Sorry this is a bit long!

I have 21 month old male Dobermann who weighs 42kg. For the last 3 or so days he has been limping on and off on his left hind leg. Upon waking in the morning the limp is there only very very slightly. Following our morning routine (walk, breakfast, training, play etc) he'll then nap.

Upon waking after this sleep, he'll stand with no problem but he'll be holding his left leg high up into the air and will walk like that for about a minute. As he hops around he'll gradually be lowering the leg to the ground, and will then walk/run around completely normal. He makes no vocal noises of being in pain but it does look bad to see.

A bit later we have a late afternoon/early evening walk and the same thing will happen again. Sometimes he'll only have been laying down for 30 seconds whilst I take my coat off after we get back and the limp will be just as bad as if he's been laying down for an hour and a half.

This same thing happened maybe 3 weeks ago in the same leg. I cut down a lot of the off lead time he has on the second walk and he had seemed to improve. I've kept this the same so am unsure why it's happened again.

We've also had this in the past with his left front leg (exactly same symptoms) on and off, the first time being when he was about 5 months old (that first time it happened he had tripped over his own legs when running and roly-polyed down the garden though). He's had his legs checked at the vets and they can't feel anything wrong, everything is moving properly and he shows no pain. Up and about he moves normally when walking and running (except once when the limp has started during running) and our ringcraft trainer has not noticed any abnormal movement.

I keep coming across things about hip dysplasia and am worried. He did charge around a lot as a youngster and now I'm wondering if we have caused something. We got him really focused on toys, chasing balls etc to tire him out (as well as short training sessions) as the biting was almost intolerable (we've had 2 dobermanns before but he has been an entirely different story!). It has always been difficult to find ways to occupy him. If he's awake then he wants to be up and about doing something. He suffers from colitis so we've been very limited when it comes to kongs, bones, anything edible that might take him some time to get through really.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what this limping might be?

Hi Zarah,

I would take him to the vet.  Alot of males go through growing pains at aroung 5 months but to have a 21 month old limping on his hind leg I honestly dont know and am not qualified to to advise.  It could be a number of things but the best bet is your vet.  Sorry.

Maybe someone with more experience can help?  He may have a sprain but who knows.  If you see your vet do let us know what his diagnosis is?

My initial concern would be hips but again I am not very experieneced in this.  Did you get hip scores from the parent/s.  Who bred your dobe, PM me or you can check hip scores on the KC website. You should contact them just incase and let them know but I am sure this is in your contract. 

I know how you feel.  I have four Dobes and it is hard to stop them tearing about and jumping on and off furniture.   I have a 5 month old bitch at present nand she is trying :-).  I am sure it is nothing you have done but contact your vet for piece of mind.  Could be something minor.

I have PMd you.

Hi totally agree with the other reply, i would not walk your dobe until you;ve been the vet give him complete rest, if he has injured himself he will need time to recover.  I would take him to the vets.  good luck, regards Susan

Many thanks for the replies.

Made a visit to the vet Monday morning and our boy has injured a tendon in his hock. I had noticed some swelling develop over the weekend and the vet also said that there is fluid build up and that it is hot to the touch. She isn't sure whether it is actually torn or just pulled/sprained but before further investigation through xrays we are under strict instruction to walk him for 10 min, lead walks only and to keep him as calm as possible. Nightmare for a dog who is usually up and about nearly all day, and for us who now have a dog bursting with excess energy after only one day

He is also being dosed up on several homeopathic remedies and a chondrotin sulphate supplement (not sure I've spelt that right!).

Many thanks again. We are back at the vets again next Monday for a progress report. Will keep you updated :)

Hi Zarah,
I wondered how your Dobe is doing with his tendon? My year-old collie hurt her tendon (the "sheath", the vet said) in January, and couldn't walk at all and was in agony for about a week; it's not so painful now, but it still isn't right. Any idea how long these things take to heal? The vet sold me a tube of Feldene Gel (20 quid!) to rub on it, but it is still swollen on the point of the hock.
Thanks,
Barbara

Tendons are very slow to heal - be patient, but if you have any worries talk to the vet again. :)

Hells teeth, you can buy Feldene Gel(or something very similar) for around £5 to £10 at the Chemist!!!!

Hi Barbara,

Sorry for the delaying in replying. My Dobe seems to be ok now tendon wise. We built him back up on the lead for about 7 weeks I think it was (only 10 minute walks for the first 3 weeks, and then gradually getting longer and longer), and then built him back up in the same way once he was allowed off lead. It seemed to work, and he only showed signs of being in pain (limping) once, right near the beginning when he went nuts circling the coffee table! We were given rimadyl but I spoke to our homeopathic vet and decided to use natural remedies instead.

Is your Collie still showing signs of pain, or is it just the lump that's still there? My boy still has a lump on the hock, but the vet said that she thinks he may well always have that as there's probably some scar tissue from where the tendon has repaired. 4 months seems a very long time to not have much improvement though - what does your vet think?

Unfortunately my boy is back on restricted exercise, although fortunately it's unrelated to the previous injury - this time he's pulled a muscle chasing a rabbit!

Hope your girl gets better soon :)

Thanks Zarah,
And sorry your boy has injured himself again! My Foxy has only been off-lead in the garden since her accident, but if she scampers around too much, her hock gets hot and she holds the leg up. The vet said the lump is fluid around the joint - he sent a sample away to be analysed and there's no infection, and the x-rays didn't show anything. I've just started her on Glucosamine, but if that doesn't help, then I'll take her back to the vet for a check-up.  What remedies did your homeopathic vet suggest? And did they help, do you think?
Best wishes,
Barbara

Hi Barbara,

The homeopathic remedy was a 4-in-1 tablet consisting of 30c Arnica, Rhus Tox, Ruta, and Hypericam. You can buy each of them separately, although you may have to order online from somewhere like Ainsworths as I think Boots/Holland and Barrett only do the well known ones. I can't say for sure whether they helped, but I don't see why they wouldn't have as homeopathic stuff has definitely helped me in the past. He did make a good recovery, and it wouldn't do any harm to give them a go. We also gave a Chondrotin supplement (probably similar to what you're giving). Fluid was going to be taken from the lump at our follow up appointment with the regular vet, which I think was about 3-4 weeks after the 1st appointment but the swelling had improved slightly so they didn't go ahead with that in the end.

I did keep him on the lead even in the garden though. We have a garden bench and I'd have a sit down for 10 mins with him on an extension lead several times a day so he could at least have a little wander and sniff around. I know it's a nightmare having to restrict them so much - my boy would be quite happy to charge around non-stop all day, I'm sure a year old Collie isn't much different :D

Let me know how Foxy gets on :)