# JAG came out limping...



## wilbanks17 (Feb 11, 2011)

Well im not sure exactly what is going on. JAG went into a building to search for a suspect, and when he came out he was limping on his back left leg. No visible signs of injury, and he has no specific trigger point for pain or discomfort when examining him. I have checked his hips, knee, ankle, paws and pads. Nothing triggers a response from him, but he's is obviously feeling something. He will still run and jump, but thats usual for a working dog. It seems to be worse after he lays down for a few minutes, almost as if it stiffens up when he is not moving around. This is terrible timing, as we have alot of work to do over the weekend. I may be working solo this weekend if he doesn't seem to be better later tonight.


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

Sorry to hear, that sucks............I hated working without my partner, but not as much as he hated it. My wife says that they'd lay around the house and pout when I went to work without them.

Hope he feels better soon.......sounds like a strain/sprain, but I know it's so hard to tell sometimes because they are so stoic.


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## DunRingill (Dec 28, 2007)

groin pull, maybe?

In any case, start him on some kind of anti-inflammatory!


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## ladylaw203 (May 18, 2001)

wilbanks17 said:


> Well im not sure exactly what is going on. JAG went into a building to search for a suspect, and when he came out he was limping on his back left leg. No visible signs of injury, and he has no specific trigger point for pain or discomfort when examining him. I have checked his hips, knee, ankle, paws and pads. Nothing triggers a response from him, but he's is obviously feeling something. He will still run and jump, but thats usual for a working dog. It seems to be worse after he lays down for a few minutes, almost as if it stiffens up when he is not moving around. This is terrible timing, as we have alot of work to do over the weekend. I may be working solo this weekend if he doesn't seem to be better later tonight.


 
Did the building have slick floors?


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## idahospud49 (Jan 28, 2011)

Uh oh, I'm sorry to hear that!


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## Hunther's Dad (Mar 13, 2010)

Have your vet check for a tear of the semitendinosus muscle in the affected leg. My veterinary orthopedic specialist had to use ultrasound to find it; X-rays didn't show it. Here's a link to a story about regenerative stem cell therapy being used to treat it:

Stem cell treatment heals Fremont police dog | abc7news.com

My dog, Hunther, had this happen to him. He had the treatment, completed his physical therapy, and was able to complete a Schutzhund trial.


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## Hunther's Dad (Mar 13, 2010)

P.S. Don't work him until this gets ruled out. Hunther's was the worst case Dr. Brown had seen, and it was almost too late to treat him. Hunther's limp came and went, but the tear in the muscle was gradually widening until he came out of his crate on three legs one morning.


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## Sasha's Dad (Feb 22, 2011)

ladylaw203 said:


> Did the building have slick floors?


That is exactly what went thru my head when I first read the posting...


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## ladylaw203 (May 18, 2001)

I had some patrol dogs spin out in a warehouse before on slick floors


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

sounds like it may be a sprain or a pulled muscle but i'd have him checked out just to be sure. Riley pulled a muscle in his rear right leg when he was 3 and running after another dog at the dog park. He turned too quickly, slipped and that was it. Hope you get it figured out and all turns out to be okay!


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## wilbanks17 (Feb 11, 2011)

Yes it was a warehouse and it had slick concrete floors. Its very possible he slipped while running thru there. He's on an anti-inflamitory so we will just have to wait and see now.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in Dogs

Hope it's not an ACL injury.... 

Torn Dog Ligament --Is Surgery Really Needed?

ACL (CCL) Injuries | Dog ACL (CCL) Injuries | Canine Knee Injury


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## DFrost (Oct 29, 2006)

wilbanks17 said:


> Yes it was a warehouse and it had slick concrete floors. Its very possible he slipped while running thru there. He's on an anti-inflamitory so we will just have to wait and see now.


Hopefully he just strained a muscle. Even if it's an ACL tear, it's fixable. Kind of lonely riding without him huh??? ha ha Only good thing is you get to eat the whole bag of fries. I'm sure he'll be ok.

DFrost


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

DFrost said:


> Hopefully he just strained a muscle. Even if it's an ACL tear, it's fixable. Kind of lonely riding without him huh??? ha ha Only good thing is you get to eat the whole bag of fries. I'm sure he'll be ok.
> 
> DFrost


Before I got promoted to Sgt, if one of our K9's was solo, they ended up beng a report car.......hated that.
I often thought of getting a cardboard cutout and putting it in the back so it looked like I wasn't alone.


