Monday, July 18, 2011

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

11 comments:

  1. I don't have an answer to your front-end-muscle-wasting question, but will be watching for responses as my Sadie has the same problem. My vet confirmed it's not my imagination, and is puzzled by it. She has not lost any weight, though she has had a few other weird things going on, including exercise-induced collapse. The vet thinks it may be something neurological. Shoulders and neck very visibly bony! Blood tests and xrays revealed nothing unusual.

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  2. Hmmm, not sure. Hope you get some answers from the V-E-T. Cute pictures
    Benny & Lily

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  3. Hope the vet has some answers for you. I don't know much about causes, but I do know that swimming and water therapy are often used to help build muscles back up again.

    My guess would be if the vet doesn't find anything, try a chiropractor, in case its a neck thing or something?

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  4. I know nothing about muscle loss, but I do know that those husky-confusion pictures are hilarious!

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  5. I'm with Diamond Girl! Sorry.

    Best of luck to you in finding out what's going on!

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  6. If it were one of my dogs, I'd get her checked over by a canine chiropractor ASAP. Muscle loss indicates less use. My first thought is a neck strain of some sort.

    Could be something else, of course, but the chiro vet (there's a couple of DVMs who do chiro and accupuncture in my area) would be where I'd start.

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  7. No clue on the muscle loss. But those last pics are hilarious! What well-behaved pooches.

    http://bwpaws.blogspot.com

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  8. Good luck! Way to keep a sharp eye on her - so many people would miss something that subtle, even if it seems glaringly obvious to you.

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  9. What about Cushings? It can cause front end muscle wasting.

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  10. I dont know if Im too late to comment here as Ive seen you already went the vet/xray route, but have you tried a holistic vet (chiro/accupuncture)? Darwin was gimpy for some time last year after being t-boned by her overweight daddy. After vet, xray's, mri, spinal tap, neurologist, prednisone, etc we took her to a holistic vet and she's been so much better. The "western" med vets couldnt fix her but holistic treatments did!

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