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Limping issue

stromboy84

New member
I'm new to the forum, so I'll thank you in advance. I have a one and a half year old Cavalier, Jackson, who has had a limping issue for the last two months or so. Here's how it goes:

-It's only his back right leg that limps.
-He only limps when he gets up from sleeping, so maybe 2 or 3 times a day.
-When he gets up, he only limps for maybe 10 seconds, before he walks it off.
-He never seems to be in pain.
-He doesn't seem to care when his leg is manipulated (the vet was pretty forceful with it, and he really didn't care).
-The vet said nothing is broken. (Obviously, if something was broken, I would know the problem)
-We had him on Rimadyl for about two weeks, during which the limp went away. However, when he went off it, it came back.
-He has no problem running around, jumping or any other physical activity.
-He has not gained weight, is eating normally, doesn't seem lethargic, and his mood and demeanor has not changed at all.
-He does get some salmon oil with his food.

Okay, so I'm obviously worried the most about hip dysplasia or arthritis. He's still pretty young, so the vet doesn't think it's arthritis. The vet also doesn't think it's hip dysplasia, because it's normally found in bigger dogs. However, cavs are prone to this, right?

So, what do you guy think?

1. I've read about arthritis and hip dysplasia online, and while limping is a symptom of both, that's really the only sympton that he has, and he doesn't have it very often. Wouldn't the limping be all the time? Or wouldn't he have problems running and jumping and playing around?

2. Is is possible that there's nothing really wrong with him? Maybe he just gets a little stiff when he wakes up. After all, this is only an issue for about 10 seconds X 2 or 3 times a day.

3. What do you guys think about glucosamine?


Thank you so much be putting up with my questions. Hopefully you guys can shed some light on this.


Thanks!
-Carter
 
I adopted a 3.5 YO in January and he has the same issue as you are describing, limp upon waking or getting up from resting for about 5 steps and then it's fine. I also think he walks funny, like with a rolling gate on the back end. I think he may have hip displaysia. HD is common in larger dogs, but any dog can have it. Normally it doesn't show up until they're older though.
 
Sounds very like HD to me, my dog Holly was diagnosed with it about a month ago. She also shows no signs of pain and continues to jump up on furniture. Her limp is constant though and she is on pain meds.

You should get him x-rayed to investigate further.

Good luck:flwr:
 
So you think it could be HD, even though it's not constant? I always figured if it was something serious, he would limp more.

Will an x-ray show definitively whether it is HD or not?
 
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong here, but I *thought* I read that a dog needs to be x-rayed by the time they are something like 12 weeks old to confirm HD. After that, the bones grow and make it difficult to confirm?
 
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong here, but I *thought* I read that a dog needs to be x-rayed by the time they are something like 12 weeks old to confirm HD. After that, the bones grow and make it difficult to confirm?

Holly is almost four and her HD was confirmed by x-ray however it was very obvious from her x-ray that she had HD as her whole socket/acetabulum is almost worn away. As far as I know x-ray of the hips and spine and general examination of the dogs gait are the ways in which vets daignose HD.
 
After reading that article, I really doubt that it's HD in my dog.

- He shows no pain at all.
-No altered gait, except for the 10 or so seconds that he is limping when he gets up.
-He doesn't resist movements that require full extension of the leg.

Even considering these points, would any of you still think that it's HD? Maybe it's just the early onset of HD, so he doesn't have all the symptoms yet?
 
sorry to hear about jackson.

i have no advice to offer, im not sure on HD at all, but one of our dogs Thor has pretty much similar symptoms, but in addition he also sometimes out of the blue his front paw almost collapses, he has fell flat on his face or just stumbled with this.

after many many tests & x rays for a variety of things in his first 12 months we are still non the wiser - he started as a young pup with this, he is still on occasion doing this. our vet has said it could possibly be neurological. Thor was also put on Rimadol & that seemed to ease it, but it always comes back. we decided not to put him through any more tests as like Jackson he is not in pain with it.
 
Hi

Harley has h/d, the only way to know is to get the leg xrayed, cavaliers are as prone to it as much as bigger dogs, they just dont make a fuss.
Harley has glucomine, chrondrotin, and lipped mussel supplements, dont ask me if they make a difference i cant say they do, and also 10mg of rimadyl a day also keep they as light as possible, harley had to go on a weight reduction programme and seems a lot better since. If i can help further pm me if you want. Is he insured xrays are about £100 di
 
I know this is probably a long shot but have you looked into luxating Patella? I'm a complete novice when it comes to Cavs as Izzie is my first but she's had some limping in her back leg and it sounds pretty similar to Jacksons condition. I took her to the vet and he says its her knees... Just a thought?
 
sorry to hear about jackson.

i have no advice to offer, im not sure on HD at all, but one of our dogs Thor has pretty much similar symptoms, but in addition he also sometimes out of the blue his front paw almost collapses, he has fell flat on his face or just stumbled with this.

after many many tests & x rays for a variety of things in his first 12 months we are still non the wiser - he started as a young pup with this, he is still on occasion doing this. our vet has said it could possibly be neurological. Thor was also put on Rimadol & that seemed to ease it, but it always comes back. we decided not to put him through any more tests as like Jackson he is not in pain with it.

Have you continued with the painkiller?

I don't like saying this, and obviously all other possible causes need to be investigated first, but limping when getting up is something that two of my SM dogs will do on occasions.
Stumbling can also be a syringomyelia sign as it suggests there is a degree of weakness in the leg.

I know it may be hard to accept, but if your dog is limping and stumbling there must be some pain and weakness for it to happen. Sound, healthy, dogs do not do that.
Our cavaliers can be very brave little dogs. They can sometimes be living with considerable discomfort that they cannot tell you about.
 
I agree with Margaret on this as a possible SM symptom.
I wonder is he feeling a tingling sensation, like we would experience pins and needles, this could cause a limp/weakness when he gets up. This sensation is also believed to be what some dogs with SM feel, for instance when they air scratch. My little ruby, Bosco, often experiences this discomfort, but he is very stoic and never complains
 
I know Thor is an akita so probably not SM unless he had a trauma injury early on. :)

If he was a cavalier or other susceptible breed I'd have checked for SM too with recurrent limping an leg weakness.
 
Sorry, didn't realise that he was not a cavalier.

I do believe that there is always a reason for odd symptoms, and they do signify some degree of discomfort, even if no reason is easily identified.

I use to wonder why one of my little japanese chins would keep slightly shifting on one back leg when I showed him. Eventually it occurred to me it was similar to what I do when standing still, it is a way of relieving painful joints.

I asked my vet to check Benny's back legs. X-rays showed he has HD, a very unusual finding in such a small breed.
 
I think there is a bit of confusion here, the initial post is about Jackson, a cavalier who has unexplained limping, with additional input about Thor, an akita.:winkct:
 
My dtr's dog, not a Cav but a low-rider mix, often would limp a bit when she first walked after sleeping. When ortho vet examined her he said her patella was slipping.
 
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