# Limping?



## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

I have a 115 lb. malamute that limps on the front right shoulder occasionally. It's on and off really. One minute he'll be fine, and the next he'll start limping. Not a lot though, it doesn't even seem to bother him. He still runs like nothing's wrong. I do give him Synovi G3 Equine for his joints. I'll also give him buffered Aspirin sometimes when he needs it. This stuff is great because it always eliminates the limping! Any ideas on what could be causing this?

He has been x-rayed and nothing was found. Maybe it's a ligament or something?


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

It's pretty difficult to say. I would think a ligament would eventually get well. Here is a web page to check out ... Causes of Limping in dogs, cats and ferrets


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

RawFedDogs said:


> It's pretty difficult to say. I would think a ligament would eventually get well. Here is a web page to check out ... Causes of Limping in dogs, cats and ferrets


His limp is barely noticeable. I'm leaning more towards Shoulder OCD. He does have the symptoms. When I extend his right shoulder back, (just to see if it bothers him) he resists a little and pulls it back. His left shoulder is fine. I know that there is a chance he could have it in both. He did have rapid growth spurts as a puppy. I didn't know back then that it was a HUGE no no. :frown:


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## g00dgirl (Nov 18, 2009)

How old is he now?


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

g00dgirl said:


> How old is he now?


He's 4 years and 3 months...


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

But the weird thing is that he's not limping anymore. He hasn't for about 3 weeks now. I was thinking if he did have shoulder OCD, he would always limp...


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Sounds to me like soft tissue injury. If your dog limps for awhile, off and on, and then it goes away in a few weeks....classic soft tissue injury. I would be careful with him for awhile, because the chance of him re-injuring himself is high. Keep him rested with limited exercise for a few weeks. Most people see their dog not limping anymore and go right back to normal activity, and then see them limping again. Just take it easy and give him time to heal what ever it was that was injured.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

danemama08 said:


> Sounds to me like soft tissue injury. If your dog limps for awhile, off and on, and then it goes away in a few weeks....classic soft tissue injury. I would be careful with him for awhile, because the chance of him re-injuring himself is high. Keep him rested with limited exercise for a few weeks. Most people see their dog not limping anymore and go right back to normal activity, and then see them limping again. Just take it easy and give him time to heal what ever it was that was injured.


A while back, I did give him a break. About 2-3 months no walks, running or jumping. The vet gave him Adequan shots. After his break, I decided to begin with short walks and then slowly build up. He started limping shortly after I increased his exercise. I don't know if 2-3 months was enough rest. He's not limping now, and has been running and jumping like nothing is wrong. He still acts like a puppy and I just want to let him have fun!! Poor guy...:frown:

Do his rapid growth spurts as a puppy have anything to do with this...?


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

My chocolate lab use to lift one of her legs and then limp she's 4 years and 8 months old. She has a bit of arthritis in her hip joint. She's on tramodol and I give her from sams club glucosimine chondrotin with msm. I also give her fish oil tabs from sams too! so this combination is working for her. She's doing very good now . She also was overweight and has dropped from 88 lbs down to appx. 72 I have though not wieghed her lately (this is on my long list of things to do haha) but anyway with the weight loss and the pills she is on she's doing great! She's very energetic wow really energetic now haha!
Sometimes when they pull a muscle they will have a tendency to be sore from jumping or just a normal run around. May have even run into something since all seems good! I always massage my dogs leg which you could for the shoulder too. Also my dogs swim in the summer or gee we start in the spring and this is a great exercise wonderful for them, which of course I know now its hard for this but something to think of in the spring!
But the massages are really nice for them and probably from what you say its a pulled muscle! Hope he's better! I know how sad it can be when they give you those eyes and are trying to tell you something hurts! Good Luck!


