Dear All, Two weeks or so ago, I noticed that my puppy (6 months old now) was slightly lifting up his right paw whenever he sat to attention. Being overly concerned we stopped taking him out for walks for a week. Still exhibiting the mannerism, a week and half ago we took him to the vet where they checked him (physically) and the vet said all seemed normal. They prescribed him a weeks worth of anti inflammatory's. Today he has taken to lifting his left paw and I have visibly witnessed him limping. I'm really not sure what to make of this. He has over the past month been scratching and gnawing at the skirting board, door and wall - I don't know if he has hurt his paws in the process of doing this. We also keep a baby gate to keep him localised to the living room which he takes to overly jumping on whenever someone comes at the door or whenever someone goes upstairs-he's overtly clingy! He also likes tearing up and down the stairs and am unsure whether all this could be conducive to his joints at such a young age. Also, he does not allow for us to clip nails, I don't think this has been done for a few months (I really am trying my best to work on getting him used to this). I wanted to kindly ask if this is something that I should be really worried be about and whether any of you kind folk have experienced this behaviour and how you dealt with it. The last thing I want is for my lovely bundle of golden joy to suffer - I love him soooo much... :'( Thanking you all.
It does worry us when something isn't right, and I think it's good that you're trying to get to the bottom of this. We understand how you feel - it is stressful! Did the anti-inflammatories seem to improve things while he was on them? If he's still limping then I'd advise another trip to the vet. The vet needs to check the whole limb, all the skin of the foot and all the joints, from the last joint in the toe to the top of the shoulder blade. Something is causing him to limp, which means that it hurts him somewhere. See if you can get a little video of the limping to show the vet, in case he doesn't do it at the vet surgery. With the nail clipping, you can train him to see the clippers as positive using treats. I'll see if I can find a link to a video that shows how it is done
Sorry to read about your puppy . Yes, scratching at wooden skirting boards could well have made his paws very sore and yes, running up and down stairs is not such a great thing to do either Young joints can be damaged so easily , so I would stop allowing him to charge up and down stairs so much , especially whilst his paws are sore . Its hard to curb enthusiasm and you certainly don't want to take away his natural love for life, but do try to restrict/minimise any activity which could cause issues . Nail clipping is not easy with a wriggly pup , I know !
Just adding that I agree completely with the above advice too , if ever you are in doubt , seek a second opinion .
Agree with the comments above. Running up and down stairs s not good on young joints and should be discouraged. His paws may be sore from scrabbling against woodwork but if he is still limping I would be going back to the vet. I've never clipped Juno's claws, even when on restricted exercise, but we do a lot of walking on hard surfaces which keeps hers in good condition
Dear All, thank you ever so much for the comments and advice. Luffy still is slightly limping today. If it persists I will take him down to the vets. Thank you Rachael for the link to the video. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
Having a dog with ED where limping started at 5 months of age, I would be going back to the vet just for peace of mind. Let us know how he gets on.
