I am dealing with our vet and specialist on the issue but I wanted to run this past this forum to see if anyone else has experienced what I am seeing with my lab. I have a 4.5 year old chocolate lab named Hunter who is healthy weight for his size, has never had issues with hips and knees (xrays show clear), blood work from last month is clear, and has never had issues with any lameness even on the hardest days of playing/swimming/diving. We don't over exercise or walk him - we've been mindful of exercising him moderately. On 11/5 I noticed his walk was off in the morning and during the day. Maybe not putting as much pressure on left shoulder, paw, leg area. It wasn't a limp, just a little bit of a wonky walk. Vet that day said he is fine, gave him a physical, and went on Carprofen for a week with rest. After a week was over, he was still off behaviorally, didn't seem like himself. Didn't drag the frisbee to me 100 times a day. I work from home so I'm in tune with his behavior and gait. The wonky walk was and always has been on/off during the day. On 11/19 I went back to a new vet a friend recommended and they felt him react slightly when they touched his shoulder, did xrays, and said he has compression between T3 and T4 areas. Suggested their services, cold laser therapy and consult w/ their chico specialist/vet. I felt a little better that i had answers. But the next day I took those notes/scans to my usual vet who said nope, I can't say for sure that it is. Too many factors in the xray that make it look like a compression. He was awake not sedated at the time of the xray. He suggested I go to the specialists for xray review and consult. On 11/24 we went to the ortho specialist who reviewed the xrays (along w/ two other specialists) and gave him an exam and felt like he was not in any pain anywhere. She said if he had compression issues he would have reacted to what she was pressing on during her test. Of course he was his happy, smiling, no wonky walk self that day. She suggested 4 week mild rest, we could walk him .5 mile, no rough playing. Then during the 4 weeks, if issues persist, visit their neuro for a consult. She said this sort of issue is difficult to diagnose as he doesn't display symptoms all the time and only a CAT or MRI would show for sure. It's a long story but with so many labby owners who have experienced so many things, I was wondering if anyone had this experience with their dog? I don't want a misdiagnosis which is why I went to the specialists who will work on resolving this. Thank you for reading and your comments!
How frustrating for you. From what you write, it doesn't sound like a limp really, especially if his behavior is off. Can you try to get some video of him? No doubt he'll see what you're up to and walk perfectly but do try. This may be helpful for the vet. Since it happens in the morning maybe have a look at Hunter quietly before he wakes up? X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans can be extremely useful to confirm or disconfirm clinical findings but without this, imaging can become a fishing game, and an expensive one at that. Administering general anesthesia carries a (small) risk but the risk must be worth the information the vet hopes to get, if that makes sense. It sounds like you got excellent advice between your vet and the ortho specialist. It's hard to watch and wait but from what you say, this makes sense. Easier said than done, yes. Sending good thoughts to you both.
I had almost identical issues as you describe - a CT scan showed elbow dysplasia that hadn't shown up on previous x-rays. It wasn't all that expensive, and was certainly cheaper than endless vet visits working out what might be wrong. (It's a long story but I just *happened* to be in a vet teaching hospital with my dog at the time....). The accurate and complete diagnosis allowed us to avoid surgery, modify his routine, introduce drugs that he tolerated well, and it all settled down and he can now train and work as though nothing is wrong. I say go for quick diagnosis, don't hang around - if it's possible for you go for a CT or MRI scan.
