Whippet with shoulder injury.

[Tig2019]

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Hi everyone
I want to ask the views of other whippet owners. My Tig is 5.5 years old. He started limping on his right leg about 2 years ago. He would have a good run , start limping and it would get better after rest. Over the past 3 months he has been limping consistently so I took him to the vet. He had an xray, no joint damage found, so the vet ( orthopaedic surgeon) concluded tendon / muscle damage, where the scar tissue keeps tearing. He gave him a cortisone injection and told me to rest him, 3 weeks, lead only walks, which has been a trial and makes in unhappy dog. He is better after 2 weeks but still limping slightly. What am I to do if he consistently tears it, every time he has a little run? Is there a brace/ harness I could try to stop him from twisting whippet style? Or any other ideas gratefully received
Thanks.

 

[JoanneF]

I sympathise. Not with a whippet, but my dog had a soft tissue injury that took forever to heal. Rest was the best treatment although hydrotherapy helped him with another injury so might be worth looking into?

 

[Tig2019]

Thank you, I don’t think I will find hydrotherapy near me, I live quite rurally, especially with a whippet who hates water! But I will look it up. The vet said he should have some physiotherapy which I will do. It’s soo hard to keep him on a short lead for so long as his life is running very fast or lying on the sofa. Without the running he is now so bored. I will keep going though.

 

[Hemlock]

As well as whatever you decide to do, I have found homeopathic arnica very good for soft tissue injuries with my sighthound types. If you get it in liquid form it is much easier to give them. If you can find a homeopathic vet, so much the easier. There is an excellent chap in the Bristol area who will travel, and also will give telephone advice under certain circumstances - Nick Thompson. If you decide to try this, check out his website.

 

[RGC]

Mabel, our rescue whippet, was limping on her left foreleg. This was caused by her sudden turns. She was treated by a chiropractor for about four sessions - not cheap but she’s made amazing progress. I kept Mabel on the lead for walks and, upon returning home, placed a bag of frozen peas right under the armpit and held it there for five minutes as advised by the chiropractor. This has worked well and I also massage the same area for a few minutes during the day. Mabel also suffers with corns on both forelegs which may also cause the limping but I can easily remove the corns myself - Mabel hates the process but it’s only dead matter I’m removing and she can be a big girl’s blouse. Take note that applying frozen compresses was our chiropractor’s advice for Mabel’s situation and may not be suitable for Tig. However, it has been successful. Let me know if you need further information. Like you, we live in the country and Mabel, in typical whippet mode, wouldn’t volunteer to go near water. Hope things improve. P.S. The chiropractor used acupuncture at each session.