Need advice about limping 18 month old male puppy, please

[iluvrotts]

My 18 month old male rottweiler has suddenly developed a limp over the past two days. He is an extremely active dog who plays all day long. I am really worried that it is hip dysplasia and I cannot take him to the vet until after the weekend because our vet is away for the holiday. I did talk to our vet yesterday, and she didn't seem to think I should bring him in, just watch him for a few days. There is an emergency clinic, but I'm not sure if it is an emergency or not. If he is no better by tomorrow, I will probably take him to the emergency clinic because I am so worried. He is not crying, he is still playing (but not as much), but he doesn't have his usual energy levels and he is spending more time sleeping and resting. At first I thought that he may have an illness and be "achy", but he isn't vomiting, doesn't have diarhea, fever, and is eating and going potty normally. You know, I have that gut feeling that "something isn't right"; he just seems "off" to me.

He did have something similiar happen at 6 months, a little limp, but it went away and I assumed it had been pano.

Both of his parents had good hips (one OFA Good and the other OFA excellent) and we haven't had his xrays done yet because we were waiting until he was 24 months old. I thought that if both parents were good in the hips, the chances were extremely small of an offspring having HD. I know I'm jumping to conclusions as he hasn't been xrays, but I'm so upset thinking that he may have it.

Also, my husband took him out for an extra long walk the day before he was limping (about an hour and 15 minutes), so I'm wondering if he overdid the walk. This happened very suddenly, there were no symptoms prior. I am wondering if HD is a sudden thing, or are there warning signs. I have two rottweilers, a 6 year old female, and this 18 month old male, and I am very close with both dogs. I am a stay at home mom so I am with these dogs all day long and I would have noticed any prior symptoms.

I am so worried about my boy. I would appreciate any advice.

[spidey]

Which leg is he limping on? It's more likely to be a pulled muscle or an attack of pano than HD. Don't panic! Cage rest and supervised on-leash exercise for a few days should fix him right up if it's a pulled muscle or pano. HD doesn't often show up overnight.

[Carina43]

Sounds more like a pulled muscle to me too. Keep him off of it as much as you can, the more he's on it, the more it will be aggravated. Cooper pulled a muscle last summer, and after having him x-rayed from every possible angle to rule out joint problems, he went on total crate rest for two weeks and that gave him time to heal up.

[austin]

Easier said than done, but my advice is don't worry. I occasionally take my dog to day care, and she plays so hard she gets sore and achy and it takes her a few days to get back to normal. It sounds like maybe he just played too hard, overdid his walk or pulled a muscle.

If he gets worse take him to the vet, but I'm betting he'll get back to normal soon.