My 19 month Rottie dog has problems with a hind leg after a long walk followed by a long rest.After resting there follows a period where he will not put the affected leg down,then gradually the leg is brought back into use.
He is from a reputable/caring breeder and off hip scored parents.
He has been to the vets who x-rayed his hips and found nothing wrong,prescribing pain killer - which had no effect.
There does not seem to be any problem with his foot and he does not appear to be in pain- but perhaps some kind of numbness?
Also he generally has a reluctance to sit 'square'
Under normal circumstances he uses his legs independantly but does tend to crab slightly.
Any help gratefully received.
Thank-you

I'm not an expert on this, but were the x-rays looked at by an expert in scoring, or just by your vet?  I don't think all abnormalities can be see by somebody not experienced, and your description, especially with the reluctance to sit straight, would be worrying me :(

Rotties are very well known for suffering with Cruciate Ligament problems; they often tear and become very uncomfortable for the dog.  They don't always show signs of limping as its more uncomfortable than painful for them  They tend to lean to the other side and 'tip toe' with the bad foot. 

If you copy and paste this link there is some more info:

http://www.rottweilerwelfare.co.uk/Cruciate%20Ligament.htm

I would ask your vet to check this out and reffer you to a specialist ;)

Hope all is ok :)

Thanks for taking time to reply so quickly. I never cease to be amazed at the caring nature of genuine dog lovers.If only the rest of the world..............
However if the problem was Cruciate Ligament problems do you think it would be evident all the time?
For instance, yesterday we walked 5 mile. He was fine during the walk and after the short car ride back home.The problem came when he got off his bed hours later to go for his nightime toilet walk. I had a 3 legged dog for about 30 seconds- I mean tucked right up to his belly. Then today he's sitting square!! and trotting  independantly.
Just to clarify,this problem was first investigated by the vet when he was about 6 months old.(the dog not the vet!) He was refered to the 'bone specialist vet' (by the original vet) who although couldnt hip score at that age gave what I believe was a knowledgeable opinion ie good xray.

Hhhhmmm, I would have thought that if it was a cruciate prob he would be suffering quite a bit now however it can take its time to tear.  Its a tricky one because a bad hip would cause him to crab and would make him sit funny but so would a bad cruciate as it is the knee that is injured so any bending etc will be uncomfortable.  I would lay off the longer walks until you know what the problem is because if it is one or the other you will be doing more harm by taking him on long walks ;)

I would consider getting the hips scored as this is the most accurate way to tell if HD is present.  I know of people that have had to tell their vet that they suspect a cruciate problem as they are not always aware that a specific breed suffers therefore ask him to examine him for this too.  One way that you can tell is by standing him square as if you were showing him - if he brings the bad leg in (try pulling it out slightly) then I would say its a cruciate problem but would not be 100% certain. 

I think the best thing would be to go to a vet or a specialist (I know of a great referral vets that specialise in bone structure) to get further x-rays to be sure ;)  If it has been on going for a while you will want to sort it sooner rather than later.

Glad to be of assistance - be sure to stand up to your vet and get an explanation for why he is suffering with a poorly leg ;)

Sorry but you have described spot on the symptoms my lab had starting at the same age and it turned out he had hip dysplasia very badly.
I had also gone to a lot of trouble to get a dog from very good hipscored parents, grandparents etc and even from a repeat mating where the last litter now grown had also been hipscored with very good scores and no problems.  Thought I couldn't get safer than that.  The breeder was devastated as it was the first prob she had ever had.
But it just goes to show however careful you are it can be there.

Bev