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Old November 17th, 2014, 05:47 PM
Meadow Meadow is offline
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My dog has a strange leg twitch/jerk?

Hey all. I have a 7 month old rescue Cocker mix that I have had since he was 2 months old. He has had this issue since he was about 3 months old. It's like a kick - he'll kick his leg outward, usually a few times in a row. Sometimes that's it and it doesn't start again until a day or two later, other times it starts again a minute later. It effects BOTH his front and back legs, no preference to side, and happens both when he's laying down and when he's standing/walking.

He has seen a vet. The vet said that he had tight hips and prescribed Rimadyl. At the time, it was more prevalent in his back legs, and it still is, but it absolutely effects his front legs too and so I don't think it can be hip-related (although he doesn't like having us touch his hips, though he doesn't appear to be in pain when we do so).

He is also incredibly clumsy. Not sure if it's a symptom, but it's worth mentioning. Far more than any other puppy I've had. He is constantly falling off of things, running into things, or even trying to jump on the couch from too far away and missing completely (as if he had poor depth perception). He also runs/walks crooked, as if his back legs move faster than his front ones. These things don't happen in a way that make it seem like something is really wrong, for example, he's not having a seizure (I have an Aussie who has seizures so I'm aware of what it can look like) but it's just...off.

He is regularly vetted and has ALL of his vaccinations. He's otherwise happy and healthy, he plays, he has no issues walking or running (even if it's crooked) and has absolutely no appetite decrease. He'll eat anything. It's just that weird kick.

I should also mention that when I'm home, he's always with me, and when I leave he goes into a puppy safe room. There's no chance of him having eaten anything poisonous.

Does anyone have any ideas?
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Old November 17th, 2014, 07:42 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/americancocker.htm



I had friend who parents always had Cocker Spaniels and the dogs were falling a lot . There were so popular that they were being over breed and over the years this cause them to have health issues .


http://www.rimadylsideeffects.net/wh...fects-in-dogs/ Rimadyl can cause dizziness in dog and is bad for their liver and Cocker Spaniels already had liver issues so you should keep this in mind.
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Old November 17th, 2014, 08:13 PM
Meadow Meadow is offline
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Thank you for your answer. Unfortunately, he brought into rescue from a hoarding situation. The dogs from that situation are not purebred (I don't think - he doesn't look purebred) but they all look alike, none were neutered, all were breeding together and the woman had no idea on ages of any of them. So I do think he's the direct result of inbreeding, probably quite a lot of inbreeding.

He's got a lot of temperament issues (VERY reactive) which I think also stems from inbreeding. I'm sort of steeled to the fact that he may very well have a lot of health issues now and in the future, I'm just baffled as to what this specific issue could be.

I have heard all sorts of things about Rimadyl - he took it for about 5 or 6 days before I pulled him off of it. He doesn't appear to be in any pain and it didn't stop the twitching - which makes sense, as that's not the drug's purpose - so I figured it was a useless risk and an unnecessary one.
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Old November 17th, 2014, 08:43 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadow View Post
Thank you for your answer. Unfortunately, he brought into rescue from a hoarding situation. The dogs from that situation are not purebred (I don't think - he doesn't look purebred) but they all look alike, none were neutered, all were breeding together and the woman had no idea on ages of any of them. So I do think he's the direct result of inbreeding, probably quite a lot of inbreeding.

He's got a lot of temperament issues (VERY reactive) which I think also stems from inbreeding. I'm sort of steeled to the fact that he may very well have a lot of health issues now and in the future, I'm just baffled as to what this specific issue could be.

I have heard all sorts of things about Rimadyl - he took it for about 5 or 6 days before I pulled him off of it. He doesn't appear to be in any pain and it didn't stop the twitching - which makes sense, as that's not the drug's purpose - so I figured it was a useless risk and an unnecessary one.
Yah I bet you're right about the inbreeding , I am sure there was a lot of that going on and if the poor dogs were kept in a crate all the time that could cause them have weak muscles . The poor dog could you post a photo of your dog , or did you already do that? Maybe you could let your dog try swimming when it get a older if you think it would safe for him to do.
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Old November 17th, 2014, 09:42 PM
Meadow Meadow is offline
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Yeah - here are a few pictures of him. He doesn't often sit still, so it's hard to get a good one

I don't really know how much time he or the others spent in a crate. I was kind of under the impression that they were all sort of running free. This woman wasn't running a puppy mill by any means and I really don't think she would have spent any sort of money on a crating system. I think her dogs just got out of hand and she had too many to care for, so the rescue stepped in.

As for his life here, he's really never crated. I did buy him a large crate that I'm trying to adjust him to, but even it won't be to put him in when I'm gone - it's mostly for when visitors come over so he can have a safe place to be out of the way since he's so incredibly reactive. We are working on his reactivity via positive reinforcement and counter-conditioning and he's improving a bit but he'll never be bombproof or totally accepting of new people.
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Old November 17th, 2014, 11:25 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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wow ! What a beautiful dog you have and he is very lucky to have you for an owner.
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Old November 18th, 2014, 12:01 PM
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What a gorgeous dog! Reminds me of our family dog when I was growing up.

Did the vet actually see the twitch? Could you video an 'episode' to show the vet? And if you could catch some of the clumsy behavior on tape, that might also be useful in diagnosis.
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Old November 18th, 2014, 02:17 PM
Lynne&Co. Lynne&Co. is offline
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What a handsome lad for sure
Congratulations and good luck with him. Hopefully it's nothing serious
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Old November 18th, 2014, 02:41 PM
MaxaLisa MaxaLisa is offline
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My small dog has a similar kick. I think of this as a nervous system disorder. I have found that acupuncture and also chiropractic care is very important. I do find that meds that affect the CNS, like metronidazole, will make this worse in my girl.
Should eliminate things like tick diseases by running a full panel, in cases there is any subclinical disease. Dogs with "domed" heads (CKS, some Chi's, etc) are somewhat inclined to have things related to chiari malformations that can cause CNS signs, but I don't see a hugely domed head here - this I seen in mostly small dogs.

I think joint supplements in general would be a good idea.
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Old November 18th, 2014, 02:47 PM
MaxaLisa MaxaLisa is offline
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Probably shouldn't have brought up the chiari stuff - so NOT likely here, and I wouldn't want you to worry about that. It's on my mind because of other reasons related to my dog, but I honestly think some good nutrition for your dog's joints (supplements, and quality care now out of a hoarding situation), and releasing any tightness now, will make a HUGE difference.

www.avcadoctors.com - I don't recall a link for acupuncture - there are a couple of different certifying agencies.
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Old November 18th, 2014, 03:29 PM
Meadow Meadow is offline
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Thanks for all the other answers. I'm not sure if she saw the kick or not - we spoke to her about it when we boarded him overnight and when we picked him up that's what she had to say. I'll try videoing it even though it's pretty random which makes it hard to catch on tape.

I will look into joint supplements and acupuncture as well. And I'll be sure to mention running a blood panel.
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