Sam is Limping
 We boarded him for 4 days over Christmas, and picked him up late yesterday morning. After getting home, lots of cuddles, and a bath (which he, of course, thought was unnecessary  ), we noticed that he was limping. Not all the time, just when he first gets up. We hadn't noticed it when we picked him up, but then, he had walked all the way from the back by the time we saw him. He only limps for the first several steps after laying/sitting for a while. The longer he has laid down, the worse the limp looks. But, in every case, after 15-20 steps, he is walking normally - even hopping around wanting to play. He doesn't show any other signs of pain (i.e. yelping or whimpering). Chris and I have both checked his paw and nails and felt his leg to see if there are any obvious deformities or tender areas. Nothing. No debris in the paw, nails look good (no cracks or splits), no tender spots, no structural differences from the other front leg. I've been debating calling or taking him to the emergency vet, but since he is better after walking a little, Chris wants me to wait until tomorrow morning and take him to our vet. After taking several children to the doctor with fevers, only to have the fever be mysteriously absent at the dr office , I did video him limping, and I also videoed him walking fine (and doing the sheepie hop trying to get Chris to play tug) just a few minutes later. I tried to upload the videos to YouTube to post them, but the 'normal gait' one won't upload  (see, mysteriously disappeared). At least it's on my phone to show the vet. Any thoughts, suggestions, and prayers would be appreciated. I just want to fix it so my sweet little boy feels all better. |
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| have you called the kennel to ask them if something happened while he was there? Our Luna had a mystery limp for the first couple years; and then it was gone. She's play hard, limp for 5 minutes or 30 minutes, and then nothing for day or even weeks afterward. Then it would come back. After many trips to the vet, we decided it was just growing pains, and she did indeed grow out of it. |
| He was actually boarded at the vet's and they said everything went well. But, if he had already gotten up before they took him out, they may not have seen it. I have been searching on here and was planning on asking about growing pains if they can't find anything else. |
| I noticed that Sam is about 8 months old. When Heart was about 7 months, she began to limp. But the 'limp' was not always the same leg. I took her to my vet who diagnosed Panosteitis (Pano for short). It had something to do with Heart being on puppy food. I didn't understand it, but was told that it was nothing serious and it would go away once a switched her food to the adult kind, and it did. I am not saying that Sam has Pano, I am just relaying my experince with Heart. I would do what you are going to do...take him to your vet. Good Luck and Keep us posted...  |
| My 1st thought was pano too. Keeping them on puppy food too long (or too rich of an adult food) is the usual culprit. Dietary modification usually is the way to 'cure' it, nice when things are so easily fixed.  There have been discussions here about it - if you do a forum search they should come up. And it is something you could wait for your regular vet anyway, no trip to the emergency vet for sure (unless something drastically changes....but from your description it sounds minor). |
got sheep wrote: There have been discussions here about it - if you do a forum search they should come up. I actually read a couple (and the accompanying link) last night. That's what persuaded me to wait until Monday. It is always the same leg. He looks so pitiful when he gets up, it makes me hurt for him. Then, the next thing you know, he's tearing down the hall chasing the cat like always.  He is a little over 80 lbs (81.4 as of Christmas Eve). He doesn't really look overweight, although I admit I haven't really given his rib cage a good feel lately. I know his dad is around 90 lbs, so I hadn't really thought that much about his weight. I had planned on keeping him on the puppy food until a year old, but maybe he needs to switch earlier. :pmt: I'll let you know what the vet says tomorrow. |
| Also remember he is still growing. Differences in growth points can create an imbalance that corrects itself in a few weeks. Change the food as pano is a good probability, no "excessive" exercise (cat chasing in not excessive...........herding sheep, lure course and sled pulling would be excessive). Time should heal all, a short course analgesic....naw, sheepdogs are tough, just try to keep him "quiet." |
| He may have sprained it. Try to keep him from running on it or jumping a few days. Do you have Dermanex? I keep that on hand here and give a small does when my two start to limp. Bowie was doing this after a trip to the groomer. A few days rest, leash walks only and no jumping he was fine. He is 7 years old now and about 108 pounds. Hope your baby feels better. rest rest rest.... |
