leg problem

[trailratedtj]

monday night after work i came home and did the usual, let the dog out, played for a bit then came inside and fed him, which led to him taking a nap after finishing.

the problem....after he woke up from his nap he came in the living room limping. i instantly checked him out to which i found nothing. he seems to not want to put all his wieght on his left from leg. it only bothers him when he's casually walking or or sitting(when he sits he slightly lifts the paw in question). after he wakes from a nap the limp is worst but quickly gets better. He can run on it, wrestle with it, jump sky high on it, but like i said if its just slight wieght he lifts it like it annoys him.

its now wednesday and he still limping on it. i check his nails and trimmed them, i also inspected them for cracks, his pads are fine, and his joints seem to be fine when i flex them. i even flexed them till it was applying pressure and that didnt trigger any yelp or discomfort.

what do u guys think it could be? do i wait and see if it will heel itself?

its jus funny it only bothers him with normal weight but not with hard pressure.

Daniel

[LABS4ME]

How old?

if he's 9-14 months old, it could be pan-ostiosis (itis?). That is a fancy name for a type of growing pain. The bone has grown but is not fully filled in and is tender.

Sometimes that is the 1st clinical sign of lyme disease.

It could be a myriad of other things that are next to impossible to diagnose over the internet... If it goes 3 days you may want to put a call into the vet.

Good Luck!

Ken

[gspman]

I'd put your dog up (restrict it's physical activity) for another day or so and if it's not better then a trip to the vet may be in order. Like Ken said, it could be many things. I had a pup once with osteochondritis in the front leg that limped. Could be just a strain. Give it another day or so.

[trailratedtj]

well its now the third day and still going. he is 10 months old and around 90 pounds fit and in great shape besides the his paw/leg. The vet did warn me wehen he was 12 weeks that with his large joints he would experience growing pains, but his growth rate has slowed greatly in the pass 2 months.

should i carry him to the vet this afternoon.

[BLACKJACK]

Vets have the training and experience to diagnose these problems. When my dog was limping I poked and prodded and didn't see anything out of the normal but the vet was able to point out the swelling of her joints and pus around her toenails. Give him another day or two of inactivity and then take him into the professional to get checked out.

[Longline]

If he is still having the problem tonight I would take him in tomorrow as it won't be till probably next wed. that the vet will be open again with x-mas and all. Hate for you to to wait that long if there is a problem.

[trailratedtj]

so yesterday i got a vet appointment but since i had to fly out to alabama for the holidays my fiance ended up carrying him in.

he weighed in at 95lbs+(he wouldnt hold still enough for a correct reading)@ 10 months old. anyways, since my fiance carried him in she couldnt handle him very well, so the vet couldnt do xrays, so now next weeks he will be getting sedated and xrayed. The vet did say he has very strong symtoms of OCD.

Question is....if it is OCD do i contact the breeder? I would hate to lose him but @ 10 months old id rather cut my loses and get a new pup or a refund if the breeder agreed. the vet said that OCD is hereditary(spelling?) but they cant prove it and that breeders use this so they dont have to hand out a free pup and take a lame one.

Also if it is OCD and i do chalk up the money on the surgery whats they chances of the OCD flaring and happening again? he's a big boy and not fat at all and the vet says he has at least 5 more months of growing to do. So this cartilage that it effects could break up again.

anyways...what would you guys do?