Hi All, our 2.5 year old lab has recently started favoring her rear leg (as in holding it up and not letting it touch the ground) for a while after she has been laying down for a while.

It mainly happens when she's been outside for a while, and it is only her left leg since she seems to lay down on that side most often. After a while, say 5-10 minutes she'll start using it again and all, and there is no tenderness there when I rub or massage it firmly.

Of course my big concern is if this is a beginning sign of hip displasia? If it is, what sort of supplements and other therapy can I start doing to help keep her healthy for as long as possible?

Unfortunately as most everyone can guess, her most favorite thing in the entire world is to fetch frisbees, but at least I have water that I can toss it into, but I've never had a dog with this before and hopefully it is something else but thought I'd post it here for the learneds to educate me on.

Thanks all!

There are way too many possibilities to narrow it down in here, but dysplasia is certainly on the list. If she really had it bad, I'd think it would have shown up in some limping, favoring that leg behavior before now, tho. It could be almost anything including a bone spur or some kind of strain.

You've got two choices, hope it gets better, or take her to a GOOD (and they aren't easy to find) dog vet and see what is causing it. I'd vote for the latter unless finances are really tight.

I had a really fine Lab that had mild dysplasia in one hip, he hunted fine but after about 10 years old, when he got tired and his hip hurt, he'd head for the truck. He'd give it all he had until that was used up and then he was done. Best dog I've ever owned. I wish now, in retrospect, that I had bred him, dysplasia and all. He lived to 15 when cancer got him.

Unless things have progressed in the last few years, I don't think there is really much you can give a dog with dyplasia to help, except for symptomatic relief, since it is basically a hip joint malformation, except anti-imflammatories which have their own set of problems. Rimadyl seems to be the pill of choice these days.

There is simply no way to tell. Take your dog to a vet and do it NOW!

465H&H

Follow the advice that the others have given you and get that dog to a good Vet. My first lab displayed similar symptons and it turned out to be cruciate ligaments in the knee. Surgery brought her back to hunting form.

Mark, the best sure fire way to know what is going on with your dog, is as others have stated, take the dog to a Vet that has lots of hunting dog experience behind he or she.

The dog could have bruised the leg, check the foot well for any hidden thorn or possible cut between toes......sometimes owners fail to do those inspections.

All the above is good advice.

Get him to a good veterinary orthopedic surgeon. I had a slight limp develop after a hunt with my Gordon, then 2 weeks later he had the rear leg he was already favoring slip on some ice and that was it. He picked up th eleg and would not use it. Turned out to be the ligaments and we opted for a TPLO repair. It was a challenging recovery for the first few days because Cooper is a bit of a sissy, and so am I when it comes to him.

Cruciate Ligament tears are quite common in Labs...that would be my first suspicion. It is fairly well established that this defect is genetically passed on...so a little background checking on kennels is a good idea.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:I had a really fine Lab that had mild dysplasia in one hip... I wish now, in retrospect, that I had bred him, dysplasia and all.
.....

The only way that we can minimize the rate of H.P. is to NOT breed dogs like your lab. To breed a dog like that is irresponsible. Too many backyard breeders that breed dogs with flaws are the reason that we have so many cases of H.P. in the US.

Mark,

Any updates for us?

Just finished teaching a week-long "total immersion" type of class this morning, so I finally have some breathing room!

Anyway, here is an update for all who are interested and have contributed a lot of info so far-

Most vets down here focus on livestock, but I finally got a recommendation from an acquaintance I respect who also has a kennel and works with dogs so I have no concerns about the competency of the vet. I have another busy week next week but at least can make an appointment and get the ball rolling.

I'll post what the vet says about her after the appt to keep everyone up to date, and thanks again for the opinions and suggestions!

It has been three weeks since you first came on here asking about your limping dog. If it had been my dog he would have been to a vet the day I saw him limping.

465H&H

I guess you can do what you want with your dog and he'll do what he has time and money for with his. I hope you don't fall off that high horse someday.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
I guess you can do what you want with your dog and he'll do what he has time and money for with his. I hope you don't fall off that high horse someday.

Are you saying it is alright to neglect your dog? It seems that you are the one on the high horse. If you can't afford or don't have time to take care of animal the right thing to do is give him to someone that can. The dog can not take care of himself, it is up to the owner.

465H&H

I love and enjoy my labs but when you get right down to it, they're dogs. What condition do you know of that would have gotten substantially worse in 3 weeks, given the symptons described, and the prognosis would have sustantially deteriorated in that time period. Yeah, right.....there aren't many or any. Like anything else it depends, a medical emergency for a dog, sure I'll drop everything and take him to help, but this is not an emergency. Saddle up........

If the dog is limping it probably means it is in pain. That to me is a medical emergency. How long would you sit around limping and in pain before you sought medical help?

465H&H

Weeks or months since you asked. I only go to doctors as a last resort.

quote:

Originally posted by Mark:
Of course my big concern is if this is a beginning sign of hip displasia? If it is, what sort of supplements and other therapy can I start doing to help keep her healthy for as long as possible?

Unfortunately as most everyone can guess, her most favorite thing in the entire world is to fetch frisbees, but at least I have water that I can toss it into, but I've never had a dog with this before and hopefully it is something else but thought I'd post it here for the learneds to educate me on.

Thanks all!

Glucosamine is a supplement I started giving my dogs a few years ago that over a period of time really benefits their joints. Some say they see overnight results from it, I'm not buying that, but I have noticed positive effects on my older lab over a period of time. Glucosamine is better suited as a preventative supplement than a "cure", but you will notice a difference after a few weeks if your dog has joint problems.

If your dog is displastic it's displastic, no supplements are going to change that. But, dogs that are displastic can live long healthy and pain free lives if you proactively manage their health rather than react to problems. At 2.5 years old, you dog is done growing and your vet can send hip xrays to OFA (orthapedic foundation for animials) to have her hips graded by an expert. The vet I use has enough experience with hips that I trust his judgement on reading the hip xray and tell me where we stand......saves me money not having to have the xrays sent off. If I planned on having a dog bred, I'd have the hips registered just to have them documented.

One of the best things Lab owners can do for their dogs health, especially of their hips and elbows is to ration their feed. You should be able to feel ribs and they should have a trim, muscular look to them. Carrying all that extra weight that most labs do wreaks havoc on their joints.

ETA: Don't get roped into buying expensive Glucosamine from a vet supply or pet store. Go to Sams or Costco and by a 1000ct bottle for ten or twenty bucks. My dogs and I take glucosamine out of the same bottle......it'll help your joints as well.

ACL gone bad ,very common in Labs and other breeds ,surgery will fix it,it's a slow recovery ,and not perfect....if you don't fix it the other leg is likely to fail .....

If she tries to lift her leg even when she sits ...it's a bad ACL ...very painfull,but dogs don't show the pain we would ....they don't have "sick days"....Jim