| My first thoughts were Pano too. I have a neighbor who had a puppy with this and yes when she changed the food, it cleared up rather quickly. This dog was a Mastiff and was about 98 lbs at 6 months when it started. Also very possible that he sprained it or hurt it when being boarded. Maybe jumped down from something etc. Good thing is that he seems to 'recover' like it is stiff or something when he first gets up. Let us know what your vet says--glad you have a video to show him (or her) that helps! Hugs to Sam!! |
| I have no suggestions at all, but sounds like others may have pin pointed it. Just sending you some encouragement and hugs to get you through. Nothing is worse than worry over our pups And a great video idea  They always have an 80% improvement going through the vet's front door  |
| Winston was the same way; his limp would come and go as well as go from side to side. No sign of tenderness or weakness. Or a willingness to slow down! His lasted for a month or 2. |
| Thanks for all the suggestions and support! Sam's appointment is at 11:30 this morning. Our vet has a website with a Pet Portal for patients to use. They have an info section that includes Pano. I printed out the sheet to take with me so I don't forget any questions I have. I'm going to see what they (not sure which doc I'm seeing - there are 4 in the office) say first before I mention it. I don't want to sway an opinion and possibly cause something else to be overlooked. I'll let you guys know what the verdict is when we get home. You guys are awesome!  |
| Sometimes when it looks like it is the shoulder or elbow maybe, it can be something like a stoved toe that will cause the reaction. I save the emergency clinics for life & death situations. Most times they will check the dog over in a case like this, take some x-rays & send you home with nothing conclusive & tell you to call you own vet in the morning. After charging you an arm & a leg. Not saying they don't do a good job in other cases & aren't needed but I am selective in when I use them. As for the puppy food.....we used to change ours to the adult formulas around 5 months of age. A few years ago we started weaning them off the nursing mother right onto the adult food that the mother was eating....in our case Purina Pro Plan Sensible Skin & Stomach. Of course we started out with it blended into "mush" & gradually moved to "soaked" & then to dry kibble around 6 months of age. |
The vet said he thinks Sam has a sprain/strain in his foot. He found a sensitive area I hadn't found. Of course, he knew how and where to apply pressure.  Anyway, he is on 5 days of anti-inflammatories and limited activity for about a week. Yeah, don't know how easy that one will be either. The cats are going to enjoy a little time with the whole upstairs as their own private (and contained) kingdom. Maybe that will help. We go back in 10 days for a recheck. We did discuss the possibility of Pano. If Sam's still having problems at the recheck (or if it comes back), we will X-ray to check. As a side note, he loved that I had video of how Sam had been acting since, of course, he was fine while we were there. I wish I had a pic of Sam loving on the vet. He just kept talking while Sam got on his lap and licked his chin thoroughly.  Our vet is amazing! He loves herding breeds, so I always get lots of good information while I'm there. We talked about bloat and signs to look for. Then, the part lots of you will like, we talked about agility and herding. He has Border Collies and just bought 5 sheep for them to be able to herd at home. Maybe Sam can charm him enough to let us visit sometime.  Thank you all so much for all your help and support! I'll keep you posted. |
| Sounds like Sam is a real terror in the vet's office. He could have sprained something getting a paw caught in the fencing wire while the "talked" with all the other guests. My guys would come home hoarse from all the barking. Give him a few days rest. |
| I hope rest and some anti-inflammatories make Sam feel better. Good luck with the resting part - that's always a challenge when they are young and full of it! Good job with the video too...see, you needed it!  |
Sam's limp is gone!  He still has one more dose of the meds tomorrow, but he's had no evidence of a limp today. He felt a little under the weather this morning, but, thankfully, was back to his boisterous (and hard to keep calm) self this evening. |
 Hoping that Sam's limp remains a thing of the past. |
| Hope all is settled for good now. |
| Good news!!!! |
| Has anyone heard of Lupoid onchofibrosis? This is what the vet called our dogs limp. Auto immune in nature, attacking nail beds... |
| No I haven't. Is it anything like Lupoid onychodystrophy. Autoimmune disease that attacks the nail beds. Needs aggressive management. But I don't know much about the above either as it turned out my dog didn't have it. |
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