Dog limping - not distressed and no signs of injury

[DunderMifflin]

We rehomed a dog a week ago - he’s a JR / Border Terrier cross so quite active!

Yesterday we noticed him limping on one of his back legs - we can't see anything wrong with it, he let's us touch it without complaint and is his usual happy self (wants to walk, eager to run, eating, etc).

Is this a muscle strain because he's now getting two walks a day (he hadn't been walked for weeks with his former owner ??).

Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcomed!

JRTs often have a limp on a back leg. I would just keep an eye on it if he is happy/moving ok/lets you touch/move the leg. If you are due to visit the vets at any time ask them then.

How exactly is he limping?

If he is holding the leg out and stiff for a stride or two then back to normal it's likely to be luxating patella. It's a common problem in small breeds, the severity varies from dog to dog. Many just pop it back in and continue as normal, others need help including surgery.

If he is still placing the leg down but with uneven weight distribution in the strides it could be anything from a sore pad to hip problems.

Either way you need to get him seen by a vet in the next few days to get a proper diagnosis.

Might be worth having a really close look at his paw, my lab's had a couple of limping episodes caused by tiny fragment ? thorn stuck in the pad. I had to use a magnifying glass to find the second one.

His paw pad looks fine and he doesn't mind us touching or even gently pressing it.

In terms of how he's limping - he holds it up for a few strides and then down for a couple.

My Jack Russell has been doing this for nine years! There is nothing wrong with him, it seems to be a Jack Russell thing to do to lull you into a false sense of security before running off on all four legs after a squirrel

That sounds like a luxating patella. He needs to see a vet to assess how severe it is and whether anything needs to be done about it. On the positive side many dogs live with the milder form of this condition with no interventions and no deterioration in their quality of life.

Ha ha - he definitely runs after the ball with his usual vigour! Thanks for the patella advice - we'll take him to the vet after the BH and hope it's nothing serious as he's fairly young still.

We had this recently with GirlDog a couple of weeks out of the rescue. Perfectly find in herself, racing around, then holding her leg up and limping a bit. After X-rays, blood tests huge amounts if month to the vets he established that there was no problem and perhaps a muscle strain from increased amounts if exercise

Hope it's this simple!

Oh thanks SBN (great name - I'm picturing its mighty squashedness now!) - I hope so too.

Little terriers are notorious for knee problems so it may well be luxating patella. One of mine will set off for a walk fine, but half way through will be running on three legs. He doesn't register any pain on examination, but will happily run off again still on three legs. It does seem worse in cold or damp weather and when we have a very long walk after a few days of limited exercise. When he squats he lifts this leg a little; I assume to take the pressure off. The vet is keeping an eye on it to see if surgery is needed, but at present has suggested joint supplements.

Thanks for this - I'm going to ring the vet tomorrow and make an appointment. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

My collie x terrier used to do this too. I used to rub her pads and joints, on a walk, then she would behave as if nothing had happened. Get could never find anything wrong.
I once or twice carried her too and she was 15 kg exercise for me!

Some of these dogs (if indeed it is a luxating patella) do really well with physiotherapy.