Pigeon toed

J

JacqueZ

Forums Enthusiast
Honeys last trip to the vet ended with her being diagnosed with a small heart murmur and arthritis in her front paws. The vet said the heart murmur isn't anything to worry about, and we have anti inflammatory medication that honey can get once a day, but the issue is less honey being in pain it's that the arthritis is turning honeys feet inwards and she's really finding it difficult to walk like that. Watching her attempt to hurry places is painful. The vet said she doesn't recommend splints or wraps, but honey loves walking and she's going to be very disappointed if she can't walk this spring.

Does anyone know anything that can help with this?
 
Wow... that seems strange that they don’t recommend splints. They do that all the time to correct human issues like that! Maybe talk with a orthopedic specialist? I would!
 
ghggp said:
Wow... that seems strange that they don’t recommend splints. They do that all the time to correct human issues like that! Maybe talk with a orthopedic specialist? I would!
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I've been considering going for a second opinion. I love our vet, she's very practical, she said she doesn't like splints because they can lead to the dog overusing an injured area, which I understand, but I'm also worried about Honey's continued mobility. We had to use a different vet over the holidays when our cat passed from an illness; the one we went to was to far for regular use, but very nice, so I was considering making an appointment with her.
 
I agree about talking to an ortho vet. I can understand your vet in that over using a splint or wrap can lead to wasting of muscles however using when doing an activity would allow the dog to have less pain and yet be more mobile. I bought the hock wraps for Finnie from Back On Track...very good quality and they do have other wraps for joint support. I’d definitely check them out.
 
I would second the idea of an ortho vet. That's their area of expertise and would be more helpful than just another general vet. This won't help with the pigeon toeing but I would start her on green lipped mussel supplement. We get ours on Chewy, it's called Super Snouts. It is a big source of Omega 3's and it made a big difference in our angel Brooke's life. She had an elbow bone spur. I turned my vet onto it (learned about this from our Australian member Caro on the forums) and she now recommends it to others. It really seems to work. It's a powder that sprinkles right on their food.

We did a "loading dose" of two scoops a day for 2 weeks, then down to one daily.

Good luck. Faith also has some arthritis in her wrists and our vet said this is a common problem in Shelties.
 
Can you take a photo? Shelties are very prone to degenerative carpal hyperextension and that may be the cause (I've forgotten how old Honey is). Tully's orthopeadic surgeon said it's the way Shelties process collegen (sp?). Deska had this and I think it was compounded by the arthritis, but he still managed okay. It just meant in extreme weather his paw pads would get sensitive because they fleshy inside of his pads were touching the ground - so I made him wear socks. Tully has the same condition, but in her hock, that's why she needs surgery now.

Deska's may have progressed as he got older, but he never did get old:cry:. I think he showed signs from about 8-9 yrs old. I realise now Tully's hocks have probably been going for many years but not even the ortho vet picked it up when I asked 18mths ago.
 
Sharon7 said:
This won't help with the pigeon toeing but I would start her on green lipped mussel supplement. We get ours on Chewy, it's called Super Snouts. It is a big source of Omega 3's and it made a big difference in our angel Brooke's life. She had an elbow bone spur. I turned my vet onto it (learned about this from our Australian member Caro on the forums) and she now recommends it to others. It really seems to work. It's a powder that sprinkles right on their food.
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I actually do use the green lip powder with my girls. I probably heard about it from the same post you did! The girls didn't do well with it in there food, I think it encouraged them to eat to fast, so now with their weekly bones, I wet the ends and dip them in the powder. They love it and will chew past that point and then come and throw their bones at me, so they can get more! :ROFLMAO:

Caro said:
Can you take a photo? Shelties are very prone to degenerative carpal hyperextension and that may be the cause (I've forgotten how old Honey is). Tully's orthopeadic surgeon said it's the way Shelties process collegen (sp?). Deska had this and I think it was compounded by the arthritis, but he still managed okay. It just meant in extreme weather his paw pads would get sensitive because they fleshy inside of his pads were touching the ground - so I made him wear socks. Tully has the same condition, but in her hock, that's why she needs surgery now.

Deska's may have progressed as he got older, but he never did get old:cry:. I think he showed signs from about 8-9 yrs old. I realise now Tully's hocks have probably been going for many years but not even the ortho vet picked it up when I asked 18mths ago.
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:( poor pups.

Honey is 9 and a half now, and she does lick her pads a lot on one of the feet. We had the vet look them over to make sure nothing was going on and she said all she saw was some calcification? I will attempt to take a photo and post. I have to be sneaky about it because honey gets excited about pictures and starts jumping around. When she stands her toes are spread out, I noticed, Mango's doesn't do that. Is that anything you saw on your boys?

Socks sound like a good idea, even if it's just for the arthritis, I know when I had it developing in my knuckles wearing fingerless gloves really helped me, so I was wondering if something like that would help Honey anyway.

I'm really relieved to hear that Deska still managed to get around okay. It is true that winter is probably making everything more noticeable right now.
 
JacqueZ said:
When she stands her toes are spread out, I noticed, Mango's doesn't do that. Is that anything you saw on your boys?

Socks sound like a good idea, even if it's just for the arthritis, I know when I had it developing in my knuckles wearing fingerless gloves really helped me, so I was wondering if something like that would help Honey anyway.
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Definitely splayed toes was one of the signs. Deska also had some callusus - that's actually what first led me to asking the vet and she also pointed out some pink showing on the side of his pads from the splayed toes. Honestly, the signs are so subtle until they go all together. Like Tully - the Ortho vet didn't even pick up her dropped hock when I asked him why she was walking oddly on that leg (tho to be fair it wasn't a proper consult)

I've found a few photos, sorry they aren't great but I realise I just don't have many side photos of my dogs.
- splayed toes.
- about 5yrs old and already showing signs of a dropped carpal on one side. Then at 11 yrs old - the other one ended up the same but they both sort of stabilised there.
- Mr D's socks - just baby socks with some hat elastic and non-slip grip hand sewn on the bottom.
Deska-splayed-toes.jpg
2011-10-17 10.35.02-1.jpg
Deska-2017.jpg

2016-12-11 14.20.00.jpg
 
I got some pictures and attempted to get a few videos, although she was moving a bit to fast, and had Mango getting in the way. They're posted here

https://photos.isophotostudio.com/p1044321924

I don't think she has the dropped carpel, but in several you can see how she stands and lands when walking with her foot pointed at an almost 45 degree angle inwards. :(

The socks for Mr. D were cute! I can knit some and maybe get those plastic dots to put on the bottom to add traction for Honey. Her feet are just so tiny, and delicate, and prone to twisting.
 
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