Rear hind leg shaking followed 24 hours later by limping

[Oz Girls]

Yesterday, Jess who is 28 months old ran up the driveway (about 50m) while I walked up to picked up the mail. When we got back she asked to play ball. Whilst she was standing staring at the ball there I noticed her left rear leg, with the foot on the ground, was tremoring / shaking (like a person would do if they were freezing cold). The rest of her body looked relaxed. I felt her body and her left leg. The top part of her leg felt really tense, and I believe I could feel a tense tendon. After a massage leg and spine, a few minutes later it went away. Prior to going up the drive way she had been resting outside where it was cold for us (about 10 degrees Celsius).

 

Today at the same time she got up from sleep and walked on three legs. She carried the left rear leg held right up tight to her body, almost like a chicken wing. I stopped her after about 10 steps and massaged her again. This happened a couple of times.

 

Both yesterday and today I rang the vets and got them to update her file and while on the phone I notice a couple of spasm on her spine. She is behaving as normal at all other times.

 

Has anyone experienced these things with their dogs and received a diagnosis?

 

Jess has had her share of medical problems, most when she was about 8 months old. One of the issues was a limping issue but we never saw shaking like this before, nor the carrying of the leg so high. She was tested for rheumatoid arthritis and was negative, the best guess at that stage, if I remember correctly, was spondyloses of the spine but xrays would not show definitively until more than 50% of calcium had been lost, which at that stage it hadn’t.

 

If you have any ideas I would love to hear it. I will be updating the vets daily and will take her in to see them as soon as required.

 

Thanks.

[kelpiegirl]

Does sound like a nerve may be impinged. I would rest her, and ask the vet about anti-inflammatories. Sometimes disc/bone spur problems can resolve with pain management and rest, but sometimes they can get explosively worse- like if piece of the disc sequesters. Get her in for some good diagnostic work.

[bc4ever]

Scooter has something similar. About a year ago I noticed him limping one day and by the end of the evening he couldn't stand up after lying on the basement floor. Vet diagnosed it as a disk inflammation and put him on steroids. Awful stuff. Avoid it if at all possible--should be used as a last resort only. JMHO. He sometimes has what looks like his hind quarters are not working, almost a humping motion. Usually in the morning or after lying on a cold floor. When this happens I can feel the muscles twitching in his legs and a gentle massage usually takes care of it. We took a short course on canine massage while he was actively having problems and that really does seem to help. I have no idea what causes it, nor does our vet. He's only 3 1/2 years old and is healthy otherwise. He's very active and I think he gets muscle spasms, much like an athlete. My best guess, for Scooter at least. The shaking could be a reaction to pain from the muscle spasms..