Update:
Well, he only got the Prednisone for three days, no improvement at all. He had an accident in the house, which is SO unlike him, that Mom looked up side effects, (what we should have done in the first place) and excessive thirst and urination was listed, along with a ton of others. We pulled him off the meds and took him back for an xray the day after Christmas. The Dr drugged him and xrayed his scapula from the lateral view. He says he see's no bone chips, although it could be cartilage and he can't see that on the xray. He perscribed Rimadyl, once a day with food for possibly more than a month. Saying he'll have 'good days and sore days' and we'll see how it goes....All without giving me an actual diagnosis! I asked about OCD, and his reply is "yeah, that's what it is". Well sorry! I will not accept this any longer. We gave this practice another try after our previous visit (which my mom sat in on) because my dad used it for his K9's years ago, when the original doctors, who the clinic is named for, ran it. With the new guys, it's changed, for the worse. Jax will only go there for vaccinations from now on, (as they're the cheapest in the area), and somewhere else for any 'issues'.
So, he is still not putting any weight on the left front, and let's you know its painful when you press above his elbow. He's been on restriction and rest, we haven't been letting him get crazy and he go's out to potty and mosey around the yard for a sniff if he want's, but that's about it. He is getting the Rimadyl, and it's helped a little bit, to the point he's not limping AS badly, but he's still limping. I know there's a whole nother list of side effects with that drug, but he's going to stay on it until at least monday when we take him to another vet who specializes in arthroscopic surgery for a consult and second opinion. I don't think the rest has helped him at all, and I'm unwilling to accept that my not even 2.5 year old dog is going to be off and on lame his whole life, and live it on drugs. Crossing my fingers and playing the waiting game....