Hi, My 4 1/2 month old chocolate lab has developed a limp. It is more pronounced after he gets up from sleeping then slowly goes away. He never whines or cries out in pain and doesn't seem to mind when I check his limbs. From what I've read it could be growing pains. I would love to hear from the forum, though. I'm wondering if I should hold off on exercise or is it important to keep him moving? We have a pool and he loves to swim, so that might be a better way to keep him moving. Should we take him to the vet? Any thoughts? Thanks!!
I would call my vet and ask about it. Anything that makes you think if you should call the vet, call them.
I take my animals to the vet for anything out of the ordinary. I'd rather be safe (and a couple of quid out of pocket) than sorry.
My experience with Snowie when he limped three times when he was a puppy over the course of a year -- once on one front leg, and twice on the other front leg -- was simply rest. So he wasn't allowed to tear around with the other dogs, and definitely no big dogs that could bump him. But he was also not allowed to tear around on slippery floors or on the grass. He was extremely boisterous so it was very, very difficult keeping him quiet. My regular vet at the time (subsequently swapped vets) gave him Rimadyl for pain. But when I went back again for the next limp, the locum said she would never give such a small puppy Rimadyl, the less medication for a puppy the better, and that simple rest was the answer. In hindsight, I have no idea if Snowie's limping was a sign of things to come. At 4 years old we discovered he has a bulging lumbar disc which caused him extreme pain and he sometimes drags his back feet (very slightly and hardly ever, but of course I am very vigilant of nerve damage). So if you are worried, I would definitely be seeing the vet and asking them to examine your pup thoroughly. You should note what part of your pup looks stiff on rising and which limb he's limping on -- and write it down! Because when you go the vet, you'll inevitably forget!! When Snowie rose from lying down, he'd stand like a cat with back arched and walk with stiff legs to his next sleeping spot. We thought he was stiff, although the orthopaedic vet said it was more likely that he didn't want to move any part of his body because he was in so much pain and had nothing to do with stiff muscles. Regarding Snowie limping on his front legs as a puppy: at the dog school we went to, we had to use the head halter. Snowie was so excitable that he'd yank his head this way and that, and me being an inexperienced handler, didn't know how to prevent this. Furthermore, on a down stay on a long line, he suddenly raced off cos he saw a ball being thrown and the instructor told me to put my foot on the leash. Well, you can imagine what happened next: Snowie reached the end of the lead and did a somersault. My heart stopped. I mean, what was the instructor thinking, and why didn't I think for myself?!!!!! I am so angry with myself for that. I often wonder if that caused the limping, ie an injury to the neck, because after every session with the head halter, Snowie would limp. I stopped using the head halter for that (and various other) reasons.
Thank you so much for your reply!! My heart goes out to you. Having a puppy is like having a child again. I'm always worried I'm going to do something to hurt him accidentally . We were concerned that we over exercised Beau and damaged his growth plates. (Sometimes you can just do too much reading on the Internet) We have a pool and were excited about getting him into it so we really encouraged the swimming. Now he is an avid swimmer but I realize that he needs to do it for short periods of time. We have given him lots of extra rest and that seems to help. Interesting that you mentioned the "cat stretch" because he has done that upon rising several times. We're giving him another week or so, as he is definitely improving, before taking him to the vet. I also didn't have a good experience with our puppy class. They used choke collars and a lot of yelling "No!" We didn't make it to the end and now I just signed up for a totally different kind of class. It's all positive and based on understanding your pooch. I'm looking forward to it. Good luck with Snowie!
You sound like me. When Snowie was a puppy and limping, I spent every evening on the internet studying every possible reason he might be limping. I also suspected growing pains. We were so careful about not over exercising him but because he was so boisterous, he'd get himself into some precarious positions -- like once, when we were hiking, he raced up onto a boulder and, before I get to him to stop him, he had leapt off it, about 2m down to the ground. Who knows what damage that did. Another time he leapt off an embankment and landed face first in the muddy river. He looked cute when he came up with his face blackened with mud, but again, who knows what damage he did? And another time he tore down a ravine and landed on the rocks below in the river, and then came scrambling back up hanging on for dear life with his forelimbs -- very strong clearly! But I am pretty sure damage was done to those young bones. But short of keeping him wrapped in cotton wool, we were at the mercy of his exuberant personality. Best of luck with your pup's limping. Hopefully it is just the normal results of that typical Labrador exuberance -- children fall and hurt themselves and turn out okay, so hopefully your pup will be just fine. I believe swimming is the best type of exercise. I wish Snowie would swim in our pool but he only wallows on the steps, won't venture into the deeper water. Let us know how your pup goes.
Thank you! He is getting better! We are hoping he just pulled something or had some overused muscles......And just a word about the swimming....We really wanted Beau to feel comfortable in the pool and know how to get out safely so I could relax! Someone on this forum suggested getting a doggie life vest and it really did the trick! It not only gave Beau confidence but it put his body in the correct position to swim well. He wore it for about 2 weeks and that is all he needed. He is a happy swimmer now! Let me know if you'd like the name of the vest we used, although there are many kinds out there. ☺️
The vest sounds like a great idea, and perhaps we should've started Snowie on that when he was a puppy. He is now 4.5 years old. He is a very strong swimmer in rivers and the sea and also ocean pools (pools built on the sea edge, filled with seawater that washes in), but he just doesn't like to venture off the steps in our pool. He has tried a few times but doesn't appear to like it. He also won't swim for the sake of swimming; there must be something to retrieve to motivate him to swim out. Although this doesn't work in our pool. There are other posts where people have discussed this conundrum!
We don't run to the vet at the first sign of a mild limp, but if it is significant, or lasts more than a day or so, we are off to the vet.
Hey @ChicoSue my 4 month labrador puppy has the exact same case right now and I'm wondering if it's growing pain. I won't talk about the details because like I said, it's the same case, but I wanted to know if growing pain was the symptom for your dog?? Thanks!
If your puppy is limping you need to take him to the vet to be examined for a diagnosis. No-one on the forum can say whether your pup has growing pains, a pulled muscle/ligament or something more serious.
@Jojo83 Yeah of course. I already have a vet check up coming up today, but I just wanted to know if that symptom turned out to be growing pains after all.