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

wags said:


> My chocolate lab use to lift one of her legs and then limp she's 4 years and 8 months old. She has a bit of arthritis in her hip joint. She's on tramodol and I give her from sams club glucosimine chondrotin with msm. I also give her fish oil tabs from sams too! so this combination is working for her. She's doing very good now . She also was overweight and has dropped from 88 lbs down to appx. 72 I have though not wieghed her lately (this is on my long list of things to do haha) but anyway with the weight loss and the pills she is on she's doing great! She's very energetic wow really energetic now haha!
> Sometimes when they pull a muscle they will have a tendency to be sore from jumping or just a normal run around. May have even run into something since all seems good! I always massage my dogs leg which you could for the shoulder too. Also my dogs swim in the summer or gee we start in the spring and this is a great exercise wonderful for them, which of course I know now its hard for this but something to think of in the spring!
> But the massages are really nice for them and probably from what you say its a pulled muscle! Hope he's better! I know how sad it can be when they give you those eyes and are trying to tell you something hurts! Good Luck!


Thanks! I give Aspen Synovi G3 Equine for his joints. He gets fish oil with his dinner and that also helps for the joints. Yes, bringing your dog down a few lbs. makes it soooo much easier on their bones. Aspen was 140 lbs. and now he's 115 lbs. He lost this weight probably within a year. Less food and more exercise. I also massage his shoulder. He really likes it and usually falls asleep. I know swimming is great for them, but like some nordic breeds, he doesn't take to well to the water. He has been x-rayed for the hips, and he was cleared of HD. Both of the shoulders showed up fine on the x-ray too. I don't think tissue damage would have shown up on the x-ray...would it?


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

These two articles are a must read for you. I think you will get alot of information from them!



Sprains and strains in cats and dogs -- WebVet

Shoulder Injuries in Dogs | eHow.com

Hope these help!


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

wags said:


> These two articles are a must read for you. I think you will get alot of information from them!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, they did help! I think he might have hurt himself when he was at 140 lbs...

Maybe now that I brought him down, he'll get better...


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

My big boy Chow that I lost last year did the exact same thing with the occasional limping. He was an 80 pound massive body Chow and grew very quickly. The first thing I always checked when he limped was his front foot. He had very deep front feet pads and would get little acorns and rocks up inside his paws, so deep that you wouldn't feel it at first unless you stuck you finger up in between his pads up to your first joint at least. Then you'd feel a little hard object up there and once you dug it out, he'd stop limping. If I didn't check him every few days it would fester and really cause him problems. He wasn't crazy about me doing it but once I got the object out he was a lot happier.

He also would limp because of the shoulder issue when he was younger but it went away when he got closer to 4 years. Of course at that time he tore both knee ligaments so that was the end of the shoulder worries. He was a very straight legged chow and his knees went out on him really young.

Be sure to check way down between his pads. Some of the arctic dogs have really deep front feet and can really get stuff wedged up in there. I use those doggie wipes they sell to clean out between Rocky's pads after a walk. Chelsy has so much hair between her pads that I'll find rocks and burrs inside her pads with hair grown around them but it doesn't seem to bother her much.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

chowder said:


> My big boy Chow that I lost last year did the exact same thing with the occasional limping. He was an 80 pound massive body Chow and grew very quickly. The first thing I always checked when he limped was his front foot. He had very deep front feet pads and would get little acorns and rocks up inside his paws, so deep that you wouldn't feel it at first unless you stuck you finger up in between his pads up to your first joint at least. Then you'd feel a little hard object up there and once you dug it out, he'd stop limping. If I didn't check him every few days it would fester and really cause him problems. He wasn't crazy about me doing it but once I got the object out he was a lot happier.
> 
> He also would limp because of the shoulder issue when he was younger but it went away when he got closer to 4 years. Of course at that time he tore both knee ligaments so that was the end of the shoulder worries. He was a very straight legged chow and his knees went out on him really young.
> 
> Be sure to check way down between his pads. Some of the arctic dogs have really deep front feet and can really get stuff wedged up in there. I use those doggie wipes they sell to clean out between Rocky's pads after a walk. Chelsy has so much hair between her pads that I'll find rocks and burrs inside her pads with hair grown around them but it doesn't seem to bother her much.


So sorry to hear about your chow...

Every few days or so, I check Aspen's pads. He's got a ton of fur, especially in the front ones. Actually, when he first started limping, his pads were the first thing I checked...

Yeah, that's a problem with straight legged dogs. When they jump and land, it's very easy for their knees to go out...


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