5 month old pup with a limp

[graham91]

Hi everyone. I have a 5 month old douge de bordeaux that started limping about a week ago on his hind leg. Hes been to the vet and they said it could possibly be hod or growing pains. Hes on anti inflamitories and has stopped limping yesterday but now it looks like when he walks his hock goes in over and his knee comes out to the side. Hes happy in himself but its just the one effected leg. Could it be due to him having the limp and his bones still hurting or maybe tweaked something. Iam just getting more and more worried when even minor things happen to him. Thank you.

 

[RockstarDDB]

Hi everyone. I have a 5 month old douge de bordeaux that started limping about a week ago on his hind leg. Hes been to the vet and they said it could possibly be hod or growing pains. Hes on anti inflamitories and has stopped limping yesterday but now it looks like when he walks his hock goes in over and his knee comes out to the side. Hes happy in himself but its just the one effected leg. Could it be due to him having the limp and his bones still hurting or maybe tweaked something. Iam just getting more and more worried when even minor things happen to him. Thank you.

Do not panic just wait and see. puppies hurt themselves in the most ridiculous ways. you could have a ligament injury or possibly the dog is just walking funny to alievate pain on the joint. light exercise for DDB under the age of 13 months and limited play is always wise. Keep him in a kennel for a few days keep him off the joint. see what happens in 10 days. then bring him back tot he vet if the joint still does not look correct. i might suggest just going straight to a ortho specialist should it not heal.

 

[graham91]

Its trying to stop him getting excited when people come in but he plays with my other dog and is eating. Ive been keeping him in since he started limping but prior to that he was only exercised for 15 mins at a controlled walk. I was thinking about giving him glucosamine to help his joints but dont know how much to give him.

 

[DDSK]

Wise to keep them quiet and calm but not an easy task with a young dog.

 

[marke]

Its trying to stop him getting excited when people come in but he plays with my other dog and is eating. Ive been keeping him in since he started limping but prior to that he was only exercised for 15 mins at a controlled walk. I was thinking about giving him glucosamine to help his joints but dont know how much to give him.

i'd agree with the other posters , you have to stop him running and jumping for a short period of time , it can make a huge difference ........ he shouldn't be playing with your other dog , a crate would be a good investment , he needs to be outside by himself for awhile ......

 

[Ginurse]

I hate to be the one who posts a bad experience: My pup had an odd gait when we brought him home at 8 weeks (I now know that this is too young). His left hind leg winged out whenever he walked, kind of like a circle. He was too young for xrays. At four months, we were concerned enough to demand xrays, and found that his hip bone was completely out of the socket, and there was some calcification that suggested a birth or very young injury. My pup needs a hip replacement once he turns a year old.


I tell you this story, because I think it's important to go to your vet, and demand some studies. It could be a very simple injury, but I wouldn't want your pup to suffer if it is something serious.


Good luck to your pup. It hurts to think that something is wrong with your baby, but it's better to know what you are dealing with. Don't take "no" as an answer from your vet. You know something is wrong, and I think it's quite okay to seek some diagnostic information about a five month old with back limb issues.

 

[scorning]

Based on my research, HOD and pano have different causes and different treatments. HOD tends to be nutritional and require a diet change, while pano just happens for some giant dogs, and can be somewhat improved with supplements and rest. If the limp doesn't improve with rest, I would probably ask for an xray. However, I am a super worrier and have had dogs with pretty serious medical conditions where vets overlooked their original symptoms even when I was sure there was something wrong (Wobblers, Addison's, DCM), so I am more aggressive with treatment than others may be.

My Dane puppy has crooked toes on both feet, and the angle is symmetrical on both feet. I took the wait and see approach (along with modifying exercise and giving supplements recommended by the vet). When there was no improvement, we did xrays, which showed he had pano, but nothing out of the ordinary for his breed/age. Finn just may have ugly feet. While the xrays didn't show a problem, they gave me peace of mind that there was no underlying injury that caused his toes to turn out.

http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/guide_to_recognizing_bone_diseases.htm

 

[enzo_canecorso]

My boy had HOD. It was the most terrible thing I have ever gone though, mostly because nobody could figure out what was wrong with him until he literally could not stand up. I would suggest you just really watch him, Enzo had it in his front right leg and then it went away and all of a sudden it was all 4 legs at the same time. He ended up being hospitalized for a few days and then came home only to be sent back in for over a week. Nothing worked on him to alleviate his pain. A girl who had been through this with her Great Dane reached out to me and literally saved Enzos life. I would suggest switching him to a high quality adult food or an all life stages food and if he gets worse and they think it is HOD, have the vet put your pup on Prednisone. Enzo was a million times better the day after they put him on prednisone and within 2 days he was walking again.

But like others have said, dont panic, just be very observant with your puppy.

 

[graham91]

Thank you all for the replies. Hugo has improved greatly overnight with his leg. Im sure its been an injury which is now healing and hes just been cautious putting his leg down properly. If it returns hell be at the vets for xrays

 

[Ginurse]

Thank you all for the replies. Hugo has improved greatly overnight with his leg. Im sure its been an injury which is now healing and hes just been cautious putting his leg down properly. If it returns hell be at the vets for xrays 

Great news Graham91.

 

[graham91]

Hi everyone. Would like to say thank you to those who replied. Hugo has been on a nice light walk and his leg is back to normal. This little lad has me worried sick sometimes haha. that was him 3 weeks ago

 

[enzo_canecorso]

He's adorable! I am glad to hear that he is back to normal