dog is limping

[stewie]

so my dog bullitt, hes around 5-6 years old, rotty/shepherd.

last year him and my other dog were messing around in my basement, then they both ran up the stairs. on the way up he had slipped his back leg, almost as if he missed the stair and stretched the leg all the way to the stair below it...he yelped like no other...I helped him up, and he was limping for a few hours, but the next day, he seemed fine.

so since then, when he plays rough or even goes on walks, when he gets home, he limps for the rest of the day.

we give him doggy glucose to help him out, and I can poke around and squeeze his leg to see if he wimpers...but he doesn't, doesn't even pull his leg away.

because he gets limpy after walks or being outside in the yard with my other puppy who is constantly chasing him and trying to use him as a mobile chew toy, we try to keep him from going on walks or else he'll be limping to the point where he'll only walk on 3 legs for the rest of the day.

any ideas on things I can do to make this heal up faster???

(yes ive been to the vet, he said just give him time to rest up and it'll heal over time...but since he doesn't exactly sit still 24/7, its hard for him to heal properly.)

anyone ever experience this?

[rsx]

My german shepherd rough housed with a husky too much and hurt her leg. She limped every now and then for a few months, but *knock on wood* she seems better.

I also checked her leg, squeezing parts of it, rotating it and moving it around it seemed fine. Guess she just sprained it or something. I just didn't let her go nuts until it seemed a bit better.

gluck

[stewie]

I've read up that you can give dogs anti inflammatories for dogs...

Anyone used them? Good or bad?
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[hitch]

If he can walk/run, he most likely partially teared his ligament (ACL), rather than a full tear. You'll also notice sometimes he limps after naps if he's been active that day.

Best way to improve his condition is to restrict all activity for AT LEAST 1 month. This means NO: stairs, jumping, running, playing rough etc. If you're used to taking your dog out for long walks/hikes, stop doing that too, because you're not allowing his leg to fully heal. Walks should be 10 mins max, 2-3 times a day.

The longer you restrict his activity, the better his leg will heal. His body will form scar tissue around the joints to support his leg better. Unfortunately, his leg will likely never be the same as before, but will improve ALOT from his current situation. Basically, his dog life is gonna suck for the next 1-2 months with all the activity restrictions, but his body will thank him later.

As for supplements, glucosamine HCL + MSM may help. My vet said salmon will also help the joints.

I hope this helps.

[BoostedBB6]

Did you buy it from a breeder?

If so, do they guarantee against hip displasia(sp?). It can cause limping and stiff joints. It is common in some breeds and not in others.

I would recommend a different vet. It its been that long and the dog still suffers from issues then it is something more than just a sore muscle.

[stewie]

^ didn't buy from a breeder

My brother was driving home from kellowna, stopped in hope to get gas, and saw a sign saying puppies for sale. He went just to look. The house wasn't that great, looked like the guy needed money badly, so he only asked around 100$ for each of the 8 week old puppies...so my brother and his friend bought one each.
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[westopher]

Keep him away from roughhouse playing at least. If it is a partial tear it has a chance of getting a lot worse, and unless you have pet insurance, expect to be very sad when you need to sell a car to pay for knee surgery. I think my friend paid around 13k for his dog's acl/mcl damage to be fixed. Perhaps also see at the vet if there is a proper way to wrap it to limit use, and/or get a second opinion from another vet.

[terkan]

did you try to touch or look around the paw? my dog was limping all of a sudden couple weeks ago. tried stretching his legs poking around he didn't whimper or pull away either. but i noticed him licking his paw a lot and so i started poking around his paw and he goes crazy.. i couldn't find the thorn or anything that poked him but i bathed him in some epsome salt or whatever it's call and it seemed to relieved him a bit and 2 days later he's back to normal. i was going to take him to the vet if he was still limping around.

[stewie]

yup tried that as well.

hes over weight lol, hes half rotty so hes got a big build...yet the shepherd in him gave him chicken legs...

my other puppy german shepherd who uses him as a rag doll doesn't help the situation either lol..little bugger grabs him by the collar and pulls him around the house/outside and jumps on him all the time.

just gonna have to put fatty cakes on a diet see if losing some weight will put less strain on his leg.

[Phil@rise]

swimming. Get him doing lots of to tucker him out but its non impact and keep the play with other dogs to a minimum. I think my family used to give our older dogs asprin when I was a kid it acts as an anti inflammatory and pain killer

[stewie]

ive heard you could give a dog baby aspirin...but wasn't sure about it.


as for swimming...not a chance lol, hes scared shitless of water. if hes outside and I go out to water the lawn, he runs and hides insde lol