Okay, so Cooper, who has never limped in his short life, all of a sudden limps after he goes on walks (medium to long length walks) and after running or playing at the dog park or in the back yard. It is a pretty nasty limp in his left leg. He just started doing this after we got him neutered and it's in the same leg that they did blood work on, I don't know if there is any correlation, but is there any chance the blood work could have damaged the muscles in his little leg? I just don't know, but I feel awful because I like to walk and exercise him with my Mini Aussie and lately his poor leg tires out way before my Aussie does, so as to not overwork Cooper, Zero (the Aussie) isn't getting the exercise he needs. I don't want to take him to the vet if it isn't necessary cause we have payed many many vet bills lately and are reluctant to pay another one for something minor. but, it has been 3 weeks and his limp is consistent, with any amount of exercise he develops it and it lasts all day. i feel so concerned for my boy, any suggestions?

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Ask the vet if there might be some soreness/discomfort related to the neutering.

Check the paw carefully (once I found a foxtail seed head buried between the toes so far it was utterly invisible.  See if he flinches when you inspect/massage the pads & toes. 

I would put him on restricted activity for 2 weeks or so and see if that helps anything. No running, jumping, quiet short walks only, on a leash for potty breaks etc. If that doesn't help at all then I would definitely take him to the vet.

Is it front left or back left? If it is the leg they did the bloodwork (which I am guessing if it is shaved, that it is the leg they put the catheter in, not pulled blood from) then there may be a TINY chance something happened when placing the catheter. Corgis have hard little veins to hit and are usually not the most cooperative dogs when trying to place a catheter so it is quite possible they hit a nerve or did some damage. I'd call the vet and ask them if there were any issues with catheter placement and have them ask the technicians who worked on him how he behaved. It is also possible he struggled a lot and may have just injured himself while they were trying to keep his leg still. He may have strained a muscle struggling so its important to ask the vet how he was while he was there and explain what symptoms you are seeing. As Jane said, he needs to be in strict rest for AT LEAST 2 weeks. If it is a muscle strain it won't get better if you continue to play with him. He will hate it, but unfortunately it is the only way to let the injury (if it is an injury) heal properly.

 

Another possibility (although not as likely) is that they didn't have the catheter properly in the vein, or didn't  use a catheter and just injected the medication right into the vein and the medication didn't go IV like it is supposed to but went outside the vein instead. Most induction anesthetics are made to go into the vein and if given a different route can cause damage and sloughing of the skin. Again, you would need to talk to the vet and the technicians who induced the anesthetic to know for sure what happened.

It is his front left and it is shaved. I am keeping him rested, but he is not happy about it. He wants to have all the fun his brother has, but if it is a strained muscle I don't want to make it any worse by having him exert it. I was thinking it would be hard to find veins in a corgis short little leg, but I called my vet and they said Cooper struggled a little but everything went smoothly for the most part. but, he definitely wasn't limping before he had his procedure. i checked the paw and he doesn't act in pain when I mess with it and as far as i can tell there is nothing lodged up there, but with all the fur between their toes it's hard to get a thorough search. Hopefully with some rest he will be back to normal. If not, I will definitely take him to see his doctor. Thanks for all the helpful advice!

I hope your fuzzy one is doing better by now! How's he feeling?

Gordon started doing the same thing one random day on a walk when he was about 1 year old and a couple x-rays later, the vet discovered he has a luxating patella in one of his hind legs. It really only flares up when he plays a TON and really hard for a long period of time, but after a small (and apparently tasty) anti-inflammatory pill, he's back to his normal walk.

Unfortunately Cooper still has his limp. It only shows up after a TON of exercise. It could be what you mentioned. If it is, it's very reassuring that it was so easily fixable.We are taking him to the vet in a few days to get it checked out. He just acts so happy and normal and when I touch the leg he shows no sign of pain, but the limp is a persistent one. my poor baby. I will let you know how his trip to the vet goes. Thank you everyone for your kind advice and concern! You have been so helpful!

That's what my vet thinks is wrong too! I have been keeping him indoors and leaving him with my husband when I take my Aussie on hikes and to the dog park. Needless to say he is very upset about it, he just sits and mopes whenever I am gone. I have been trying to take him on lots of car rides to make up for it. He loves them, he sticks his head out the window and lets his tongue flap around! I figured this could get him out of the house with little to no physical exertion. I still notice the limp every once in a while but most of the time you would never know. I still think he may need to take some kind of medication cause this has gone on just too long.  Starfox is so adorable by the way! How old is he?

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