Lab Leg question

[BlackLabGuy]

I have a 7 yr old Black Lab that has recently had a couple episodes where he jumps up on the bed (I sleep there he thinks he should also!) and then starts to whine, shake and hold up the right back leg. After a few minutes then he seems OK. When this happened I checked him by moving the leg, checking paws, motion and nothing seemed to cause further pain. A few minutes later he is just fine, running and acting normal. He is very hesitant to jump back on the bed now. He has a few times since had incidents where he was hesitant to climb the steps but seems to be walking fine, is anxious to go outside, on walks. He seems to be able to jump around, move, run... when we are playing. I've been trying to pinpoint the source of the pain/discomfort but no luck so far. Most of the time he shows no sign of anything out of the norm. Is this the start of arthritis or hip problems ? If so is it typical to be very random, going from severe pain to no pain ?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Hard to take him to the vet and say "sometimes his leg seems to hurt !"

[PikeBayCommanche]

It sounds like a hip discomfort. How much does your Lab weigh??? Normally walking around probably wouldn't cause him alot of pain. but when he has to put alot of weight on the rear legs I bet that causes some pain like jumping on the bed or going up stairs.

[BlackLabGuy]

He weighs about 80 lbs. Weight hasn't changed and he's been pretty active all winter and hunted for about 5 hours 2 weeks ago and was tired but not overly sore after that.

[LABS4ME]

Hip dysplasia usually shows itself in the form of arthritis, and eventually the dog shows continuous pain. But if the joint is bad enough to allow it to temporarily dislocate and the arthritis isn't to advanced, he may only show signs when it "pops" out after strenuous movement, or if the dog has a high pain threshold, he may only show signs intermittantly. There are a lot of good pain / anti-inflammation meds out now, that have reduced side effects and are very effective...

If you take your dog in, the vet will listen to what you describe and either do x-rays (which will verify if it's dysplasia or arthritis), or move in another direction if he can isolate the pain from somewhere other than the joint. The shaking is definitley a sign of pain... is it because of a weakened joint(s)? or just related to severe discomfort? It may be one of a number of other things that can be treated. He may be having discomfort in his bowels, a hernia etc... I'd take him in and see what the vet finds.

Good Luck!

Ken

[BlackLabGuy]

Thanks for the replies. Gives us an idea and something to start with.

[duckbuster]

Another thing that I have been hearing a lot of lately is the torn cruciate. Something else to mention to your vet.

GOOD LUCK

[stpauliguy]

Id have to stick with duck here. My dog (lab) pulled up lame training in the field and figured right away the worst! Checked out her leg, feet, etc. Seemed to go away after a little while. Well eventually brought her in to vet and they said it was in her knee. The knee would dislocate itself because of the ligaments. But since then have taken it easy on her and give her a buffered aspirin every day. Luckily have not had any problems. The vet said its very possible to heal itself if they dont injure it continuously. Just what i have encountered