Hi everyone,
I am the proud (paranoid) dog mom of a 7 year old rottie/lab mix (Siena) who is the love of my life.
Siena has always been and continues to be a happy, active dog.
In the last year, however, he has had two incidences of limping. Both occurred after jumping. Once, he tried to clear five steps and didn't quite make it to the top, the other time he was being watched by someone else and was playing frisbee. After the frisbee incident we took him to the vet who simply told us to limit his jumping and he has been fine since.
In the last week or so, however, I am starting to notice some "stiffness" when he goes from laying down to standing up. He will get up quickly onto his front paws into a sit position and then he will sloooooooooooowly stand up on his hind legs. This occurs mostly in the evening and it's not every time he goes to stand up. Just sometimes.
When he was limping before and when we took him to the vet we were always thinking about his knees, but now that he's slow to stand sometimes I am becoming concerned about his hips.
He doesn't "bunnyhop", he does sit sideways but he has done that since he was a puppy and I was told at the time it was because of his docked tail.
He has been taking Cosequin DS for almost 2 years as a preventative measure per our vet's advice.
Does anyone have any input on this? Advice on what to watch out for? Suggestions for supplements in addition to the Cosequin to help keep him comfortable as he ages?
I know that I should get him xray'd if this continues, but any other advice or opinions any of you have for me would be appreciated. Thank you!