Dog has started limping

[Excitedannie]

20 month old cocker spaniel has just started limping - it's not all the time but she starts walking and then limps. I've tried moving the foot, leg and hip and she doesn't complain, and I've just seen her scratch her ear with that leg. Still limping though! I haven't taken her out for a walk today as I'm so worried that it will cause damage, and she's acting like I'm the worst owner in the world! Help!

I feel so sad. I don't really have anyone I can talk to in real life and I know I'm over thinking this and worrying so much. She's on rest for a week and she's already howling at the back door, but my garden has 10 steps up to it, so she cant even go up there. I keep going to the worst case scenario and how she might not be able to run and jump and do all the things she loves doing. And the worst bit is - they just don't understand 😭

If it’s patellar luxation then it’s really treatable especially low grade. Exercises, physio and keeping the muscles strong to stabilise the joint. Lots of dogs do agility with LP and it can actually help. Ask for a referral from your vet which if they suspect LP they’ll do anyway.

Thank you. Honestly - don't we just adore these little things! I'm trying to work but keep crying!!!!!!!! She's bored as well - I'm trying to get her down a kilo so I'm can't really do treat based activities, but I'll have to start using some of her meal allowance

Mine had a luxating patella and hers presented with her walking ok, if slower than usual, and then doing a hop with the leg with the issue. I videoed it as it was so odd and a cocker spaniel group on Facebook said what it was. I think we had it checked, can't remember now, but again rest building back up with short lead walks.
Hope yours is back up and running very soon

Edited to add, we made sure ours lost some weight. She wasn't overweight as such but any extra weight adds pressure to joints. She is now 11kg and 5 years ago she was 13.6kg. She's a show cocker so not large but she does have a broad ribcage.
She also has a Yumove joint care tablet a day which I think has helped her. She is on a higher dose one now due to her more senior age.

Thank you so much for responding - you've calmed me slightly! I've got this image of her never being able to run again which I know is dramatic - I don't even know if it's that or not but to be honest, you've described exactly what she's doing. She doesn't seem to care a dot - currently up on her back legs trying to get me to give her dinner!!!! I'll look into the vitamins. Did your dog go back to her/his normal self?

She did. Like my previous rather long (sorry) post said she has had various joint issues and lumps over the years and she is doing so well. We have had her from 8 weeks and she will be 12 in May. She has always bounced back but you need to take things slowly as they will go back to running full pelt and be back to square one. A few days or weeks rest to be sure is better than the issue dragging on

Thanks - really appreciate you coming back to me and I enjoyed the long post! Rest it is and some of her food allowance taken out of her meals to make fun games I guess!

Bit of an update.

Dog limped once on Sunday and once yesterday morning so I took her back to the vet just now as originally planned. They've had another good feel - can't see/feel anything obvious in the hip, knee, paw except she is quite stiff and resistant, but then realise she was the same on the other side.

So, they've given me the option to have Xrays done under sedation. It will cost approx £1k, but they would xray the knees, hips etc or the other choice is to leave her on rest and see what happens. She's absolutely not bothered at and is fine in herself, but she is frustrated as she is still on "rest".

I don't know what to do. One part of me wants to have the x-rays to just see what's what - the other part of me thinks that as a vet, they have to say this as an option. Help me out please!!!!

I’d have the x rays.

She's very young to be showing signs of stiffness and resistance - I would be opting for x-rays at this point.

Did they say why she may be stiff and resistant ?

and did they explain what they would be looking for in x rays ?

my darling dog did this to me as a puppy. On a Saturday. I was frantic straight to out of hours vets she hopped about vet checked her over, absolutely fine! My purse wasn’t. They do make us worry. They both will randomly lift their front paws like they can’t possibly put any weight on it and they’re absolutely fine. I know them a bit better now so panic a little less. Not eating and licking lips is a sign of pain too

Not particularly- I think they meant that she wasn't keen on being examined and pulled around in either side - not necessarily just the one she had limped on. They didn't say that they were looking for anything in particular, more that they were doing it because the obvious ones such as patella luxation and hip dysplasia weren't obvious from the exam

The thing with orthopaedics is that the earlier the issues are dealt with the better the long term prospects. If you leave it arthritis can set in and that’s irreversible.

@Excitedannie

How is doggie now ?

Did you decide re the x rays ?

My dog has developed a limp over the past few days. It seems to be when she has had a walk and then been resting. It doesn't hurt to touch and she is (foolishly) still going up and down stairs and jumping on the sofa. We are doing shorter lead walks an after a bit of googling it seems it might be arthritis of some sort. I've doubled her Yumove to see if that does anything, but if she is still like this in a week or so then we'll be off to her favourite place.

My dog had sporadic limping for 3 months, finally vet referred him for an xray and he had a torn cruciate ligament (very common)

£8000 surgery later and he’s now right as rain (thank god for insurance!). The issue is that there is likely to be a chance the other leg could also go in years to come

We had x rays on all of our pups legs when she was a puppy- cost about £400 tho not £1k! They said hip dyspalsia. Now she’s 3.5 and she has arthritis in the back hips - lots of stiffness there. She’s on you move now and I think it’s making a difference- no limping and the way she bounds around you’d never know she had an issue. We don’t do any playing fetch with the ball any more and are careful with her exercise which has probably also helped. When she’s older and if she declines we will give her librella injections but she doesn’t need them as yet

Ahh thank you for asking! So we went back last Tuesday to see the orthopaedic specialise who had a good feel around her ankles, knees and hips, and couldn't find anything concerning over than her resistance to have either hip extended which he said could just be her as some dogs don't like it. Anyway, she had the x-rays done and they came back as "fairly boring" according to the vet which was music to my ears! He suggested it was probably soft tissue injury and another two weeks on 2 x 15 min rest walks a day. Touch wood she seems fine thank goodness, other than bored! We're doing a fair amount of enrichment but wow it's hard!!!! Cost was £860 but it helped my peace of mind and sanity. I've been and bought some memory foam mats so she's not jumping off the sofa onto hard floor - I know, I know, I'm mad and she's a spaniel!!!!!!!!! She's also gone on YuMove as well.

Hope yours improves soon @longtompot!