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## wilbanks17 (Feb 11, 2011)

CassandGunnar said:


> Before I got promoted to Sgt, if one of our K9's was solo, they ended up beng a report car.......hated that.
> I often thought of getting a cardboard cutout and putting it in the back so it looked like I wasn't alone.


Its a good thing I have another dog we use for explosives detection, so I have been partnered with him for the weekend. Our group only has one other K9 so we can't afford to be shorthanded.


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

wilbanks17 said:


> Its a good thing I have another dog we use for explosives detection, so I have been partnered with him for the weekend. Our group only has one other K9 so we can't afford to be shorthanded.


At least you won't be taking accident reports or nuisance calls all weekend. It's good to have a back-up. I had several flashlights, but I don't think I could have got the Sheriff to go for another dog. :gsdsit:


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## wilbanks17 (Feb 11, 2011)

CassandGunnar said:


> At least you won't be taking accident reports or nuisance calls all weekend. It's good to have a back-up. I had several flashlights, but I don't think I could have got the Sheriff to go for another dog. :gsdsit:


I believe that. When I worked as a LEO we had me and one other officer and that was it. They keep that dang budget stretched thin don't they!


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

They sure do. I've been retired for almost 3 years and I didn't have a dog for a few years before that and out K9 program was getting leaner and leaner. We got a lot of support from local VFW's at first. 
We also have a HUGE indian gaming casino in our County and they now kick in bunch of money. They now have 9 dogs and are going to be sending the 10th handler to school this spring.
Our casino kicks a lot of money to all of the local LE agencies. There are only about 250 tribal members and when the casino was built several years ago, it was the largest casino between Vegas and New Jersey.
Each tribal member gets about $85,000 per month dividend.
We have a lot of activity because of that so I'm glad they support the program so much.
I don't know what some smaller agencies are going to do.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> Ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in Dogs
> 
> Hope it's not an ACL injury....
> 
> ...


I was going to suggest to watch for this. My Luna has an ACL injury. We opted for conservative management rather than surgery and she's doing fantastic.


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## DFrost (Oct 29, 2006)

Rott-n-GSDs said:


> I was going to suggest to watch for this. My Luna has an ACL injury. We opted for conservative management rather than surgery and she's doing fantastic.


 
IF, it's an ACL I'd recommend surgery. While conservative management is fine for pets, it's not the best treatment for working dogs. Time away from the job is usually increased, plus the chance of re-injuring that ACL is increased. Working dogs can go from rest to full out involvement in seconds. That can have quite an impact on physical condition.

Like I tell my handlers though, I'm a dog trainer, for the best answer to a question like that; see the vet.

DFrost


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## ladylaw203 (May 18, 2001)

wilbanks17 said:


> Its a good thing I have another dog we use for explosives detection, so I have been partnered with him for the weekend. Our group only has one other K9 so we can't afford to be shorthanded.


 

Here is a dumb question. You certify with multiple dogs?
What group are you with?


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## MikeyMerciless (Jan 15, 2011)

Well you weren't there, maybe he fell and you didn't even know... anything could have happened. Hope he feels better soon!


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

DFrost said:


> IF, it's an ACL I'd recommend surgery. While conservative management is fine for pets, it's not the best treatment for working dogs. Time away from the job is usually increased, plus the chance of re-injuring that ACL is increased. Working dogs can go from rest to full out involvement in seconds. That can have quite an impact on physical condition.


We actually have hope that Luna can return to agility and skijoring. She's not a "true" working dog, but definitely very active. There are dogs on the conservative management yahoo list that have returned to very active lives (agility, dock diving, etc.) without surgery.

However, with a K9 partner it likely is not feasable to wait the extended period of time necessary for conservative management, so surgery would probably be the best option.

Hopefully, this is all moot and JAG simply pulled something and will recover quickly!


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## DFrost (Oct 29, 2006)

ladylaw203 said:


> Here is a dumb question. You certify with multiple dogs?
> What group are you with?


Actually, that's a good question. Can't believe I missed that. Is the explosives dog certified with more than one handler? 

DFrost


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## wilbanks17 (Feb 11, 2011)

ladylaw203 said:


> Here is a dumb question. You certify with multiple dogs?
> What group are you with?


 
I have JAG who is my daily K9 partner. We also Have a Dutch Shepherd that is a EDD that is used when needed.


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## ladylaw203 (May 18, 2001)

cool. I have a dutchie too among others.. hahahaha
how is your dog?


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