Paisley's Injury

Paisley hurt her leg a few weeks ago. She had a busy weekend, playing and running. By the Monday she was limping noticeably. It didn't get any better that week, so I called the vet. They told me to keep her quiet over the weekend as she was already scheduled for an app't with them on the Monday. When we took her in they suspected an ACL injury. We took her to another vet in town for a second opinion, and she also thought it could be an ACL problem. We were scheduled to see a specialist in Calgary to determine if that is problem.

We saw that vet yesterday. Fortunately, she ruled the ACL out immediately. Whew, no surgery. She then did some hip x-rays, and those were clear. Whew. That left an iliopsoas injury. She manipulated Paisley's left side. No response at all. She manipulated the right. Paisley cried, yelped, and struggled to get away. She did it again, same response from Pupsky. That told the vet that Paisley does in fact have an iliopsoas injury. It's not an injury we are at all familiar with, so we are in the middle of researching it. It seems fairly common in athletic dogs, and although Paisley isn't an athlete in terms of agility, etc, she is certainly athletic.

The treatment is quiet. She gets a couple of 10 minute walks per day. Aside from that there is no running, jumping, playing, visiting with dog friends, etc. At least 8 weeks of almost complete inactivity, followed by at least 8 more weeks of a gradual return to activity. Eek.

We have been put in touch with someone here whose dog had the same injury last year, so it's great to have a resource nearby. She is also a registered massage therapist (that's not her official title, I'll have to look that up), and she is going to start doing some massage with Paisley next week. The vet thinks that physio & massage will help her heal. We will also take her to a holistic vet in Calgary for additional treatment.

We are hopeful that we caught the injury early, and that will translate to a relatively quick and full recovery for the little dog.

I'll keep you posted on her progress.