What are the possibilities for my puppy limping?

Question

My boyfriend and I went to put gas in the car and came back, and my 5 month old is limping around, favoring one of his back legs. Is it possible that my 4 month old bit him too hard while playing, or what else could it be? My vet is closed but if it is still happening tomorrow, I will take him then. Thanks for your help

we have tried to examine it and my bf put pressure on it and squeezed it, he didn't help or anything, squirmed only a little. Thanks you guys you are always so helpful

Help = yelp. lol

UCD grad, lol, sorry yes two puppies. I would never leave a 4 month old alone!!! especially with my crazy Bailey. :) Right as I write this, he's still playing with Rylee but favoring that leg

Answer 1

Are you for real? Just in posts,
your puppies have been limping,
eaten a whole bag of pork rinds,
eaten an entire case of lifesavers,
your puppy has eaten a bee,
licks his pee,
humps the other dog,
pees all over the place,
throws up constantly,
has eaten chocolate,
you don't know how to housebreak them,
you don't know when they are fully grown,
your puppies nap too much,
you don't know how to train them,
you want to know why they fart so much,
you want to know if they are autistic,
you hate liberals,
you don't like sex with your boyfriend,
you sleep separately from your boyfriend,
you want to know about picking boogers,

and much much more.

I think it's time to get some friends and give the puppies back to the breeder. Oh wait, you would have had to have a reputable breeder to do that, and I'm guessing you didn't. You obviously did not prepare for the dogs and now you have put them at great risk, if you actually have dogs, by allowing them to get into everything in your house and by not supervising them. Seriously, if these dogs are real, and you aren't just a troll, buy some puppy books at petsmart. Your dogs are going to get into something that won't be OK and they'll be dead and it will be you and your boyfriend's fault. Take some responsibility in your life and start doing some research on your own. You should have been prepared to have puppies, not running around letting them eat lifesavers, pork rinds, bees, and hurt each others legs. I don't know that you are ready for a dog, much less two puppies. Do some research and be prepared for future occourances, this way you won't have to run to a bunch of strangers every 5 minutes with ridiuclous questions and questions you need to be asking a vet.

To answer your question, yes, the other dog could have bitten him. He could have jumped off something too high and now his leg, pelvis, hip is broken. This means probably a $1000 surgery, do you have that put aside for your dogs? He could also have blown out his ACL. Another $1000+ for that surgery. He could have bone cancer, hip dysplasia, and a host of other diseases. Did you breeder give you a health guarantee? Do you know the genetic problems with the last 3+ generations in his line? Are there any anamolies?

Answer 2

No one else mentioned this, so here is another possibility. Ok, there is a condition called panosteitis which is :

What is panosteitis?

Panosteitis is a bone disease of dogs that is characterized by bone proliferation and remodeling. It is often painful and can last as long as 18 months, though more commonly it lasts from 2 to 5 months. It is characterized by lameness that often comes and goes and changes from leg to leg. It is a common problem in several large breeds and the cause is currently unknown. The treatment is symptomatic but the outcome is usually very good.
Who gets panosteitis?

Panosteitis is most common in large breed dogs between 6 and 18 months of age.
Panosteitis is most common in large breed dogs between 6 and 18 months of age. Occasionally, middle-aged German Shepherds will have a bout of panosteitis. It affects dogs worldwide and has been recognized and studied since the 1950's. Male dogs are much more likely to get panosteitis then females. There is a higher incidence in several breeds including German Shepherds, Great Danes, Doberman Pinschers, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Rottweilers, and Basset Hounds.


Now I am Not saying your pup has this - that this may be a possiblility because of the age. Pano can 'travel' from leg to leg to leg. It is not uncommon for the pup to limp on one leg and then another and go back to limping on the first leg. This can be diagnosed by an x-ray - at least that is how my gsd pup was diagnosed.

Good Luck! I hope you find the reason for the limping soon!

Answer 3

A pulled muscle or a sprain is a likely explanation, but there are others: interdigital cyst between the toes; mild hip dysplasia; toenails too long and causing him to overuse his leg; closed over puncture wound that's now infected; fungal infection in the paw pads; etc.

Since it came on so suddenly, I suspect that it's probably a sprain or pulled muscle, though. If your vet OK's it, most dogs can be given a baby asprin for the pain. The caveat is that the dog often feels better, starts to play more, and stresses the injury out even worse. So keep him quiet if you do get permission to give him an asprin.*

Hope that helps and your pupster feels better soon.

* NOT Tylenol or other pain-killers. They are bad for dogs. Just pure asprin.

Edit:

The person below has a good point about the pano. That'd be about the right age for panosteitis to kick in, and it can have a sudden onset. One minute, my Husky and Shepherd would be fine, and the next minute, they'd be limping.

That's another possibility for the vet to check out.

Answer 4

I agree with everyone, you should see a vet. What do you feed your dog? I had a rotty and I fed him IAMs food...he developed a limp, which the vet contributed to the food (Eukaneuba). He said it can make a large breed grow too fast and cause limping.... I don't know if this is true, but I switched to another diet and he stopped limping. That's probably not your dog's problem, but I was curious about the food. Good luck with the vet.

Answer 5

Vets usually like it if you give something like a limp a week or more. If you haven't found anything right away and you think it was because of your other dog give it a little time to see if it clears up or gets worse. More than likely if he was bit and there is an infection it will show in a couple of days. If there is nothing and the dog continues to not improve then go see the vet. If he improves then don't worry he will be fine.

Answer 6

Limping is a symptom of pain. What caused the pain is the question. So you left your kid and your puppy alone together??? Or are you talking about 2 different puppies? Unless you see some sort of surface lacerations/ bleeding, the pain is probably not from the other one biting him.
It's probably a pulled muscle, and if it's not so bad that he can't walk, it'll probably heal itself. Check his paws and in between the pads for any sort of wounds. Even if nothing's there anymore, it could still be painful -- like a bruise. If you notice swelling/ increased swelling or if the limp gets worse, take your puppy to the vet. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

Check his leg for bite marks...it could be that he jumped too far down or fell, and hurt his back leg. I think tomorrow is soon enough, unless he is crying in pain...then you should take him to an emergency vet. Good luck!

Answer 8

Check his paw. He may have a thorn or something in there. Even a pebble could get lodged in between his pads. Hopefully it's something that simple.

Answer 9

he could have stepped on something and got it sore or got it stuck in something like a door or under the couch sometimes dogs do that he may have even jumped down to hard on it and twisted it jsut like us and our feet! well good luck i hope it isnt anything serious!

Answer 10

It fell off the refrigerator