What could be wrong with my dog's leg/s?

[MummyPenguin]

I have a female black Labrador who is nearly 5. For a long time now, she's had, on and off, an odd gait. When she's trotting along ahead of me I've noticed that she seems to have a 'hopping' 'bouncing' sort of gait on her hind legs. It's almost as if the hind legs aren't always working in unison with the normal 'scissor' action. This isn't happening all the time, but is becoming more frequent.

About 3 weeks ago we went to the beach and my dog was tearing around like a mad thing, and as we were leaving we noticed that she was limping very badly. She may have twisted or sprained something. After that outing we gave her a couple of days rest and since then have made sure that she doesn't over-exercise as we don't want it to flare up that badly again. Her hind legs haven't been quite right since this incident.

About 8 or 9 months ago she was hit by a car, she didn't take the full impact it sort of side swiped her. The car spun her round and knocked her a little way down the road. After a few moments she got up and limped over to me. She was limping after the accident, but not in the days or weeks following. She had a small cut on her chin but no other injuries that we, or our vet, could detect. Could this problem with her legs be related to the car accident? Or perhaps a degenerative thing? She had a good hip score as a puppy. Anyone got any idea what could be wrong? I've been monitoring it, but guess I should take her to the vets. I'm worried it could be bad news though and something that's probably going to get worse over time.

When she is on the lead does her head keep going down this sounds odd I know but I think that is a sign she is lame

I would take her to the vets because labs have a tendancy for hip problems

what was the parents hip scores like

its terrible when you have to take them to the vets it worries me as much as taking the children to the hospital !!

it could be something wrong with her hips or some arthritic changes in her joints following the accident.
Is she insured?, if so I would take her to the vet and get her hips/back end x rayed.

Hope she is better soon.
I have a 4 year old black lab and a 3 month old pup (mother and daughter) so I can sympathise.

It sounds more like hip dysplasia, I'm afraid. Your vet will probably do an xray. Its not the end of the world- most dogs with hip dysplasia only have problems after lots of exercise when young, although they do get arthritis in the hips when they are older, due to the incorrect anatomy of the joint. Do go to your vets, though, cos the sooner you treat/ manage it, the less damage it will cause.

Thanks for replies. I haven't noticed her head going down while she's on the lead. I couldn't tell you the parent's hip scores off the top of my head, but we have all the relevant paperwork (DH knows where it is!) and they were good scores.

We have another dog, a Golden Retriever, and he's quite a bit bigger than her, and has an unfortunate habit of 'humping' her. They're both neutered. We stop him immediately when he does it, and are trying to discipline him out of it. I spoke to the vet once about the humping habit and he said it's a learnt behaviour and it's difficult to break. They spend time together in the garden, and often romp roughly together, and I'm thinking perhaps I should prevent them doing this as it can't be helping her legs.

I will take her to the vets to be checked out. Yes, she's insured, so we don't have to worry too much about the cost.

I have noticed changes in her. She's always been a very hyper bouncy dog but has calmed down a lot, although this could be due to getting a bit older.

She walks along mostly ok then almost bunny hops on her hind legs? Sounds a lot like a luxating patella. These can be congenital (inherited) or traumatic. Less likely congenital in a labrador though, most common in small breeds. It is possible there was some unseen damage to the knee at the time of the RTA and with time this has progressed such the the kneecap slides out of place regularly now. If this is the case the vet should be able to detect it very easily and usually surgery would give good long term results.

Beautiful girls, do you mind if I ask a question? (Apologies for hijack)

I read that Jack Russells are prone to luxating patella. Would that be all JRs, or just the ones with dwarfish and distorted bowlegs?
I have a Parson Jack Russell, long-legged and without any limb distortion. Is it something I should look out for in him? Any preventitive measures?

Bow legs are much more pre-disposed to luxating patellae so sounds like your dog is at a lowish risk. Nothing you can do to prevent it if it is going to happen sadly, but if you notice the bunny hop gait even occasionally get the vet to check it and monitor it. It depends on the grade of the problem really as to if/when surgery is indicated. If left too long then the chances of later problems are higher (arthritis etc) and the surgery required is usually more involved too. Pet insurance is a good thing to have just in case though so long as no evidence of a problem before you take out the policy

Thanks very much beautifulgirls. Sounds like the most imp thing is to get to vets quickly if I should see him 'hopping'. Reassuring to know that he is at lowish risk.

I'm hoping that he will be a live-happily-for-16-years type of dog as he looks so physically balanced and natural. JRs have the longevity record, I think.