Hi! Last Saturday we took our 9-month-old chocolate labrador Charlie to the beach, which accidently became quite a long walk, my fitness tracker estimated we walked 4 miles, and if you include the running Charlie got playing fetch he probably went a lot further. Later that evening and ever since Charlie has had a slight limp on his front right leg. There's no swelling and we've checked the leg, while feeling his legs there was no disgruntled noises or anything out of the ordinary. I've only walked him 3 times since then to give him some rest and hope the limp goes away. His attitude and mood haven't changed, although we think he gets a bit miserable sometimes because he hasn't had his walk. Yesterday he played with a toy like any other puppy, he hasn't once made out that the limp hurts. Could the limp be a muscle strain from his extra long walk? How long should we wait before taking him to the vets?
Oh dear. It's always a worry when they pick up a limp I know. Dogs are very good at masking pain so you may not be able to work out what's hurting (and the vet may struggle too) I usually give my dogs 24 - 48 hours on lead walks if they're limping or even no walks with just toilet trips on lead. Some easy inside training to keep their brains ticking over. If no better they go to the vet. If I think it's bad though they'll just get a vet trip same or next day as soon as we can be fitted in. For me I'd rather have them in sooner rather than later. Hope it clears up quickly!
Ah, sorry to hear that. I'm at the vet's the same or the next day with a limp, I've had some problems with my dog and I was massively glad that I didn't hang around. Mostly, limps just clear up but the rare times they are something serious, then not waiting is best. Plus, your vet will advise you on appropriate exercise and so on, or whether some anti-inflammatories would be a good idea.
If Charlie is still limping I would be taking him to the vet without any hesitation, to my mind a muscle strain should not be causing a problem nearly a week later. I advocate a very pro-active approach to limping as my girl has ED and first limped at 5 months old and was diagnosed at 8 months after her second incidence of limping. Apart from the limp, which was not constant, she showed no signs of being in discomfort, would run and play happily and always keen to go out for her walks. Even when being examined by the Orthopaedic Surgeon she didn't make any noise etc,.
I agree re a trip to the Vet . My lad started a slight limp a few months ago , so slight that probably only I was aware of it , no off lead for 48 hours , flat lead walks for 10 mins at a time and it was fine, I certainly wouldn't leave it any longer, good luck .
Hi Mark, I'm like Barbara and usually rest a dog and allow 24 to 48 hours to allow a slight limp to resolve. If the limp persists after that I'd be off to the vet. So, I'd say you need to make that trip now. Best of luck, and hope it is something that will soon clear up.
Oh dear sorry to hear about Charlie's limp, I'd make a trip to the vets. Dogs are very good at masking pain. My girl has severe ED she also limped at 5 months. She will still limp occasionally now but most of the time she's a happy bouncy young dog and you wouldn't know there was anything wrong with her. I agree pro-active is the only way forward. I constantly monitor exercise not only the length but also type. Good luck and let us know how you got on
Hi, I'm having the same problem. We've just upped our 8 month old girls excercise at our trainers request (I've added an extra 20 min jog on the lead with me per day). She also had two days at day care this week. She started limping at day care yesterday. I'm sure it's just overuse or a slight pull after too much play (poor thing). Like your boy she seems fine other than the slight limp. Will scale down exercise tomorrow and book an apt at the vet for the afternoon. Hopefully the vet will rule out anything serious. I wasn't worried but I am now :-/ What is ED?
@Tatti ED is short for Elbow Dysplasia . Having a girl who was diagnosed with ED at 8 months, having first limped at 5 months. I tend to be very cautious whenever limps on fore legs are mentioned. My best advice would be to reduce walks, my vet reduced Juno's to 2 x 15 walks a day and my Orthopaedic specialist agreed with the exercise plan, that was until her operation which was minimal exercise afterwards. If she is still limping tomorrow I would go to the vet, just for a check, it's better to be safe. One thought was why the increase in exercise by 20 minutes, which is quite an increase in one go, particularly if it's 20 minutes of jogging on lead.
