If you have any experience with older dogs, would you please let me know if this situation has ever occurred for you and if so, what you did and what was the outcome? About a month ago our older **** hound mix (11-ish) started limping slightly. Over a couple of days it turned into a situation where he was barely walking, had rapid breathing (although not panting) and we thought he was dying. X-rays revealed NO breaks and a completely healthy bone structure with no tumors. Vet thought it was a bad muscle sprain/tear. He was put on extra pain meds and muscle relaxers. He seemed to get better for a bit but now we are back to where we started. He is barely walking right now, rapid breathing and just standing and barking. I will be calling the vet first thing in the morning. Please, if you have had a similar situation, let me know what you did for your furry friend.
Help! My dog is limping.
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Did you rest him and allow the injury to heal? We went through a few episodes of our dog limping and the only thing that helped was about 6 weeks of limited activity - no running, jumping, rough housing, etc. We took relatively short leashed walks, but that was about it.
I'd still have the vet take another look just to be sure.
I'd still have the vet take another look just to be sure.
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Hi @candi1228!
Welcome to DF!
A similar thing happened just this weekend to my pup. She isn't old though. She's only a few months old. I put her out in the backyard and ran upstairs to grab something. She was unattended for 2 minutes, max. When I went outside, she was laying down near the picnic table, whining a little. I went over. She looked fine. I asked her to stand up and walk over to me, limp. I suspect she was on the picnic table (naughty pup) and fell off.
I felt really bad about it. I called my vet and he said to keep an eye on her and make her rest. If she insists on jumping around, crate. She has an appointment on Tuesday anyway for vaccines so he'll look at her then. If any new symptoms appear, or if hers worsen, take her right in. After only a day of rest, she looks much better.
Since your pup is older, he may need a much longer rest time. That's my really long winded way of saying to rest him and call the vet if any new or worse symptoms appear.
Welcome to DF!
A similar thing happened just this weekend to my pup. She isn't old though. She's only a few months old. I put her out in the backyard and ran upstairs to grab something. She was unattended for 2 minutes, max. When I went outside, she was laying down near the picnic table, whining a little. I went over. She looked fine. I asked her to stand up and walk over to me, limp. I suspect she was on the picnic table (naughty pup) and fell off.
I felt really bad about it. I called my vet and he said to keep an eye on her and make her rest. If she insists on jumping around, crate. She has an appointment on Tuesday anyway for vaccines so he'll look at her then. If any new symptoms appear, or if hers worsen, take her right in. After only a day of rest, she looks much better. Since your pup is older, he may need a much longer rest time. That's my really long winded way of saying to rest him and call the vet if any new or worse symptoms appear.
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Hi Candi,
Our 8-year-old cockapoo had a similar experience three times these last few months with a right front paw limp. It was scary the first time, as it appeared with a fever and lethargy so that she almost would not move and the vet almost hospitalized her. The vet prescribed antibiotics, we nursed her at home, and she got well slowly, and then she was fine.
The second time, months later, she had an infected nail bed (same foot) that we couldn't see (very shaggy fur on feet). She was prescribed antibiotics and got well.
This last time she had no infection but was limping with the same foot, but really had a very irritated left foot (allergies) that we had to spray with a cortisone spray for dogs who have skin allergies (and our dog has allergies in general). We also had her nails cut (they had been pretty long), and she was better in two days.
For our dog, due to her allergies and sensitive feet, keeping her nails short and keeping her feet washed twice a week with a special shampoo (from the vet) seems to help her. Like your dog, she has no joint or bone problems and she passed her physical with a clean bill of health, except for the limp.
Our 8-year-old cockapoo had a similar experience three times these last few months with a right front paw limp. It was scary the first time, as it appeared with a fever and lethargy so that she almost would not move and the vet almost hospitalized her. The vet prescribed antibiotics, we nursed her at home, and she got well slowly, and then she was fine.
The second time, months later, she had an infected nail bed (same foot) that we couldn't see (very shaggy fur on feet). She was prescribed antibiotics and got well.
This last time she had no infection but was limping with the same foot, but really had a very irritated left foot (allergies) that we had to spray with a cortisone spray for dogs who have skin allergies (and our dog has allergies in general). We also had her nails cut (they had been pretty long), and she was better in two days.
For our dog, due to her allergies and sensitive feet, keeping her nails short and keeping her feet washed twice a week with a special shampoo (from the vet) seems to help her. Like your dog, she has no joint or bone problems and she passed her physical with a clean bill of health, except for the limp.
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