Lame Dane

Question
I have a three year old female dane who has an injured back leg.  She injured her leg while chasing a cat and banged her knee into a corner.  Her knee healed two weeks later.  Shortly after she  healed she twisted that same knee while playing with a neighbor's dog. The knee swelled up immediately. We ended up taking her to the vet and they checked her for Lyme Disease and did a biopsy to check for cancer. Both came back negative. She has been on antibiotics for twenty days and the swelling has gone down, yet she still will not put any weight on her leg.  The vet has been treating her leg like she has a bone infection.  Is there anything else we can do?  She wants to play with our others danes aso bad!

Answer
Do not let her play with any other dogs!

Walk her separately!

Keep her on the lead!

Do not let her charge about and risk damaging it again by banging it or twisting it!  In particular when visitors come to the house.

We had a similar problem with one of our young males, a regular head-case.  He now only walks with the older males who will not race about with him.  After six months he is now allowed to run free in the fields.  He is put on a lead even now and walked out to the fields before being let off the lead.  It may be a long job to get her fully fit again.

It is not cruel it is saving her pain and suffering, and it is saving you worry and heart-ache.

Ken