# Maya is limping, and I am worried



## Maya's Mom (Apr 13, 2009)

My husband and I just went away for an overnight to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We left Maya with some friends who live on a large property, are an active family, and have 3 kids (ages 8-14). We left Maya with them at noon yesterday (Friday) and just picked her up at 8:00 tonight. She was limping when we picked her up. :no: This was the first time we have left her overnight, and I was nervous enough to write 4 pages of single-spaced directions for her care, so I don't know how I will ever be able to leave her again! :doh:I have inspected her feet and don't see any damage to her pads or anything like a thorn or splinter in a foot. The family said she started limping this afternoon. She has never done this before and I am worried. Maya is 15 months old. I am wondering if she may have gotten more exercise than she is used to and maybe sprained something. She is used to running off leash in the woods with us on walks for 3-4 miles. Usually she rests for a significant part of the day. Even if we go for a hike, she will exercise and then rest. She isn't used to living with so many people around. Usually she is just with my husband and me. The woman who cared for her this weekend said every time Maya lay down, someone would get up and then she would get up to follow them. They also had a party at their house this afternoon with lots of teenagers over, so there was a lot of action at the house. Could this cause a limp? It is a fairly severe limp. She doesn't seem to respond much to pressure at any point on her leg, and she is generally less stoic than some goldens. We have some tramadol left over from her spay surgery a month ago. Should we give her some? At this point my plan is to wait until Monday to bring her to vet so I don't have to pay ER vet prices, but is that a bad idea? I was thinking I would really rest her tomorrow, then take her in Monday. Should I be icing her leg? It's hard to tell exactly where the injury is, or if it's even an injury. What are the likely causes of her limp? She is usually an energetic puppy who loves to run and leap, so it is sad to see her limping.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

I would not give her pain meds. I would let her use the pain to stay off of it for a few days. This is very common. She probably slipped on a slick floor or on wet grass or something while playing. I probably wouldn't even give it a second thought unless she was still limping in a week or so. She will be okay!


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

Maybe I missed it-was it a front or a back leg? How bad is the limping-using the leg pretty normally when walking, but limping; kinda/sorta using the leg; toe-touching (not really putting weight on the leg but putting it down); or holding the leg up most/all of the time?

Most likely the exercise was different for her. But with a little more info, I think I can be of more help.


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## Maya's Mom (Apr 13, 2009)

IowaGold - Thanks so much for your response! Here is some more info. I am pretty sure it is a front leg. She is limping less this morning, although she is still not walking normally. The family she was with said that she limped when she walked, but they couldn't see a limp when she ran. They said she still wanted to chase the tennis ball and play, so they figured it couldn't be too bad. I know my pup is ball-obsessed enough that that may not be true! I have not let her run since we picked her up b/c I didn't want to let her hurt herself more, so I can't verify that there is no limp when she runs. Last night it was an extremely noticeable limp, and she walking very jerkily but she was never holding her paw up all the way. It was very clear she was limping, but not bad enough that my inexperienced eyes could easily pick out which leg it was. So she was definitely using the leg to do more than toe touching. My best guess is that it is her left paw. She was sitting on my lap for the car ride and when her weight shifted to her front left paw, she readjusted herself a couple times. While trying to figure out which paw it was, we asked her to shake on both sides. At first it seemed like she was only giving her left paw, so we thought it must be too hard to bear weight on that paw, but then my husband moved a little further to her right and asked her again, and she shook with her right paw. She didn't look like she was in pain either when she was sitting and shaking with her left or right paw. So she can bear some weight. It got worse yesterday when she jumped out of the car before my husband could grab her. I think the pressure of landing hard on her front paws set her back. We did find out that she jumped into this family's pool when only the children were home. She had never been in a swimming pool before. I wonder if she had a hard time getting out of the pool and maybe hurt herself that way. I don't know if it could be at all related, but she also had a rash of small pink spots on her belly last night. It definitely wasn't the characteristic bulls-eye rash of lyme disease, but the combination of the rash and limp made me think about Lyme. We are in a very high lyme area. I would have thought that if it were something like lyme or ED that it would have come on more gradually though. My husband thought it was probably skin irritation from the clorine, so we wiped her belly with baby wipes. The rash is mostly gone this morning. Maya is also probably more tired than I have ever seen her. She has seemed exhausted since she has been home. She doesn't seem at all lethargic though. She has many moments of playful puppyness. She didn't flinch at all from an exam of all four legs and paws. She stretched out a lot on our bed last night and didn't seem to have any discomfort from stretching (we picked her up to put her up on the bed, and then lifted her down after cuddling so we could crate her overnight). In terms of helpful background info, she is very lean and weighs 60 pounds. Our vet thinks she could stand to gain a few pounds, but another vet in the practice thinks she is the perfect weight, and I agree. I would rather have her a few pounds too light than too heavy. You can't see ribs except the last one where you can see her rib cage ends, but you can feel all ribs. As a puppy, we had her on the Hovan slow growth program, and she grew within a half pound of those guidelines up to 20 weeks when the program ends. We have always kept her lean. She has never had any limping incidents before. 
Thanks so much for your help!


