Any advice please folks, we have a 6 month old golden he recently started to limp on left leg, took it easy on exercise,other day went to see vet for him to have a look at, as was a bit concerned, he is stiff after rest but after exercise he is fine, vet has put him on a weeks course of Metacam, he does seem to be improving, I was worried that it could be OCD starting but vet said that OCD usually gets worse after exercise,and put it down to a muscle strain but said if he dosent improve an xray may be required to just check out the joint.

He has been on Metacam for 4 days now, and only limps now & again, he does put all his weight on it, and when we were out this morning he was happily walking on it.Vet suggested for him to try and keep him quiet! a 6 month old not easy!!....

Any advice greatfully received.

Hi ,
my nans goldie had similar problems at this age too and after a few tests unfortunatley it ended up to be a ruptured crucia ligament, he went under an operation and then ruptured the other leg a few weeks later so went under a second operation, it cost a few hundred too! he is now 3 years old and is back to his normal happy self,
anyway hopefully your dog will be better soon, wishing you luck!
regards
madstaffys

Front or back leg...?

<started to limp on left leg, took it easy on exercise,>

How much are you exercising him? At 6 months old he shouldn't be getting that much anyway - just short gentle walks to encourage good lead behaviour and socialisation. If you're doing more than this then that could be contributing to the problem. Goldies are an exhuberant breed but try playing mental challenge games with him - they will help tire him out.

Pam n the boys

Its the front left leg, and we are giving him lead exercise of 20 mins in the morning, and round the block for 15 mins or so in the evening. We have kongs for him and play hide & seek games with small treats hidden for him to find them, his dad is a worker, and he does have a brain, so we try and stimulate him as often as poss, doing small training sessions.
He was not as bad this morning I have to admit, and it is difficult trying to keep him from over doing things.
Any suggestions on mind stimulation will be greatfully received.

If it's the front leg, it certainly won't be a slipping patella, anyway! Hopefully it's just a slight muscle strain (you know how these dogs charge around and corner too tightly), or maybe even 'growing pains' which are a nuisance but not too serious. With any leg injury, keep the level of exercise down - no running around, and try to stick to walking (as opposed to trotting) on the lead.
:)

Thanks Jeangenie,
He has I have just found out dug a 2ft hole at the bottom the garden! so I am keeping everything crossed that it is not too serious, he is also in the "Kevin " period, and the lead walking is driving him nuts, I can tell that he is wanting to go off and have a good run, but no I am going to be firm with him!!!

If his leg isn't so sore that he can still dig a large hole like that....I shouldn't think it's anything too bad!
:)

I hope so... maybe I'm just a over anxious Mum!! we will know more on Wednesday when Mr Vet takes another look at him.But I know that you can never be too cautious on these things.