As I wrote earlier in the month, Siska skidded and fell quite hard as the mat in the hall slipped as she ran out. It happened more than once before I binned the mat. Whilst I know her hips are Ok her continued limp on her hind left made me worry that maybe she had hurt herself so she'd had loxicom ... but on Saturday I noticed she was limping on her front right. Steve and I tried to have a look, but Siska is very sensitive about her feet at the best of times, so she was having none of it! As I went to take her out yesterday, she was dramatically lame on the front right, so we went to the field instead, but when we got back she was holding her back right up. OMG what was going on? Now I knew I was probably overthinking, but once the seed was planted, I was worried about Lyme disease and decided I would take her to the vets today. (Lyme disease in dogs often causes vague, intermittent symptoms that appear 2–5 months after a tick bite, including shifting-leg lameness, fever, swollen joints/lymph nodes, lethargy, and reduced appetite. While many infected dogs show no signs, severe cases can lead to serious kidney damage.)
So there is a little pain in her left hock joint, but nothing dramatic – but she was extremely sensitive about her right feet being examined. Malan found that there were sores between her toes and Siska really did give a performance about her right front being examined. Luckily, I'd checked my blog before attending the appointment and made notes, so I knew that last Wednesday I'd found myself in a carpet of short nettles. I honestly hadn't noticed them until I saw the way Siska was walking; Orin was less sensitive to them, but they obviously bothered her. The obvious conclusion from that was that the sores are from Siska biting and licking at her feet since the incident. So it's back on loxicom and some antibiotics to clear the soreness, and we'll have to stay away from that walk for a while, shame as we like it - but needs must.
My blue-eyed boy was with us!