Thanks @MaccieD , Ahh, I didn't know what that was but shall look it up. The idea behind the increased excercise was to help us with a few problems we've been having. It was going so well too. I really hope it's just a strain. The OH can't even tell she's limping. Will keep things gentle and head to the vets if there are still signs tomorrow morning. It's always best to be safe. Fingers crossed
mmmm.....unless your dog is really getting barely any exercise, increasing exercise is rarely a solution to a naughty dog. You just get a fitter, naughty dog....
Oh yeah, been there, done that one! For the first couple of days it's perfect as they're sooooo tired. Then they adjust to the increased exercise and you're in a worse place than you started
Well, we've just got back from the vet. Is it just me or do they set out to make you feel like the worst dog owner in the world - but that's for another post. The vet seemed to be quite worried about this. He asked if she'd ever shown signs of limping before to which I replied that very occasionally after she wakes up she will imp for a few minutes and then be fine (so we had thought nothing of it). Apparently this isn't a good sign in a young dog. He said that after sleep a young dog should bounce up and be totally fine. We have been given some anti-inflammatories and have been instructed to reduce exercise to 2-3 15-20 lead walks a day for the next 7-10 days. Interestingly this is the reason we had upped her exercise - she pulls A LOT on the lead. So, the next week will be interesting. Luckily the last week we have been working on this with our trainer we have made lots of progress - lets hope its enough or there'll be two members of the family with dodgy shoulders. We've been told to watch out for this in the future and if there is another bout she will need an x-ray to look at the problem. Although he did say there are a number of reasons she could be limping, I definitely got the impression that he thought there was a problem - he certainly seemed concerned. @MaccieD i'm scared to google ED as you always hear the worst stuff. What does it mean for her if she does have it? Is it just a case of keeping exercise and impact to a minimum or are there more serious implications?
@Tatti - so sorry to hear this, I do hope it turns out to be nothing. I'm afraid Elbow Dysplasia is serious, and will impact on a dog its whole life (to varying degrees, from mild to serious). Some dogs that develop symptoms when they are young are considered candidates for surgery. There is an article here: http://thehappypuppysite.com/puppy-health-elbow-dysplasia/ And additional reliable sources of information: Here: http://www.offa.org/pdf/elbowarticle.pdf And here: http://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/...Elbow_Scheme/CHS-elbow-dyspalsia-feb-2014.pdf
@Tatti there are numerous types of elbow dysplasia which can only be identified by x-ray and scans. Treatment is dependant upon the type of dysplasia and severity. Can a dog with ED have a full and active life, most definitely yes but exercise etc has to be managed differently. It's good that your vet is very concerned, it's easy for it to be passed off as just a strain and so it's so difficult too know when they are in pain. Unfortunately the stiffness in the morning doesn't sound too good. Follow the advice on the exercise from the vet which sounds very similar to my vets advice. It is important that pulling is not allowed, with the possibility of strain on the elbow, so your walks may be more stop/start than normal. Try not too worry too much, impossible I know, and got everything here crossed for you for a good outcome on rest and anti inflammatories.
Sorry to hear your problems, markclaxton and tattie, it's worrying I know. My springer is going in for an elbow op tomorrow as he has a hairline fracture (they call it something else but too technical for me!) which was only discovered after many weeks of investigation. He's a working dog of 8 years and we've had working (shooting) dogs for 30 odd years and this is the first time anything like this has occurred. We have always rested limps for a couple of days and usually they've got better, if not, straight to the vets. Apparently this problem is common with springers and we've been lucky over the years I guess not to have encountered it before. My advice would be to go with your gut feelings and make sure you get X-rays and scans as soon as possible if the limping doesn't improve. Good luck x
@Marge has your spaniel got IOHC? It seems to be cropping up more and more in spaniels. Best of luck for boys operation!
Yes that's it Barbara! Not looking forward to the rehab I must say but hopefully no more pain and limping for tom.
just to add that my wee lab had IOHC (both elbows), so can occur in labs too - she had preventative pins inserted(about 3 years ago now) and is good - still a pocket rocket !!
