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Limping after hard running normal?

5K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  River 
#1 ·
Howdy,

Lasker (My 4 yr. old red male) loves to go "zoom and fetch" at the local schoolyard late in the afternoons. The only problem is that it seems like he has a slight limp after roughly half of our fetch sessions.
Lasker doesn't seem to be in any serious pain-he'd be the first to wimper if something hurts! Further, "zoom and fetch" is the highlight of his day. What to do?
My only observation is that the ground is somewhat uneven at the schoolyard. Further away is a highschool soccer field, whose surface seems more level. Have I answered my own question?
 
#3 ·
Howdy,

EmilyB: Usually the front leg. Never thought about that..wonder of that's significant? Lasker has also come up with a slight limp after fetching (He runs HARD!) at the soccer field, which has the flatter surface. His limp goes away after 12 hours or so, btw.
 
#4 ·
I don't want to alarm you, but lameness that came and went was the first sign of osteosarcoma in my girl.

I'm not saying it's that serious, but I don't think you should dismiss it just because it goes away.

BTW, how many times has it done this? If it is a sprain or something, you may need to do some crate rest.

I really would discuss it with your vet if it happens again.
 
#5 ·
Mocha will limp after running hard, on her hind legs, or she'll waddle... but she has severe HD and this is something we were told to expect. She's given pain medication for when it gets too bad and is on joint supplements otherwise plus this summer I want to get her introduced to a pool so she can swim and exercise her hips without hurting them as much.

Only time she limped after running on her fronts were when she broke two toes going over a stone hedge (built to keep her OUT of the garden!!!). She didn't yelp or show any signs of being in pain when we manipulated her foot or leg, but continued to limp. Two hairline fractures. The evening after she was seen by the vet she stopped favoring the foot.

I would get it checked out by a vet. It may be something as simple as growing pains or something more serious like a break or joint/bone problems.
 
#6 ·
Doberman's are actually notorious for being hard on their shoulders. I am a tech at an orthopedic vet hospital and my Dobe is actually dealing with a should injury right now. The vet who does the diagnostic ultrasounds and is head of the rehab part of the hospital has a Dobe as well and when I mentioned that Torque was limping she immediately suspected a shoulder injury. She said its in the way they are built.

I'd go to a vet and get it checked out. It sounds fairly chronic at this point, so I would definitely get to a vet to try to get to the source of the lameness. If your dog is limping it is in pain, whimpering or not. Do you always whine or groan if your leg hurts, or do you just limp along? You are probably going to have to cut out the "zoom and fetch" for a while and keep his activity restricted but at 4 years old he's got a good bit of life left and you don't want him to be in pain.
 
#9 ·
Glad you are going in.
 
#10 ·
Logan turned up limping on and off before he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma too. He also had hip displasia and arthritis- he was 6. Any of those can cause limping, and the vet will be able to tell if it's anything to worry about, or just a sprain or soft tissue injury.

And Griffin just sprained his front left wrist Tuesday. He's on two weeks of crate rest to let it heal. Sprains do feel better a couple days later, especially with Tramadol, so if your dog's leg is sprained, make him do the entire period of crate rest. Don't be fooled by the Dobergrin and bounce and hey lookit I feel GREAT.
 
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