What do you do when your dog has a limp?

[Camden's Mom]

I'm sorry if this is a repeat question... feel free to link other threads that might answer the question!

 

I'm just wondering what your individual policies are when your dog comes up with a limp. Camden came up with a mild limp tonight (I'm guessing it was from a weird scamper while chasing a ball) and I'm just wondering how best to handle it. From what I can tell it *might* be the toes on his front right leg, but that was just from a quick handling before we turned in for the night.

 

So, when your dog comes up with a slight limp what steps/restrictions do you take?

[G. Festerling]

I try to pin point it. Limit exercise. Possibly put them on some anti inflammatory meds if bad enough and watch for a day or two. If something's seems way off, I may call my vet for a hint. Anything three legged or near three legged....to the vet.

 

And if it has not dissolved itself in a few days....vet.

 

Of course a lot depends on which one of mine with what given history.

[BCjetta]

If its something mild I try to rest until after I don't notice the limp anymore. Then I start activity slowly to make sure the limp doesn't resurface.

I also try to pinpoint the location of the pain - whether its low down, high, joint, muscle etc.

Turbo came up with a limp the other night. If I squeeze one of his 2 middle toes I get a reaction when I'm squeezing the 2nd and 3rd bones in that toe - he pulls back slightly (he's stoic so never does much). If I bend the toe up and down, he doesn't really react the same to me squeezing it. Same if I grab it and twist it in both directions - not as much reaction as if I squeeze the bones themselves.

In his case he has arthritis in his feet and DH was playing too hard with him (making him jump up to try and catch something) so I think he came down too hard on his front feet and bruised them.

[OurBoys]

Jake came up limping Saturday evening....left front leg. I tried to find out where he was hurting (paw, leg, shoulder) but couldn't. When DH got home from work, he tried to figure out where he was hurt but couldn't either. With baby aspirin and rest Jake was feeling much better by Sunday night. By Monday morning, he was back to his old bouncy self. I'm still watching him but he isn't showing any signs of his leg bothering him again.

[juliepoudrier]

I do as others have noted. If it's mild but persistent (that is, if the dog gets better but then worse after activity), I will go to the vet.

 

J.

[GentleLake]

Ditto the above. . . . .and hoping it's just something minor and will pass quickly.

[Alchemist]

The week before last, Spain woke up with a non-weight-bearing limp on her right hind leg. Total tripod. I managed to get her into the vet that same morning. We both agreed it showed all the symptoms of a CCL tear. The vet did the drawer test, and decided it wasn't a total tear, but couldn't rule out a partial tear, so recommended a sedated drawer test. (Spain also seemed a bit ouchy in the hip, so the vet thought X-rays might be in order). The vet called me later in the day with good news: no problems with her knee, her hips looked great - but she'd found a cut between Spain's second and third toes.

 

Three days of restricted activities with a week of antibiotics and a few days of an NSAID sure beats a CCL repair. Of course I wish we'd located the cut before paying $500 for sedated X-rays, etc. So next time I might try to catch my breath and panic just a bit less.

 

A minor limp - I'd watch it a few days to see if it goes away, with restricted activities (leash walks only) in the meanwhile, after checking for obvious problems like a pad injury. There's nothing more frustrating than taking a dog to a vet with a limp that the dog won't display when it's there. But if I saw a "persistent intermittent" lameness (in other words, it isn't always obvious enough for a vet to notice, but I see it from time to time), I wouldn't take it to a regular vet - I'd take it to an ortho vet. They're much better at cluing in on subtle signs and diagnosing from them - uneven wear on pads, differences in muscle mass that might suggest the dog has been favoring one leg for some time, slight head bobbing that indicates shoulder soreness, and so forth.

[Camden's Mom]

Thanks all. If he had been tripod-ing I probably would already be at the ortho vet because I'm paranoid like that. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I have a dog that will probably come up limping on a regular basis. Even his herding instructor says he's got zero awareness when it comes to self preservation... *sigh* I'd rather not bankrupt myself by panicking every time this happens but I also don't want to ignore something that should be addressed.

 

FWIW I can't even see the limp this morning, but it was obvious enough last night that I'm still going to give him a few easy days just to be safe.

 

Thanks everyone for humoring me with what must seem like a silly question if you are used to living with dogs.

[gcv-border]

As everyone else has said - a mild limp will get rest for a few days. I also have liquid Traumeel on hand which I will use if I see a minor limp, mostly when Torque is chasing a ball, he may come up limping on a front leg, I stop the game and give him a bit of Traumeel and observe him at low activity for a day or two. I also agree with others that if it is persistent or presents as a tripod, try to get into an ortho vet asap.

[OurBoys]

But if I saw a "persistent intermittent" lameness (in other words, it isn't always obvious enough for a vet to notice, but I see it from time to time), I wouldn't take it to a regular vet - I'd take it to an ortho vet. They're much better at cluing in on subtle signs and diagnosing from them - uneven wear on pads, differences in muscle mass that might suggest the dog has been favoring one leg for some time, slight head bobbing that indicates shoulder soreness, and so forth.

 

^^This. A couple of years ago Jake came up lame with one of his back legs. When he would first stand, he wouldn’t put any weight on his back right leg. After a few moments he was walking around as if nothing was wrong. I found out if I massaged his leg he would use it quicker so for a few days I gave him baby aspirin, leg massages and made him rest. He didn’t get over it so I took him to his ortho vet. He found out Jake had a pinched nerve in his back. Three laser treatments and 5 trips to the chiropractor fixed him right up.