point.
I agree 100%.
There was some question about having my vet do the xray. The prior xray didn't sit too well with many folks around here.
Should I look into an OFA recommended location?
Anthony, I know lyme is more prevalent over there than here, so I can't comment on the likelyhood of that tick carrying it. But I can tell you Rocket's had a lump for a few weeks after a tick bite too, even though we always swab and use antibiotic ointment. I've never bothered with a lyme test. We have ticks in the backyard down in the trees/brush in the spring--it's disgusting! Even with Advantix on the 4th week of treatment, it seems to lose effectiveness so he always gets some.
Anthony, I know lyme is more prevalent over there than here, so I can't comment on the likelyhood of that tick carrying it. But I can tell you Rocket's had a lump for a few weeks after a tick bite too, even though we always swab and use antibiotic ointment. I've never bothered with a lyme test. We have ticks in the backyard down in the trees/brush in the spring--it's disgusting! Even with Advantix on the 4th week of treatment, it seems to lose effectiveness so he always gets some.
It is in PA, a bit of a drive but supposedly excellent. All their dogs' positioning looked excellent, and the guy is a real shepherd guy Plus it's cheap, under 200 for both hips and elbows (I paid 150 just for hips in Brooklyn).
Anthony, first I'd take her in for a SNAP4, which is HW, Lyme, canine erhlichia and equii erhlichia. She absolutely could have one of the tick diseases and not necessarily from the tick you found.
the tick disease ticks are so minute, you could very well not even see it, she could have gotten it weeks/months ago from another tick.
That would my first thing to do, test her for tick disease
Hate to get off topic...
It's snowing here, I didn't feel like walking her, so I let her out the back door to pee.
The little limping biatch starts running full speed in zoomie mode. She doing her impression of a bucking bronco, throwing her ball in the air, and seems fine.
Sometimes, I swear she reads these boards. .
I will get the X-ray and Lyme tests done.
No harm.
I'd hate to call her breeder, I can pretty much guess his response. Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App
Because I'm curious and everyone keeps mentioning the breeder and the contract...what is the contract say? They offer to replace the dog if its hips are bad, give money toward the surgery, or offer another pup?
I'd start with the test for tick borne diseases and then worry about the hips. My Pit mix has had Lyme and Anaplasmosis and it began with limping in the rear.
Interesting. I thought I had heard this from others
Even though Kira probably read this thread, and decided to stop limping ( LOL),
I'll take her for her Lyme test tomorrow, and look into her hips afterwards.
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