My dog is limping

[Hound_Dog]

Hey everyone

Over the past few months, I've noticed that Carfi, my Dalmation, has started to limp after being taken to the playground or the park and given exercise (before I get the "DON'T TAKE YOUR DOG OFF LEASH!" message, I live in a place where I have access to parks and playgrounds that have no dogs and sometimes no people).

Anyways, he has been to the vet a couple times to have this problem looked at and the vet has checked him for dysplasia (sp?) and we've also had x-rays done. The vet can't find anything wrong with him.

He favors his back leg but he doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain. I'm worried that maybe he might have loss of muscle control or that just maybe he does feel pain but is really good at ignoring it.

I love him to pieces and I'm worried that the vet might be missing something. All 3 doctors at the clinic I go to have checked him and said they can't find anything wrong with him but I'm wondering if they might have missed something....has anyone else run into this kind of problem?

[Copper'sMom]

I have a similar situation! My 4 year old boy (80lbs, Pit Bull) does the same thing after he has had a good run and romp with my mom's small dog in her huge fenced in backyard. He's been xrayed twice. The vet found a slight pinched nerve in his vertebrae near the end of his ribcage. It's hard to describe, but also there is a little swelling around it all.

He was on MSM, gets glucosamine and aspirin when he starts to limp.

[SnowDancer]

Agree a pinched nerve. But have they checked for a calcification of a disc pressing on a nerve - that would do it.

[Copper'sMom]

Originally Posted by SnowDancer

Agree a pinched nerve. But have they checked for a calcification of a disc pressing on a nerve - that would do it.

Yes, I think this is what the Vet said about Copper! I think she said eventually it will go away. Do you know about this Snowdancer??

[Prin]

There apparently is a long bone disorder that causes the bones to be softer than normal. This can cause limping...

Arthritis?

Food? Eukanuba somehow causes stiff joints sometimes.

[Beaglemom]

Originally Posted by Prin

Food? Eukanuba somehow causes stiff joints sometimes.

Really? Good thing I'm switching my dog's food very soon! She has been on Eukanuba Restricted Calorie for a while to get her back to her ideal weight on doctor's orders. I'm so glad I found this board! I've learned a lot here!

About the limping, could it be a pulled muscle? Sometimes dogs will play real hard and over exert themselves and pull a muscle. Or their muscles will be achy after strainuous exercise. Kind of like a person after a hard workout. I know that I can be real sore after my workouts if I over do myself. This will be exacerbated if your dog has arthritis. My dog has arthritis and if she over does it, she starts to limp.

[Copper'sMom]

I originally had Copper into the vet for a limp in his front leg. They xrayed both legs for comparison and found arthritis in the opposite leg he was limping on! The vet thought either a strained muscle or he was compensating for the other leg with arthritis.

All seemed well for a few months and then he started having problems with his back leg. We went in for two xrays. The first time it was a pinched nerve. The second time was swelling. This is what was on my invoice - Synovitis/ligament damage L6-7, left. It was very difficult to see on the xray so maybe your vet should have a second close look at Carfi's xrays!

[Hound_Dog]

I don't think that it is a pulled muscle....it has happened more than once. I guess I'll have to bug the vets repeatedly until I get answer.

[twodogsandacat]

Dalton used to limp occasionally after playing ball.....it's an extreme sport to him.

Usually rest cleared it up with a rub down of Asorbine (the horse type not Asorbine Jr).

Since we started feeding him shark cartilage cookies (four a day) and crushed glucosamine as he has mild arthritis in his front leg he has only had it once.... this week after a five week period with no off leash activity due to his hematoma.

[Copper'sMom]

A pulled muscle can take a long time to heal. If the dog doesn't get more than a few weeks of rest, it'll never heal! It's so hard NOT to exercise your dog or keep him from being a dog doing doggy things! The vet tells me, Copper can't have any exercise - he should only go out to do his duties and then come back in and relax for at least a few weeks. Ya right!! We just have to be moderate in what we let him do!

Oh, just so ya know, these limping problems with my dog have been ongoing for close to a year! But now that we've got it narrowed down to the problem and the triggers, he has improved alot. He still limps when I let him go crazy, but asprin, a days rest and tonnes of guilt on my part - slowly we are getting there!

[SnowDancer]

Copper's Mom - Unfortunately I am an expect on calcified disk pressure problems as they relate the backs and necks of mini Dachshunds - Stages I and II - think every single solitary disc in the gorgeous 10 lbs. bodies. With our first pup, treatment by steroids was mandated - pup had to stay at vet's for 2 weeks (or until paralysis "cleared") and was put in increasingly smaller cages as feeling returned to his body. Prior to this treatment in the late 1980s, most Dachshunds were put to sleep. Move forward to 1989, neck went and then the back - but this guys was a super, major fighter who wasn't going to Rainbow Bridge without me - so neurosurgeon came to Toronto to perform surgery. With the neck there was no choice, steroids would not work. His back fully paralyzed for the 4th time while he was in having his neck checked. According to surgeon he never should have walked, never mind climbed up onto the table by use of chair. We also had 2 other Dachshunds at this time - not Alphas - rescues who needed homes - and they did not suffer the condition. My pup recovered - he had about a 10% chance and he could still get himself up on those chairs - a miracle and a subject of a paper so I understand. After his death on Sept. 13/97 at 11:30 a.m. (could still walk, but rest of bodily functions shut down overnight - he had to be put to sleep. Wished he could have died in his sleep. Even with our other Dachshunds and 2 cats the house felt empty. I needed an Alpha but where would you find another soul mate. And then I heard about a dog who refused to be a show dog and was in danger of being pts. So off we went - there were several dogs - but we made eye contact and the "dance" began. I knew every symptom to look for, except that with Stage II there is not an event. Just leaking of fluid onto the spinal cord causing spinal cord death. When he paralyzed it was within 10 minutes - hd to go to Guelph. He lived 10 months - wouldn't trade it for the world. In his case steroids would not have worked. In your dog's case and in others, depending on the number of discs affected, there are other methods of treatment and even if surgery is called for, it is not nearly as horrible as the surgeries suffered by my guys. My first guy lived to be 11 - again a miracle - my last little guy - 7 years and 2 weeks - not enough time. So if your dog is not a senior and the disc problem could be treated by a neuorologist I would go for it. Not sure of cost, but full surgery was $6,000, which included a few days' recovery time and then you move on to daily nursing cost. I obviously loved these dogs. The first pup had to stay in hospital for 40 days. Now that we have the Eskimo and he is only 14 months old - I am expecting dysplasia to strike at any minute. No sign of it - just worried. My uncle became fully paralyzed due to a disease at age 40 - so I feel this is something I will be faced with again - except it better not happen to me.