Question for dog owners

Mrs.Forger

Our pup has had an on-and-off limp for a couple weeks. It first started after DH had her at the park one day, lingered for a day or two, then went away. We decided to keep her from running for a week, and she got better. But it comes back pretty much every time she runs around a bit.

We've figured out that it's her front right leg, and we're pretty sure it's muscular. We've felt up and down the whole leg, bent all the toes and joints, checked her nails - nothing seems to hurt her. But if she runs around outside and comes back in and lays down for a while, when she gets up, she really hobbles.

We've already made a vet appointment for her and cancelled, because she seemed better. But I think maybe we should take her anyway. I need to hear a vet say that it's only a muscular strain or something like that - because if it's something worse and we're neglecting it, I'd feel awful. Do you think this is the rigt decision, or should we hold off a little longer? Is it worth taking her if the the vet can't tell anything because she has no limp at the time?

Anyone have any other ideas of what it could be? In case it matters, she's a lab-mix; possibly has some husky and border collie in her.

Plus, I feel so bad keeping her cooped up. This dog's LIFE is running - she just loves to run and run hard. We usually take her to the park 2-3 times a week, and we haven't taken her in over 2 weeks now. As soon as we get her outside she just runs around our little yard in circles, poor thing.

TIA!

Temp53431437508241

Weird as it sounds, it could be Lyme Disease. Has she been running a fever or acting lethargic? That's how we found that Roxy had it. It's worth testing. Lyme is almost a given around here, unfortunately. They'll do a blood test, and if she has it they'll treat with antibiotics. Even if it's not Lyme, it's worth getting checked out.

Lucknow

Not to scare you, but I've been reading about Lyme disease for the past few days since we found some ticks on our dogs, but one of the signs is limping...I think it happens in more than one leg though, so I would assume your pup probably just pulled a muscle or something....I would definitely call your vet about it though.

msg

I would take to the vet. I agree with the pps, it could be lyme and it's a quick bloodtest to find out. Even if it is just a sprain, the vet will have some great anti-inflammatories to make your pup feel better.

Mrs.Forger

Oh, duh - how could I not have thought of Lymes? My aunt's dog has it and limps often. We'll have to get her checked, thanks guys.

Aim - our dog's name is Roxy, too.