Question Details
Lameness (progressive) In A Dog
by Diewertje - July 16, 2019    View Case Report
Hello,
I have a question about a Rottweiler neutered bitch. She is 4 years old and is overweight. Her big problem is that she is lame on both hind legs. She walks like a jack russel and it also looks like she is walking on hot coals. She has progressive osteoarthritis in both her hocks. left worse than right.
She can't stand for a long time and when she does she trembles in her hind legs. She wants to sit or lie down all the time even when drinking or eating. You can't touch her paws. When you want to do that she snaps.
Recently they removed her third toe of her right hind leg. It was not a tumor but a proliferative inflammation of the epidermis.
After the surgery her lameness got worse and that was the moment I saw her for the first time. (18-04-2019)
She has a ravenous appetite. She also eats garbage. She drinks a lot. She burps a lot, she is windy.
She was on a kibble diet. Changed this in a raw diet
She was doing great last winter in the snow. Now lameness is worse after exertion and standing up in the morning.
Tongue: the edges are pale and the middle is lavender. Underside pink/reddish
Pulse: thin, weak, diep toned and fast
I did acupuncture on her but it was a little bit a challenge because she didn't like to be touched.
ST36r, SP10r, Ki3r, GB40r, LI10l, BL17, Bl23, GV4, 14 and SI3r
She was lying on her left side probably the whole time.
I put her on Si Miao San and Xian Fang Huo Ming Yin
First she did well but after 2 months she became worse.
Her pulse was less weak, probably more wiry. Her tongue was beter, less pale.
Active points: GB25, GB34 and BL19
Put her on Xiao Chai Hu Tang and Zhi Bai di Huang wan. First she improved but after 3 weeks she again became worse. Walking on three legs. Changing legs all the time. Trembling and walking with her hindlegs wide spread. When she came to me she was not on conventional medication anymore but now they started her again on NSAID's.
My question is, do I miss something or is my treatment wrong? I don't know what to do anymore
Hope you can help me
Replies
by naturevet
July 17, 2019
Hi there,

Any chance of a chiropractic or osteopathic work up on this dog? Perhaps there is some nerve impingement in the lumbar region. A shifting three legged lameness does suggest Wind invasion, and this is where Wind attacks, commonly resulting in vertebral and SI fixations that respond to chiropractic. You could also do a gabapentin trial. Generally if there is a nerve impingement and chiropractic issue, they will show an improvement on the drug.

Regarding the herbs, if you saw improvements both times then you did not do anything wrong. It's just a question of what is maximally right for the dog. SMS and XFHMY were fine to use at first given the digital mass, but somewhat cancel each other out from a circulation perspective, as SMS pulls the blood supply centrally, whereas XFHMY is trying to drive it outwards. Still, it seemed to work at least at first. The two formulas can be drying over time, though, putting you in the position of needing a tonic, which you provided in the form of ZBDHW. XCHT was indicated from the points, but a shifting lameness indicates a potential Tai Yang pathology, which XCHT does not treat.

So, I'm wondering about XCHT plus DHJST, but even before that, I'd rule out a chiropractic issue. If the dog is too Damp for DHJST, then perhaps XCHT with 12g Gui Zhi and 15g Bai Shao to address the Tai Yang as well as the Shao Yang.

Hopefully between that handful of ideas you get somewhere, but you should not give up. I think you are close to an answer

Steve
by Diewertje
September 17, 2019
Thank you so much.
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