Gator is limping

[Merlincorgi]

Woke up this morning and Gator is very obviously limping... almost not even putting down his front right leg. I can't think of anything that he might have done yesterday evening or during the night that he could have hurt himself on. I'll ask hubby when he wakes up though to see if maybe Gator did something odd after I went to bed. Right now I have him in the crate to rest (without being disturbed by Justin) and I gave him one of the rimadyl I had on hand. It hasn't had any effect yet though.... if he isn't showing improvement by the time hubby is awake I think we'll be going to the vet today! Not great timing as the movers are coming today to pack us up. I'll keep you all updated as we know more....

[ZdogZ]

Oh, no, Cheryl! Poor Gator. Keeping fingers crossed that it will be nothing serious! Give him some love from us.

[MrsGrace]

OH Cheryl... I am so sorry! :( Keep us updated please!!

[bunnybutts]

paws crossed that Gator will be fine without Vet visit

[corgimom]

So sorry to hear that Cheryl and why do these things seem to happen on days like this. I hope it is nothing serious and you can get on with moving to your new place. Keep us posted please.

[Dillydoodle]

awww poor Gator. Sending healing vibes to Gator in hopes he wont need a vet visit. Could he have just pulled a muscle? Did you check his paw pads? could he have a small piece of wire or glass in there? or a cut? poor little guy... hope he gets better quick.

[Fluffypants]

Poor Gator! Get well soon little man! :(

[CorgiMum]

Poor little pupper, hope he will be ok fast. Guess you already checked his paw for a stone etc, and checked that he doesn't have a cramp in his hamstring?

And you are moving. (((()))))

[Merlincorgi]

*sigh*

He's a little faker. Not really, but the vet said he couldn't feel anything really wrong. I'll keep giving him the rimadyl as long as he is limping and try to keep him quieter. If he's not improving in a day or so I'll take him back in and we'll discuss x-rays, but the vet said he didn't think that was neccessary this time. This is the second time he has done something similar, with different legs. He's still favoring that leg a touch now, but not as drastically as he was this morning. I bet he'll be fine in time for Sunday's corgi picnic.... but I'll be taking our crate along anyhow for quiet times. I'm begining to think he just gets "growing pains" sometimes...

[CorgiMum]

I'm begining to think he just gets "growing pains" sometimes...

That certainly could be the reason for him limping on different legs.

[dcole]

Hope Gator's better soon!

[darci]

so glad the vet didnt think it was anything serious.
Gator you be a good boy and rest that leg up.

[taflar]

He's still favoring that leg a touch now, but not as drastically as he was this morning. I bet he'll be fine in time for Sunday's corgi picnic.... but I'll be taking our crate along anyhow for quiet times. I'm begining to think he just gets "growing pains" sometimes...

Has he done this before? What do you feed him?

If this is a reoccuring thing have your vet consider Panosteitis. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1561&articleid=466
And yes, corgis can get it.

Peggy

[taflar]

Another thought, usually if a dog is limping and you want them to stay quiet it's best not to give a pain reliever. If they're in a bit of pain they're more likely to be less active.

What I'd do is put the dog on crate rest, they stay in the crate and they go out on leash for potty breaks. Then if I think they need something for pain I go with asprin.

JMO.
Peggy

[sutulu]

Lulu was diagnosed with Panosteitis when she was at 6 months old. Her Vet put her on Rymadel for about 3 weeks. She said if it was still bothering her at the end, she would renew the prescription. We didn't continue after the first round.

I asked about crate rest and she told me no. Let her go at her own pace and when she is tired she will check herself out of the action. We cut back on the longer walks but other than that is was business as usual.

You would never know anything was wrong today. I had thought about starting her in Agility but will put it off for a few months.

[Merlincorgi]

Thank you for all the well wishes and the article. To answer the questions first... he is eating Nature's Recipie (the fish one... sorry, can't think of the full title). This has happened before... but last time he was rough housing with Checkers and let out a yelp (I didn't see what happened because I had stepped in another room).... so that one wasn't sudden onset without cause neccesarily. This time he just kinda woke up limping... and we couldn't think of anything he might have done the previous evening to cause it. He is already doing much better. I haven't given him anything else medication wise since this morning (I think it all got packed in the caos!), but his limp is much better now (barely still there). I am letting him wander around the house as he pleases as long as he doesn't try to play with Checkers or frap. He seems to do better when he's been walking around, as opposed to when he has been laying down so that is working well for us. I will definitely keep the article in mind though and if it happens again I may ask the vet to go ahead and look into it just to be sure. Although, it sounds like even if he does have it the treatment is the same as what I am doing already so not sure it would be worth all the x-ray and exam costs..... we'll cross that bridge if we get to it I guess.

[taflar]

I asked about crate rest and she told me no. Let her go at her own pace and when she is tired she will check herself out of the action. We cut back on the longer walks but other than that is was business as usual.

That's find AFTER a diagnosis, but when you don't know why your dog is limping it's better to err on the side of caution and use crate rest.

Peggy

[taflar]

Thank you for all the well wishes and the article. To answer the questions first... he is eating Nature's Recipie (the fish one... sorry, can't think of the full title).

Is it puppy formula or adult food? If it's puppy formula I would suggest you switch him to an adult food as soon as possible.

This has happened before...

If it happens again, mention pano to your vet and have him check for that.


Peggy

[Dillydoodle]

Dillon was about 7 months old when we noticed an occasional limp, and then at 8 months it was more often he would limp- after two misdiagnoses and about $850 btween office visits, specialists, xrays and such his leg "fixed" itself and later i found out what he had was more than likely pano... so it happens and from what i was told by Gus's previous owner, he had that too. Dillon doesn't limp anymore even with a lot of strenious exercise.

[sutulu]

When I started noticing it w/ Lulu, she seemed to limp only when she was tired. It wasn't constant and truly, she would favor one leg then the other.

It would happen in the evenings but the next morning she would be fine.

On a Monday she had been at day care playing all day, I picked her and Tuck up and took them to Obedience Class. Tucker's class started at 6:00 so she would hang out in the car for 30 minutes then I would take Tucker out of his class at 6:30, switch dogs, and run Lulu upstairs to her Obedience Class.

She started walking and right away I thought she was limping. The instructor noticed it too but noticed she would favor first the right then the left.

First thing the next morning I was on the phone with the Vet.

Our wonderful Vet got her in right away and after checking her out told me she wanted to first test for Lyme Disease (I had found 2 imbedded ticks inspite of Frontline and Sentinel earlier in the fall) and if that was negative take X rays and check for Pano.

The Vet showed me the X rays and I could actually see where there was like a soft spot in her right front leg.

Apparently Pano is more common w/ larger dogs.

Susan

[ChloeLouise]

Hope Gator is no longer limping and that he is up to his frisky self again! Chloe sends her best, as do I!
~Margo

[taflar]

Apparently Pano is more common w/ larger dogs.

Yes, it is, which is why the "large breed puppy foods" have come on the market. They have lower protein than the regular puppy foods.

And remember corgis are not small dogs, they are medium sized dogs with short legs.

Peggy