Hi there. I have a 5 month chocolate male labrador who is fit and health and very active (boystrous!!) However, occasionally, (weekly) he has developed a limp in his left leg. Whan he gets up he sticks his left leg out and hobbles across the floor. He is in no pain and when he goes out for exercise it dissapears!! Ive had him to the vet who can see no wrong unless x-rayed. Before I do so, has anyone got any suggestions on what may be the cause?? Like I explained earlier, he is in no pain and this only happens for a week on 2 weeks off for eg. Yes we do a lot of walking as he loves it, I appreciate the fact that I may have walked him too far too soon. Any feedback is much appreciated. Karan

Panosteitis (I think that's spelt right) can affect young dogs, and they grow out of it over time with minimal medical intervention, click the search button above and type it in, there have been some previous threads on it.
OCD is a more serious condition that can happen in Labs at this sort of age, there are probably previous threads on that too.
If the problem keeps recurring you will need to have Xrays, I rarely let my dog have a GA though and ask for them to be sedated instead

All the best

Hayley

Thanks for that, I'll look it up. Maybe I walk him too far. He goes out for 45 mins in the morning. An hour, just over in the evening and on weekens 2 hours on Sat and an hour on sunday. I feel that maybe I am to blame as Im walking him too far too soon. What do you think??

I'm not sure but that is prob too much for a 5 month old, but there are some Lab people on here that may know for sure, his growth plates still have a long way to go yet, what sort of exercise does he get, offl or on lead? Little and often is far more important at this age with lots of little bits of obedience training thrown in
I don't think you can cause Pano or OCD but you can probably make them worse by over exercising, have you spoken to your breeder, to see how the other pups in the litter are and to get his/her advice, some problems can be hereditary

All the best, Hayley

He is always off the lead. He is a chunky pup and very tall. Whan I say "limp" its more of a hobble, not just when he wakes up (although yes that is when it seems to be worse). He has it sticking out to the left and very straight. He loves his exercise so thats why he is off the lead and a lot of walks. He loves getting amongst it and bringing back all sorts of things!! Cheers, Karan

Hi karan,

it does sound like a lot of walking for a puppy.
Murphy is just four months old and has only 10mins of actual lead walking a day! Most if not all of the advice we were given is that they don't need to go for long walks until a year old although obviously they can have shorter walks before that. Murphy gets lots of time out in the garden - apparently they can 'run off bone' of exercised too much too quickly.

Hope he gets better soon.

TTFN

Ruth

Thanks for that, I think that is maybe what Ive done, I forget because he is such a chunky dog I tend to think of him as being older. Ive had him out today for a short leader walk and then off his leader later on and he seems fine. Although, no doubt he will be stiff tonight!! By the way, my puppy is also called Murphy!! Karan

Hi Karan,

You said "when he gets up he sticks his left leg out and hobbles across the floor". Could he just have a bit of a dead leg from lying on it awkwardly? How long is he hobbling for, just a few minutes?

On the subject of exercise, I would think that sounds OK for a 12 months plus labrador, after being built up gradually, so it is probably too much for a 5 month old. Try replacing some of the physical exercise with mental exercise around the house/garden - obedience exercises, searching for toys, learning new tricks. Hope this helps a bit.

Monty's Mum :)

When he first gets up he hobbles for quite a while then it just develops into all day stiffness, just when he walks though. It dissapears when he is out running. Like I said before, he may have the stiffness for a week then no sign for a week then back on again. He has no pain though.

HI Karen

It is a bit too much excercise for him at five months. I have a six monthold Lab bitch MB who is due to go for Xrays next week. Was today but has eaten some stolen french stick so have had to postpone it ! We have been keeping her off excercise now for a week but no improvemnet. The symptoms you decribe sounds very much like MB but I can see she is in discomfort when it is really bad.

I am going to get it checked out and would say I would do the same if I were you. Better to be safe than sorry. I presumed you have him insured ? This should cobver the costs of any treatment etc.

Question for people then. Can they do Xrays for thsi typoe of thing under sedation rather than GA ? My vet wants to do a GA. Never had one of my lot Xrayed before in fifteen years !

Lucy

I always try to insist on sedation where possible, it puts the dog 'out of it' and then they can be brought around with a simple injection. Some vets will, some won't but I can't see the point of a dog having a GA unless completely necessary. However a lot of vets don't like doing it, I'm not sure why?

Good luck with your dogs, let us know how you get on

Hayley

Hi Karen
Just thinking how your lab is doing.Did he have his xrays.Hope all is well
Best wishes linda

Hi Linda. Murphy (5 month Lab) is going for elbow and shoulder x rays on Monday. Ive left him as long as possible thinking it could be growing pains or just lamed himself but he is no better. Thankfully in no pain and can still run like a whippett!!! Will let you know how he gets on. Karan

Puzzled you say he is in no pain, in fact seem to rule pain out altogether. You may be correct but dogs don't usualy limp if they are not in pain. I asume that his leg is not deformed and that the joints are not swollen nor the bones broken, if this is so I would expect the dog to be in pain of some sort or he would not be limping.

He obviously is Jackie but dogs are pretty stoic creatures and take things which would stop us. Unfortunately my bet would be on OCD exacerbated by over exercise. Were he mine he would be on complete rest. He is not going to lose the limp whilst using the leg.

John

Yes I agree with the complete rest although it can be very difficult to keep them calm when they have so much pent up energy ! I have found spending a lot of time training with MB to keep her mind active and occupied has helped but even so !. MB went for her Xrays on Tuesday and nothing was found. her shoulders and elbows were both looked at.

