One of my dogs (Akita) has been noticeably tripping up on her front legs and has now started to limp very slightly on one of her legs. 

First off I put in down to her being so nosy!  She is a keen hunter and even walking down the road she won't look where she is going...instead she watches birds, cats, bits of paper etc, this has caused her to fall off the kerb, walk into cars so I wasn't too concerned until the limp started.

She is booked into the vets this afternoon for a good check over but I wondered if anyone else's dog has ever been known to trip up while out on walks or any reasons why this may happen???

Lucy

My Mastiff trips up quite a bit, he just doesn't pick his front paws up enough so will often trip on a curb or clump of grass. He had ED so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it, but when we get to a curb if I say 'step' he'll look down and pick his feet up to step up/down the curb without tripping, if I don't say 'step' he often trips on it - too busy nosing around to watch where he's walking :(

Sounds like my girl!  When we cross roads she quite often trips up on the other side instead of picking her feet up. 

I guess i'm concerned because its become alot more obvious now, and has actually made me think about it.  She's 3 1/2 now so not something she's always done which is also a worry.  Sometimes she actually hurts herself and will stand still with her foot in the air....not that she's a drama queen or anything lol!

> Sometimes she actually hurts herself and will stand still with her foot in the air....not that she's a drama queen or anything lol!

Ah, bless her.

> She's 3 1/2 now so not something she's always done which is also a worry.

Defiantely a good idea to get her checked out by the vet then. My mastiff has been clumsy from day 1 and is much better now than what he used to be, he's only 15months old so hopefully he'll learn to always pick his feet up. It's not nice when they trip over, it's such a worry that they'll land akwardly and do some damage to thier wrists (or thier face as Buster has landed strait on that a couple of times!!)

Will have to ask my friend but I know of someones dog who does this and it was actually a neurological problem not noticed by her original owner/breeder.  Can't remember what the problem was called though.

That would be interesting to know abit about Perrodeagua.

I have spoken with a few Akita owners and it seems to be quite a common thing with them so I might try her on a homeopathic remedy for a few days before rushing her off to the vets.  I've also noticed, even though I do cut her nails quite often that they have got quite long recently so that may be having an effect.

Hope it turns out to be nothing of any great concern.

However, talking about nosy you made me laugh. I am still grieving a really beloved dog that I lost to cancer nearly three months ago but this thread made me remember that she would be so nosy looking up peoples paths to see if there was a cat that she could bark at that she used to walk into the gatepost. Thanks for the memory.

Well on closer examination she does get abit grumpy when I feel around her toes so that might be where the limping is coming from.  I will be keeping a very close eye on her though.

Alison...i'm glad it brought back some good memories of your dog.  They do make you laugh at times, Loki my Akita has walked into lamp posts before...never looking where she is going!

I was going to ask if her Nails needed trimming? Maybe they are catching as she is walking, only one way to find out, get those dreaded nail clippers out!

PB

I've always kept her nails short because it became a habit from showing her, however due to her being out of coat she's had time off this year so I think I may have got abit lax at cutting those nails, so yes, they may be the culprit.
I've started cutting them back and will do it gradually so fingers crossed I get them back to normal!

Thanks everyone.