Boxer - 6 years old - Limping... No clue what the cause is

[Too Late]

Hi,
I have a 6 year old boxer. Around early august on a walk, she landed awkwardly on her right leg. She has been now limping since.

After 4 vet visits, 2 general anaesthetics, £900, im still no closer to finding out what's wrong.
she doesnt do well under a general, they had to resuscitate her last time after falling too deep in her sleep.

In the xrays they found the joint to be swollen and liquid there, liquid report suggest nothing other than water in the joint. No bacteria or infection

Im seeing a different veterinary clinic tomorrow in hope that another opinion will shed some light on her problem

Some videos i took of her limp
http://youtu.be/Hdis_wlCP8I
http://youtu.be/8kqo10Etpcg

Im thinking it could be cartlidge in the joint?
No fracture found, stress fracture, cancer there either

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks
N

[Too Late]

Thanks to the replies so far! Its so hard to describe to people so that's why i took the 2 small clips which are added to my original post
To answer some questions:

Cruciate? Though that should have come up in the X-Ray.
Xray cam back clear, there is a small amount of muscle wastage which was noted due to her limping and me forcing her to rest for longer periods than normal

Stupid question but she hasn't had a run/jump/play session and got a bit hurt, perhaps just bruising/strain which won't show up in tests but could cause her to slow down/limp
I remember the walk which she started limping on, she jumped for a tennis ball, landed and 5 mins later of further walking started limping. this was around the 10th August.

Does she always limp on the same leg? Some autoimmune conditions cause non specific and shifting limping.
She always limps on her right leg. I noticed as she laid down a month ago, i moved her leg around and she didnt have any pain or discomfort, but putting a small amount of pressure to push the leg up to the joint, the same motion if she was walking there was discomfort. This make me believe maybe something is in the joint...

Is she insured? Not sure who you are seeing now but I'd be pushing for a referral to a proper ortho specialist
She is insured, but my budget is nearly halved already. Insurance will pay upto £2,000. Going back under and opening the joint will be about £900.. But she is very very weak under a general and it scares the crap out of me to put her through it as she was resuscitated last time after not waking up...

[Too Late]

Thanks everyone for the new replies!

Exercises now..
she was having 45 min morning walks, with 30-60min evening walks, this has been reduced to 5 min mornings and 5 min in the evenings....

Is bloody tough... i even crated her to rest her while i was at work. I couldn't bare to see those eyes in the morning as i picked her up to put her in.

Its her front leg. So if you stood behind the dog, its her right leg. Makes sense?

Hydro, whats is that, il do some googling tonight.

Shes on some pills which she takes 2 times in the morning and 1 in the evening. Along with Kalmex, to try and calm her down.

Its so bloody tough keeping a boxer from not being excited....

Thanks
N

[Too Late]

Right
Saw another vet last night. Her prodded and poked molly. I was able to get the xrays from the previous vet on DVD so the vet last night could have a look at them.

He noticed she was tender at a small point on her back (spine) but he said that could be to do with her lame leg. He noticed also she taking smaller steps with her bad leg and she has muscle wastage.

He noticed also something on the xrays which he will look at this weekend. Luckily I copied the disc so I have all the xrays at home to look at.

He mentioned reffering her for an MRI scan. (Any ideas how much they are? I have about £1200 left on insurance)

Happy with the vet. He seemed god and made me comfortable. The other one didn't as much.

I'll keep you all updated for thoes who want to know.

N

[Too Late]

Thanks for all the advice people. Going to speak to the vet hopefully Monday after he has had time to look at the XRays.

Molly isnt very good under a general (last time they had to resuscitate her) so im going to ask if she had an MRI and do see something funny, could they operate to avoid her going under again.

Got up this morning, and i saw this face looking at me, how could i say no to that!


So i put her in the car and took her to the park for a sneaky longer walk.
Now i know i should have maybe walked her on her 5 min walk but she loved it. 15 mins later she was in the car. I was half expecting her to limp after. Once home i noticed a small limp but nothing like she had after a 5 min walk 2 months ago.

Im hoping that shes getting better...

N

[Too Late]

Just spoke to the new vet. He couldn't see anything wrong with the xrays I gave him of molly. Said that he can refer me to Dick White for either a MRI or CT scan of the leg and possibly her back

Hope to hear back Friday

...

Then last Saturday, dad calls asking for help urgently and when I get there his weimaraner 8yro collapsed and couldn't walk and was leaning to the left. Found out he had had a stroke after being sent to Dick Whites and after a 3k body MRI scan, the found a tumour on a gland...

Not having much luck at the moment.
N

[Too Late]

Update on molly

So i got referred to a specialist, dick whites. I was a little worried as i had blown half of my insurance without finding out anything which could be causing her lameness

So the consultation was £140. Good chat with a fantastic vet. 40 minuets later after talking about her limp and seeing it and insurance limitations I dropped all 3 credit cards between the girlfriend and I had on the table. He decided an ultra sound but warned us lameness in boxers and greyhounds is very hard to diagnose... great I though.

They had a slot last Thursday a few hours after the consultation to book her in. He said it could be the tendon which runs over the  shoulder to the leg or muscle damage. Either one he hasn't ever diagnosed.

She also doesn't do very well under a general. She doesnt wake up very well. Last time she needed to be resuscitated.

So i head back and the vet catches me as I walk in. He said the 3 words I wanted to hear. "We found something". Fantastic I thought. We found a problem causing her to limp.

It was the tendon. It was inflamed and tight. He gave her a shot of steroids.  I took her home that night. The next day was like having a new dog. Right away I noticed her movement had improved.

A couple of days on she's more and more mobile and I'm more eager to let of off the lead for a run but I'm being bacl for the leg to get more strength

All in all the bill was £600. The best £600 I have spend and I'm so annoyed I spend £1000+ to a vet who kept asking me to come back for other expensive tests.

Thought I'd update everyone
Im so pleased they found a problem and fixed it.

N

[Too Late]

Thanks everyone!