She is still limping and is still on metacam. Our vets wants to see how it goes over the next couple of weeks and has said if there is still no improvement then she will have to go to a specialist. Again she isn't welping in pain but you can see she is in discomfort.:(

Lucy

I agree Lucy, it is hard to maintain complete rest. Murphy doesnt appear to be in discomfort or i would have reacted sooner, he obviously is but he seems oblivious to it. He has no swollen joints, no crying out or any loss of movement, just stiffness.

Regards

Karan

John, I hope not but you may be right. Because Murphy is such a tall stirdy Lab pupp we tend to forget that he is just that, a pupp. So from the age that he appreciated walks we have maybe taken him a little too far. Mind you, he doesnt help himself as he his so boystrous, he jumps around in the house and if he sees water and he knows we tell him not to go in, he seems to do it all the more and runs around it then in he goes!! He is very fit and lively apart from this annoying stiffness. Anyway, I will let everyone know how he gets on tomorrow (Monday)

Regards Karan

Jackie, I assure you he is not in any pain, I couldnt stand it if he were, I love him!! Like I have said in my past posts, he doesnt limp as such he appears "stiff". Its his left front leg and he only sticks it out when he gets off the floor. When he gets up he walks and runs fine. He just appears to "bob up and down" when he walks. First time that he went to the vet she could not see anything wrong with his front leg joints and believe me she pulled them and twisted them as hard as she could!! We go tomorrow for shoulder and elbow xrays. He doesnt click or anything its just the stiffness looks so pityfull.

Regards
Karan

Please don't assume Murphy isn't feeling any pain, my Dylan would have carried on as normal, including agility with 2'6" jumps if I had let him, but he was diagnosed with cartilage loss and osteoarthritis (he always limps a little) so there must be an element of pain - the specialist likened it at one point to the day after starting a new exercise routine, err on the side of caution until you (hopefully) get some results, it took 4 months until Dylan got a decent diagnosis after visiting the specialist twice because he ever showed pain at the Vets, regardless of what position they put his leg in! He got a note on his file to say well behaved and patient, bless him! Luckily he was older and he is a naturally calm dog - despite being 50% Lab :) - so that made it all easier.

Honey however, had Pano when she was about 8 months - lasted about 3 months - and she was more stiff than limping, and had episodes rather than continuous lameness, definitely worse after exercise, between OCD and Pano, that is the one I would prefer to hear.

Again, good luck for tomorrow, I'll keep my fingers crossed for Murphy. Hayley

Hello Karan
Hope all goes well on Monday.Look forward to your post.
Linda

Hi Karan

Good luck to Murphy for Monday. Let us know how you get on ....

Hayley

Hello everyone!!!! Karan here. My news on Murphy, my 5 month limping Lab!! Went to the vet today and had a 920am appointment he wasnt ready until 550pm can you believe it thats service for you!! Anyway, the vet took xrays of his elbows and shoulders and confirmed that he THINKS he can see a slight abnormality in his left elbow joint, ie a piece of cartlige or something so the xrays have been sent off to a joint specialist so we still dont know what is wrong. Murphy has been given 50mg of Rimadyl one tablet twice daily for the pain. He is in no pain but like people have said, Murphy cant talk!! Anyway the vet also said to invest in some Glucosamide and maybe Chondroitin, even though when I asked a different vet in the same practise about the items in question she advised against them!! So I am going to order some off the net now and just wait for the specialist report. Murphy is fine, just a little tired so he is asleep in front of the fire now!! Thanks for everyones concern

Regards

Karan

Watch him very carefully on Rimadyl. Some dogs develop quite an adverse reaction to it. Not all I might add so you may be ok. (Do a search on here for more info)

It is a pain killer and that worries me because dogs then, feeling no pain try to do too much and can do more harm than good.

The pieces of cartlidge are called Mice and can disperse on their own as with my Kate or can need an operation.

Regards, John

Thanks for that John. I will look it up now.

Karan

Thanks for that John. I will look it up now. I have looked up on Rimadyl and the results are shocking. Murphy has only 20 tablets but only being 5 months old I do not wish to chance it. I am going to contact the vet tomorrow and express my concerns.

Karan

I stress Karan, most do not suffer effects so be carefull not to throw the baby out with the bath water. For my part, with Kate, I used PLT which helped her. In fact she got so use to the white tablets doing her good that I subsituted little pieces of white Choc Drops and her limp would go! Theres nothing like the power of suggestion!

Regards, John

Hi Karan
I have said it many times on here before but I make no apologies for repeating myself. I have serious concerns about the use of Rimadyl. It's not just older dogs who have suffered and died because of this drug, many have been youngsters and have had bad reactions after taking only one or two tablets. Labs are particularly susceptible so please be very watchful if you decide to continue with it.

Personally I would not touch this drug under any circumstances.

Best of luck

Joyce

There is a food with glousimine (sp) added - supposed to be created by canadian scientists and very good - my boy loves it too!
Can find info here

Good luck!

Cleo

Hi Karan

Hope you get the all clear from the specialist.

I'd avoid the Rimadyl if possible and use Synflex instead. Its a liquid form of Glucosamine & Chondoroitin, with added herbal/mineral bits. I use it on my 6yr old Lab and others on this board have used it, all of us with good results. You can either buy it direct from http://www.activexamerica.com or on of the UK distributors (slightly cheaper from the states at present).

Because it is liquid its better utilised by the body than powder form. Taz only has to have 3 ml every other day to keep him bouncing and he has got seriously bad hips. I didn't realise he was in any pain until I had his hips scored. Got the shock of my life (well second, finding I was pregnant was the biggest!).