This morning my dog went out for a bathroom break, ran around, barked, et cetera, and ate his breakfast just fine. Later this morning he is severely limping on his front right paw with no apparent cause. We looked for the obvious things - a cut paw, blood, trouble manipulating the leg, but found nothing. He does not yelp or seem to be in pain when you handle his leg and move it around, he just refuses to bear weight on it and walks quite stiffly with a pronounced limp. We are taking him to the vet later this morning. In the meantime, any suggestions as to what this might be?
He is a 3 1/2 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and he is slightly overweight, but not spectacularly so
We had this happen to our dog when she was in her first year. IIRC, our vet said it’s due to uneven growth in the various limbs. So, as each limb grows more or less quickly than the others, the pain may alternate between the various limbs. In our dog, it came and went about twice in different legs, and then it went away permanently.
It could be anything really. Chances are good it’s a sprain or strain from landing on it wrong or twisting it while running around but there are more serious possibilities so you just have to wait and see what the vet says. Even if just a muscle injury you can get some meds to help him feel better.
My dog did something a few nights ago and was limping the next day. And I’m a vet tech and I work at a vet’s office but I didn’t take her in for a check. She probably has some arthritis in her shoulder and she limps off an on, especially when it’s cold or she’s been laying on the hard floor. She has been overweight but she’s been on a diet and lost about 10 pounds, but she’s a stocky pit bull type dog with a lot of muscle and weight on her front end. I heard her barking at something and then she limped a little when she came in and has limped off an on since then. It’s also been cold so I am pretty sure in her case it’s her arthritis and she has some Rimadyl for that. But if her limping had been constant (she still tries to chase the cats and the limp disappears then) or she were crying in pain I’d have taken her in for a check up.
Well, the vet seems to agree with you, Wile E - just a strained or sprained muscle from sleeping or getting up and down off the couch (he lives a hard life, you can see). He was given some anti-inflammatories to help him walk more normally.
Thanks for the replies.
We found that our dog, a basset hound, tended to limp when her dewclaws or other nails were too long. I think she must have been snagging them or hitting them hard on the floor. Once we started cutting them as short as possible, the mysterious limping of different limbs went away within a day or two, but she’d still limp immediately after cutting.
Although it may not be likely, it is sometimes possible for the dewclaw to get caught in the tag rings on the collar. If you are not there to help the dog it may panic and yank its foot causing a sprain. The problem can be minimized or avoided by keeping the dewclaws trimmed.
(longtime owner of overly energetic/clutzy dogs checking in) I’ll agree with the notion that it is likely just a sprain somewhere in the leg, although two of our dogs have torn acl’s at one time or another and presented a similar problem. X-rays, if deemed necessary by the vet, will help you diagnose the problem. Hopefully its just a strain - our ACL repairs cost about $1100 each! Interestingly, one was done w a cadaver ligament while the second was done with 80 lb. text fishing line.
I don’t know where you live but up in the snowy regions dogs sometimes get salt from roads or sidewalks on a minor cut in their paw that can be quite painful. I don’t know if it can be washed off or anything.