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## Katie and Paddy's Mum (Mar 31, 2010)

To me, and I am not an expert - but I am an experienced mum of a very active, accident prone Golden girl. 
To me, it sounds like she has strained something. Maybe a slight sprain or pulled muscle. If anything were broken, she would definitely not be able to put any weight on the affected leg. The fact that the limp is not as bad this morning definitely seems like a good sign to me.
If I were you, given this, I would feel comfortable enough waiting to take her to the vet tomorrow so as not to incur the emergency vet fees. Over the next few days to at least a week, I would limit her walks to leash only for potty breaks and then inside to rest. Usually within 5 days if it is only a strain she will get back to normal.

I too would pass on the Tramadol, unless she seems to be in a lot of pain (lots of pacing, unwillingness to settle). I know, from past experience that the Tramadol masks the pain and when I went to the vet they were unable to get a clear read on the full extent of the limp because she was not exhibiting a natural state.

Have you noticed any swelling in the affect leg? If you have, you might try a safe NSAID (not tylenol!) and a warm compress (not for too long).

In my mind here though, you seem to be dealing with an over-use injury. Just keep her as calm as possible for the next few days and I truly believe she will be back to herself by the end of the week.


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## Maya's Mom (Apr 13, 2009)

AquaClara and Kattie and Paddy's Mum,
Thanks so much for the reassurance. It really makes me feel better that you both think she'll be fine with some rest. I was reading through lots of limping threads last night and worrying about lots of issues- from bone cancer to lyme disease to luxating patella to elbow displasia to a torn ACL to pano. So I am relieved to see that you both think it is a sprain or strain. 

My husband talked to the man in the family she was staying with today. He said he asked his son about what happened when Maya got in the pool. It sounds like she jumped in the pool and had a hard time getting out. The boy had to show her where the stairs were. (She had never been in a pool before.) So my best guess is that she tried to get up on the side of the pool where there was nothing to grip and she slipped and hurt her leg/paw. We are really resting her today and will see how she is doing tomorrow. If her limp continues to improve we probably won't go to the vet right away (unless someone here thinks that is a bad idea). But if she is still limping a lot tomorrow we will take her in and get her checked out. 
Thanks so much for the reassurance. Maya is my baby and I tend to worry quite a bit when something's not right. It was so pathetic to see how bad she was limping last night.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I would give her some rest and in a couple of days then if she is still limping then take her to the vet. It sounds like she may have strained something. Giving her rest is the best meds right now. It may be hard if she starts feeling better but better safe than sorry. My Bama is a ball aholic and he strained his leg when he was around 15 months and was laid up for 10 days and you think I beat him up. He was so down. But recovered just fine.


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## SweetSoul (Apr 27, 2010)

Poor girl and poor you! I am so sorry you had to come home to an injured baby. I have no advice but will send healing prayers her way. Please keep us updated on how she is doing.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

Well, if it's a front leg, we can safely rule out luxating patella and torn cruciate! I doubt it's pano since it seems to be just one leg and has only been present a short time. Can't rule out ED, but it's pretty unlikely if this is her episode. She's using it, so it's unlikely that it's broken or anything terribly bad with a joint. She did most likely strain/sprain it. Keep her quiet for the next few days. If it lasts more than 2-3 days, I'd probably take her into the vet to get an NSAID. If she's painful enough to need tramadol, she is painful enough to go into the vet! I really think she should be fine with a little rest and time.


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## Maya's Mom (Apr 13, 2009)

Thanks for the advice. She is definitely still limping, but it is not as bad as it was last night. She has had a very quiet day today. I put her in a down/stay every time she started to leave the living room, and she got the point pretty fast. We crated her for part of the day, but mostly she was just lying around in the living room with me. She is lying next to me chewing a knuckle bone now. She slept all morning and is seeming less tired and ready to play now. She doesn't seem to be in pain, although I have seen her licking at her left front paw a few times, so that may be a sign of pain. I think it may be harder to keep her quiet tomorrow, but that seems like a good sign. I will keep watching her and if it continues to seem better tomorrow, I'll give her another day. If it seems the same, I will call the vet and see if they think I should bring her in. Thanks for the advice and reassurance.


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