Limping

[Mr-Remington]

Remi started limping yesterday morning. We think it might be because we just got a new bed that is a little taller than our old one, and he jumped off in the middle of the night. My roommate and I tried seeing if there was certain area causing his is discomfort. We figured out that its in his back left leg, and the spot that bothers him is the bicep muscle. He still ran around and played, though we kept it minimal so it wouldn't get worse.

He is doing better today, but he is still limping. Mostly he limps after standing up, after laying down for too long. He still wants to play and jump up and off the bed, but he will limp after any of it. Other then that he walks ok sometimes and other times he will limp. We want to take him to the vet today, to make sure its not serious, but our vet is about an hour away and my roommate doesn't get out of work until later. I'm kinda freaking myself out by reading about the possibilities online. So I was wondering if any of you have had a problem like this? Are we doing the right thing by taking him in, or are we over reacting?

P.S. He is now 7 months old

This is from today.

 

[MaryK]

You can never be too careful. Thank you for the vid too, great help. Had a good look, paused it quite a few times, I'm NOT a vet but I couldn't see anything really wrong and he actually laid down on that side too. It appears to be intermittent, at times he's fine and other times he limps a little. Also he was standing quite well too, I think it was when he was watching the other dog, his legs were straight etc.

I feel he's pulled a muscle, or pinched a nerve, both a bit painful but not serious. What I've done when that's happened to my boys, Ra Kismet managed it just recently over enthusiastic playing games, is to gentle massage the leg and see if he'll extend it DO NOT pull the leg, more rest your hand UNDER the leg supporting it and gentle extend it ONLY as far as he allows. He may not let you extend at all, that's fine, he may not like that or it may hurt a bit and only vets know how far to go. I'd give it a couple more days and if he's still limping then it's off to the vets. But if it's what I suspect, it will heal within a couple of days. It was only yesterday it happened right?

Also, check his paws, he may have something in the paw or between his claws, that can cause a limp too.

 

[Mr-Remington]

We took him in and they believe he pulled a muscle. They gave him an anti-inflammatory shot and some pain killers. They said if it isn't better by next week than bring him and they will do x-rays. He is on bed rest which is impossible, he is a hyper puppy that wants to run around and play. I feel bad for locking him in the room with me, and taking him potty on leash.

 

[Adrianna & Calvin]

Hi

I agree with Mary to always check the paws and the skin of the leg itself, on the off chance that it's a burr or broken nail or something simple. It does not look like he's favoring the foot, though, it looks like he's favoring the leg.

Don't forget that pain is enough reason in and of itself to get medical attention. I think all of us would take a Tylenol or Advil or aspirin (do NOT give those to dogs or cats of course!) if our leg hurt so much we couldn't put our full weight on it. I understand your transport problems, I'm just saying this as a general rule here.

About the leg, first a question: does he 'bunny hop' run a lot, or is that just now with the limp? That kind of hopping run you see him do across the yard in the beginning of the video is typical of dogs/puppies with hip dysplasia. He may be doing it because one leg is sore, but if he has a kind of hopping gait, I'd ask the vet about hip dysplasia next time you visit.

Does the leg get more sore as he uses it, or less sore? While there are no hard rules here, in general if it gets harder to use, it's more likely to be a tear or partial tear of the CCL. If it 'warms up' and is easier to use with mild activity, it's more likely to be a sore muscle. Just as you might creak out of bed the morning after hard exercise, but feel better as you move about a bit.

I don't know if you're worried about a broken leg, but in general a dog would not put weight on a broken bone and would be very protective of the leg. (The leg could swell, too, but you'd be hard pressed to see that through that fluffy fur!)

If you can't get to the vet today, do take him if he's favoring the leg tomorrow as he would benefit from an exam and pain meds. If you have a good relationship with the vet, perhaps you could put a call in today to speak to him or her about your concerns.

Please keep us posted !

 

[Mr-Remington]

A&C- I ended up taking him in yesterday a few hours after I posted. They say its just a sprained muscle. I have him on full bed rest. He is a lot better since they gave him a shot and the pain killers. He will limp sometimes but for the most part its getting better. I will let you guys know if he has to get x-rays.

 

[MaryK]

Hi
I agree with Mary to always check the paws and the skin of the leg itself, on the off chance that it's a burr or broken nail or something simple. It does not look like he's favoring the foot, though, it looks like he's favoring the leg.

Don't forget that pain is enough reason in and of itself to get medical attention. I think all of us would take a Tylenol or Advil or aspirin (do NOT give those to dogs or cats of course!) if our leg hurt so much we couldn't put our full weight on it. I understand your transport problems, I'm just saying this as a general rule here.
Please keep us posted !

LOL not everyone takes over the counter pain killers, I don't even have them in the house

If I'm in that much pain, I go to my acupuncturist

 

[MaryK]

A&C- I ended up taking him in yesterday a few hours after I posted. They say its just a sprained muscle. I have him on full bed rest. He is a lot better since they gave him a shot and the pain killers. He will limp sometimes but for the most part its getting better. I will let you guys know if he has to get x-rays.

