Thoughts On Muscle Loss?

 Kate is going to the vet on Wednesday. Just thought I would put this out there in case anyone has any ideas or things I should be asking that perhaps I hadn’t thought of.

Smidge of background…

Kate had a collision at the DP back in May. She ran over Miss Maddy Speedbump.

Both were fine right after and continued playing. Kate was a little stiff that night. No limping, just seemed perhaps a bit sore. Had the next day off. Totally fine on morning #3. Played ball in the morning with no issues. That night she was visibly limping on her right front.

I know how this goes. Been down this road before. Vet will say “soft tissue” and tell me to rest her. I skip the vet and go right to the resting.

No swelling or heat. No reaction to being manipulated from nails up to shoulder. Following day, no more limping but stiff.

No ball for you.

We continue with no ball and limited exercise for a few weeks. All’s good.

I go on vacation. Nine days of boarding. All’s still good.

However, Kate is a little thin. Not unusual at all. She’s the kind of girl you love to hate….The kind that actually loses weight when not getting serious exercise. Unlike her sister, who is now referred to as How Now Brown Cow.

Emphasis on the cow part.

I up her food a tad. Can’t do too much or she will act like a 3 year old who has been locked in a room for 2 weeks and fed nothing but skittles and coffee. She gets her rib pooch back and is at her normal 31 lbs but her shoulders are thin, Thin, THIN. Neck is a bit smaller, too. But the shoulders are really bothering me. Soooo boney. Kate is very much a front wheel drive dog and her front end is very muscular. Or, it was. I would say her shoulder muscles are about half what they are normally.

Everything else is normal….energy level, eating, drinking, peeing and pooping. Coat looks great. Gums look great. Attitude is great. I have googled the shit out of this and can’t seem to find anything about muscle loss in the front end. It all seems to be hind end related.

Any ideas?

And on a not-so-serious note…

If you have a toy-serious dog who waits very patiently you have experienced the confusion that causes other dogs. They totally don’t understand why your dog is not moving and doesn’t acknowledge them.

We upped the ante this morning at the park and confused the crap out of the Husky boys…

What are you doing down there? Are you OK!?

Should we call someone?

Just a trick, man, I'm fine.  Thanks for caring, though