Limping all of a sudden?

[eric827]

My rotty was fine on our walk last night and he was fine this morning. But this afternoon I noticed he was limping and he didn't look comfortable at all. He's not acting normal at all. He's 3 years old and always much more excited and playful when people come home, etc.

I have no idea what caused this to happen. He's not crying or anything (doesn't seem to be in pain), but he is definately trying to stay off of his back left leg and not walk around too much.

I am supposed to go out of town tonight until late Sunday night but now I am contemplating staying until tomorrow to possibly take him to an emergency vet or something since it will be Saturday and all the normal vets that I know of will be closed. There will be people in my house with him tomorrow but not until the evening, and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable leaving with him in this situation.

Also, he's never had any kind of problem like this before.

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.

[BullDaisymom]

Is there any swelling?? Is he favoring his leg alot as in keeping it off the ground or limping. Check paws for anything that maybe caught in between his toes etc. If there isn't anything there..I suggest you take him immeditialy to the vet. Something similar happened to my 1st rotty and it turned out to be bone cancer. (not saying that is your dogs problem,better to rule out)

[eric827]

There is no swelling. I'd say he's just trying to keep his back left leg off the ground so he doesn't have to use it.

I checked his paw earlier between each toe and everything seemed fine but then after posting this I noticed he was picking at his foot with his teeth. When he stopped, I checked again, this time more thoroughly and he got very aggitated, which now leads me to believe it's something with his toes. Though, I don't see anything there and he really doesn't like when I try to look.

I'm pretty sure it's just something with his paw now, though, I've never experienced anything like this before..

And it was just all of a sudden..like I said he was just fine on our walk last night.

Please let me know what you guys think I should do.

[BullDaisymom]

It's possible he has a small cut that you can't really see. Get a damp white cloth and wipe his pads and between his toes. If there is a small cut you may see some blood on the cloth. To them it would be like a paper cut to us. If you do see some blood...check his pads etc even more closely... any of my dogs cuts are usually close to the nails or by the soft part of the pads. If it is just a small cut there isn't alot you can do. Give a few days and he will be fine. If you find the cut and it looks like it needs a stitch..best take him to your vet. They will give you something also so he will leave it alone while it heals. I hope this helps.

[Anne]

If you are not certain the problem is with his paw it may well be ACL damage.

I would take him to the vet and have him do the drawer test on the dog.

[eric827]

Anne,

Could ACL damage just happen out of no where like that? Also, if it was a problem with the ACL, wouldn't he be in more pain? He definately looks uncomfortable but he's not acting like he's in a lot of pain.

I'm starting to think he just has something stuck up there, splinter or something.

I tried rubbing with a damp cotton swab between the toes and there was no blood.

Still not too sure about this.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

[Anne]

It can happen without your knowledge. My girl had a partially torn ligament and I have no idea how it happened. She was only about 16 months old and our trainer picked up that she had uneven weight distribution.

We saw our vet who referred us onto an ortho surgeon who agreed with the vets assessment on the drawer test and she had TPLO surgery.

Standing behind the dog I could pick up one hind leg (the bad one)off the floor very easily, she was putting very little weight on it. The other foot was firmly planted on the floor. Try that and see what happens. It may give you a good indication.

My dog did not limp and had our trainer not been so vigilant (thanks Mick) I probably would not have picked it up until it got much worse.

[BullDaisymom]

Best thing to do now is asap go to the vet. It may not be anything but a strained muscle which will heal in a day or 2.... x-rays now is best. It's better to get checked and be nothing then not checked and be something. Where you don't see anything outside ,it's probably inside. So on the side of caution...go to your vet.

[BostonRott]

Yes, ACL tears (called the CCL in dogs) can happen with just normal activity. Not weight bearing is a classic sign of a tear. Often, it seems to be more an injury of instability rather than one of great pain.

I agree with the others, a vet visit would be wise.

[jessicajcl]

I'd say get him an x-ray ASAP. I don't want to scare you but if you can't visibly see anything like a cut or something in his paw there could be something going on inside. Hopefully it's nothing but it's best to be certain. Especially since he's young, if there's anything wrong you'll want to catch it early.

[Mavides]

My bet would be on an ACL injury as well. :( Bad news is that it's a rather expensive surgery and a long time to heal - good news is that it's 100% fixable (most of the time). Here's hoping it's just a sore muscle...but I'd get him to the vet ASAP anyway!