9week old puppy and some gait oddities
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:55 am
Laurie,
Thank you for the response to my email about the puppy with clubfoot. I saw this puppy (George, a 9wk old Cane Corso) Wed afternoon.
I have attached pictures of the puppy standing. The hind limb paws are the most affected, with the left in being the worst. When the puppy stands, it looks like the stifles are laterally rotated and the hocks are medially rotated. The paw rotates laterally and the toes rotate and deviate medially. I had our surgeon look at him, and he felt the rotation of the paw was occurring at the tarsal-metatarsal joint. He does have luxating patellas. No pain on manipulation of any of the joints or when rotate the paw into a normal position. The owner said that the paws have improved greatly since he was born. When I first talked with the surgeon about the case (prior to seeing him) he also felt that a splint would be the answer. Once he saw the puppy, he did not feel that a splint would be beneficial. Do you agree, or is splinting still the best option?
I also noticed that the more George moved around, that his carpi (left worse than right) would flex when he was in the stance phase of walking. The carpus would also fell when he was standing, and he would essentially be standing on his toes. Do the front legs need to be splinted as well? The owner said that she just noticed the front leg issues within the past couple days, and it only happens when he gets tired. She is more concerned about the hind legs than the front.
George is not act painful. He will run and play. The owner is concerned about how he will be when he is full grown.
Sorry if some of the pictures are blurry. Even with treats, it was difficult to get him to stand still.
Thank you for any advice you can offer.
L.W., VMD, CCRT
Thank you for the response to my email about the puppy with clubfoot. I saw this puppy (George, a 9wk old Cane Corso) Wed afternoon.
I have attached pictures of the puppy standing. The hind limb paws are the most affected, with the left in being the worst. When the puppy stands, it looks like the stifles are laterally rotated and the hocks are medially rotated. The paw rotates laterally and the toes rotate and deviate medially. I had our surgeon look at him, and he felt the rotation of the paw was occurring at the tarsal-metatarsal joint. He does have luxating patellas. No pain on manipulation of any of the joints or when rotate the paw into a normal position. The owner said that the paws have improved greatly since he was born. When I first talked with the surgeon about the case (prior to seeing him) he also felt that a splint would be the answer. Once he saw the puppy, he did not feel that a splint would be beneficial. Do you agree, or is splinting still the best option?
I also noticed that the more George moved around, that his carpi (left worse than right) would flex when he was in the stance phase of walking. The carpus would also fell when he was standing, and he would essentially be standing on his toes. Do the front legs need to be splinted as well? The owner said that she just noticed the front leg issues within the past couple days, and it only happens when he gets tired. She is more concerned about the hind legs than the front.
George is not act painful. He will run and play. The owner is concerned about how he will be when he is full grown.
Sorry if some of the pictures are blurry. Even with treats, it was difficult to get him to stand still.
Thank you for any advice you can offer.
L.W., VMD, CCRT