Hi there! Our two year old english chocolate, Marty, has developed a moderate limp in his front legs. The limp seems to alternate between sides but is most pronounced on his right side. Up until now he has not had any issues with his legs. He has not had any previous signs of knee or hip dysplasia and has been seen by a vet since he was two months old. Likewise he hasn't suffered any specific trauma that we are aware of. At this point he has been x-rayed by his vet, and they didn't see anything. They referred us to an orthapedist. We have him scheduled for a CT scan at the recommendation of the orthapedist to check for mild dysplasia but he is not feeling that this is dysplasia. He is a little baffled based on age - too old for dysplasia to have been previously discovered or diagnosed, too young to be be arthritic. Has anyone else expierienced this with their lab? Any directional advice would be greatly appreciated! Andrew
From my experience, most common vets don't know how to manipulate the joints to figure out what's wrong. Since your dog is limping on his front legs, it could be his elbow/shoulder/paw. I'd go with the specialit's recommendations. Check for TBDs. They are common cause for lameness. If the joints are fine and it's not a TBD, it could be a muscle/tendon injury.
I had the same issue with my English/Red boy at about the same age. Started limping on the front left and it seemed to come and go. Finally my vet got me to a specialist who did an ultra sound. A ligament was stretched and inflamed causing the problem. I had over exercised him and never allowed enough time for proper healing. The specialist gave him a cortisone shot and Derramax for 10 days. I allowed him complete rest and very little exercise for at least 2 months. I try and not to overdue it with him as far as long walks and playtime etc but pretty much he leads a normal life. He hasn,t had any more problems and has been fine since .
My English lab girl started to limp at age 7. At first they thought it was an injury and inflammation. Treated with anti-inflammatory and pain meds. Unfortunately it was the start of Cancer that eventually spread through her system. We had to put her down in January and it was the worst experience in my life. Hopefully it's not what my girl had.