Glad it's just a sprained muscle.

 

[Mr-Remington]

Glad it's just a sprained muscle.

Me too! I took him for a light walk today but he started limping. He is going crazy in the house, and I'm running out of ideas to keep him busy!

 

[MaryK]

Me too! I took him for a light walk today but he started limping. He is going crazy in the house, and I'm running out of ideas to keep him busy!

Can feel for you, had the same thing with Ra Kismet. Have you tried quiet games like 'hide and seek' kinda like nose work but not formal? You hide something he seeks. Guess you've gone the Kong route, stuffed with goodies. Does he have a Kong puzzle toy?

He does need to rest that leg but oh how I dread those words "keep the patient quiet" uttered by vets who wave bye bye at the consulting room door and I'm sure have a good chuckle knowing what you're in for!!!!!!!!

 

[Mr-Remington]

MaryK- Remi hates the Kong toy, he has never liked them. But I give him other puzzle type toys, and lots of Raw bones from the local pet store. I've been taking him for several walks a day for about 20-30 minutes. He gets to do a "Smell walk" He picks the route, and gets to smell whatever he wants. I just follow him. He loves it. But we usually jog a lot so he hasn't figured out that we can't run around. I still do trick training just nothing that involves jumping. I'm running out of ideas though. He gets bored so quickly. I will try the hide and seek idea.

 

[Amateur]

Just a thought ... but while he is still growing you have to be careful. can you get a box or something for him to get down from the bed easier ? We use foot stools at the end of our bed just because I think it looks too high fo our dogs. Many times when a dog limps we will wait it our for a day if no sore points are detected .. many time it is just a sprain but I also err on the side of caution if it didnt get better the next day - off to the vet

 

[Mr-Remington]

I was actually considering the stairs for both of my dogs! But until I can afford them we don't let the dogs jump up or off of the bed. I'm very paranoid about Remi, He is my first puppy, and I don't want anything to happen to him. When we got the bed I was not aware of how high it was. I've already lowered it as much as possible by taking the legs off, and with my next pay check I do plan to buy the stairs for him, just to be safe. We did the same as you do, we waited a day and as soon as he was still limping monday, I called and made a appointment.

 

[jackienmutts]

I hope he's doing better. As one who does (the sport of) Nosework with my dogs, I can tell you, doing any kind of scent work is very tiring (mentally). No formal training needed. Let him see you hide a favorite toy, you can start by "hiding" it almost right in front of him, then asking him to "find it". Keep making it harder and harder, farther and farther away (not necessariy all in one session, and you can play it all the time, that's the great thing - it's a game, not a training session! He's gotta use that nose of his to find his toy, cuz he'll search for it mostly by smell, not not by sight. I used to play "find it" with my previous old guy, Sherman, who was so ball-obsessessed it was pathetic. He'd bring it to me at 10pm and want to play - I'd just quickly stuff it someplace behind me, under a couch cushion, under a magazine on the coffee table, etc ... (quickly, out of his view, and I wouldn't move), and I'd ask him to "find it". He'd have a blast. We'd do it a whole bunch of times, and he'd finally happily go lay down. It got to where it turned into a nightly ritual. You can take this farther with your pup - you can ask him to "stay" - and go hide the toy someplace else, in a different room, etc - then ask him to "find it" and let him rip. After really searching for a bit, dogs get tired mentally, just like they do with trick training -- and the best thing is, there's not much effort on your part. You get to hide a toy a few times, he has a blast - win/win!

My bed isn't high, just average height. I've got GSs - you'd think no problem. With one with a bad back, and one with a trashed back end (and both now getting older), I can't have either one jumping on it. I went to an "import store" and purchased a relatively inexpensive footstool/ottoman (heavy enough to support them and stay steady, and they have that as a 'step' up to my bed. It's made a huge difference.

It's so hard when things go wrong with our pups. Keep us posted - and good luck keeping up with keeping him quiet.

 

[Amateur]

Hey Jackie - we call it "smell it - find it" they have to stay in one room - we ask them to smell the treat n our hand- ask them to stay , then we go out and hide the treats around the house -- then yell Find it and stand back. Make sure you run all around the house because they soon picked up on smelling MY trail and went right to the stash --- smert dogs

 

[Mr-Remington]

I'm going to try the find it game tonight before bed! He loves going on walks devoted to smelling so I know he will have a blast playing a game devoted to finding his favorite toy.

Jackienmutts- Remi refuses to jump on the bed unless there is something he really wants on the bed. The biggest problem is preventing him from jumping off the bed. I cringe every time he jumps off. And my roommate seems to think its fine to let him do it himself since we lowered the bed some, but I'm just scared he'll get arthritis when he's older.