Hi all! So, recently Lucius (who turned 4 on the 18th of April) has started limping on his back left leg, I started noticing he was stiff in his back end before his fourth birthday but didnt think much of it as sometimes he gets stiff after zooming around the park for half an hour or so and it keeps him tired for the day. But recently I noticed he had some pain in his back left leg as when I clip his paw pads out I have to get him to lay down and he'd tucked his left leg under his belly so I had to move it to get to it and as I gently moved his leg to get to his paw pads he yelped at me, got up quickly and started limping across the room, he managed to sort himself out and was fine afterwards but pretty much every day I notice he doesnt fully put any weight on that leg, (you can see when he's standing that his foot is ever so slightly off the floor - if I didnt know he was in pain with it I wouldnt have even noticed it its so subtle. But when he walks he can put weight on it but it looks as if he's walking on a hot surface he barely puts any weight on it. I've also noticed our beagle (who he loves very much and is VERY tolerant of) has been getting growled at if he even touches his back legs (or his feet - all four of them!) he'll do a low growl and if Pup ignores him it turns to a snap, this usually makes him listen but we've had to stop Pup from climbing on him as he used to when he was a puppy. When they play outside sometimes he'll turn to quick and yelp and play stops immediately (either Pup will wait for him to get back into it or he'll leave him alone and go and sniff some fun smells) he's been a bit out of sorts in himself (although I think this is due to a thunderstorm we had - and another on the way!) He's young to be getting anything age related although I've read some dogs can get arthritis at a young age. We are taking him to the vet for his vaccinations in a week or so (not sure on the date as we havent booked him in yet as our vet is never really too busy to fit him in) so we'll ask our vet to check him over but for now any thoughts on what it could be or any ways we could help him? Lucius on one of his off lead romps around his favourite park
Hi! Just thought I'd update everyone. We took lucius to the vets for his vaccinations and mentioned his limping, the vet examined him and couldn't feel anything wrong, but said he may have pulled something if hes been playing rough and couldnt rule out hip dysplasia or elbow dysplasia until an x ray he gave us some pain killers and anti inflammintory medication and if he is still limping after the course of medication we will x ray him. Our vet has told us to keep him to short walks and no off lead walks until after the 10 days that he is on his medication, hopefully this will work if not it'll be an x ray. We do know his father was hip and elbow tested but his mother wasnt. We're just hoping its just the start of arthritis. We also noticed his wrist area seemed a little swollen but we're not sure. Lucius' right paw Lucius' left paw Also has anyone tried glucosamine? Does it help with arthritis or joint problems? any advice would be great! Thanks!
Your vet didn't give him vaccinations, right? Since a dog must be perfectly healthy to be vaccinated - if not, simply wait until you know what is going on. Well 4yo is pretty young for the onset of arthritis. My 12yo is running about all over the place without a sign of it... You should only purchase a dog from fully health-tested parents. Otherwise you are supporting poor breeding practices, not to mention increasing the risk of health problems in the dog. It's not really possible for people to give advice or for you to know which supplements or products to use, without a diagnosis. Get a diagnosis first, then learn what research best suggests for that condition.
The vet did vaccinate him and I did do some research on arthritis which can happen at any age just like humans, it's just more common in older dogs. When we bought him the breeder showed paperwork but we didnt get given any of this paper work when we bought him to prove his parents were healthy I do agree with not buying from backyard breeders and bad breeders however this was my first puppy and my parents first puppy in atleast 30 years in which a lot has changed in how many people don't breed healthy dogs from reputable breeders. This has certainly taught me to really look around however now I have him I want to look after him as best as I can and make sure he is as healthy as possible, despite being from a bad breeder. I will wait till the medication is finished like the vet said and if he's still limping I'll take him back to the vet.
You're taking wonderful care of your dog. Unfortunately the "papers are in the mail" breeders gamble with their puppies' welfare because not everyone is so kind and responsible as you. In an ideal world deceptive breeders should be held accountable for their actions - yes dream on, but still. Obviously you will be guided by your vet - who seems sensible for not immediately leaping to CT scan and MRI - but aside from keeping him at a healthy (slim) weight, what is the terrain like where you let him off leash to run around? After many months at the local dog park I (belatedly) realized Johnny and other big dogs pulled up limping after taking funny steps whilst chasing around. Some areas are really uneven so for Johnny - an anecdote of one - finding a flat grass field for exercise was very helpful. I hope he's better by now and please do post follow up.
The field we take him in is a flat field and he doesn't normally race around he's very lazy and just trots along ahead of me , the only time he raced around is when I bring a ball with me. Our vet isn't happy to do X rays unless the medication either doesn't work or after the medication is finished he's still limping. He said because his mother wasn't tested he may have hip or elbow dysplasia but he gave us some carprox which is a painkiller and anti inflammatory in case he's pulled something . I'll update everyone once we know what's going on but for now the medication seems to be working as well as the limited exercise for the moment. We're always watching his weight he's 34kg at the moment which is what his ideal weight is.thanks for all the help
