About a month ago Luke started limping on a back leg on a Thursday or Friday afternoon. It didn't seem like an emergency so we decided to keep him on limited activity for the weekend and see if he improved. Well by Monday he was MUCH better, barely limping at all, and within a week he seemed totally fine so we assumed it was just a pulled muscle or a strain. Well now this past weekend he's started favoring that leg again. He's not really actively limping on it but he struggles to put weight on it when he first gets up. Then last night he started limping on a front leg too. Argh! 

 

The next available appointment isn't until tomorrow and I can't stand the waiting. I'm so afraid he has a torn ACL or something like that. We took him to his beginner agility class after he seemed to be healed up and I will feel absolutely awful if there was something wrong this whole time. :(  He never showed any sign of a limp during the class but I know dogs can hide pain well. Ugh. I don't know where I'm going with this post but I just feel so terrible for my little guy. :(

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Feel better Luke!!!   Poor guy, I know what you mean about feeling awful, when they just don't feel right.  Hopefully it wont be what you are thinking it is.  I know waiting is hard when you want an answer right now, I don't blame you.  Hang in there.  Keep us posted.   Hugs
Thanks Natalie. I really hope it isn't something serious but I'm not trying to get my hopes up too high. If he does need surgery he will get it, but the thought of having him confined for months just kills me. :(  He's normally such a happy active guy. Maybe we will luck out and it will just be something not too serious like pano...
So sorry to hear that Jane, take it easy Luke and get well soon!
Thanks Sam!
doesn't really sound like an ACL tear. Usually with a tear they are completely unable to bear weight on the leg and when they do you can see the knee wiggle in a really gross way! How old is he? Could it be growing pains since its gone from back to front? Franklin had a soft tissue injury and after a full set of hip/knee x-rays with sedation the vet didn't find anything. It took almost 2 months for it to get completely better (for him not to favor his left hind leg) and even still when he plays really hard he will limp a bit on that leg. If it was a torn ACL he wouldn't have been able to go through an agility class with no limp so hopefully its not that!

Thanks Melissa, I'm hoping it's not that either! It seemed to get better so quickly the first time it happened that I thought there was no way it could be a tear. Honestly one of the main things that made me not take him in is that he would stand on the favored leg and lift his other to pee! Obviously he was capable of bearing full weight on it so I figured it couldn't be too serious. The fact that it's still bothering him really worries me though. He just turned a year so it could be growing pains too.

 

Did you keep Franklin's activity limited when you say it took 2 months to heal?

I limited his activity in the sense that I took fetch out of our daily exercise routine. Instead we just went on longer walks, but he was still allowed off leash, I just tried to reduce the sudden stop/quick turn activities like fetch and playing with other dogs. We  also cut swimming out because he is a jumper, he likes to run halfway out and then JUMP as far as he can from the shore/bottom lol.
Sparty had a partial tear of the Cruciate Ligament. Limiting activity and pain management helped and it has been years since then and you would really never know now. However, we did have to give up some of his favorite things such as long distance fetch and herding soccer balls.We switched to tossing the ball to him so he could catch it. While on the pain meds you really have to be careful not to let them overdo activities because they are not feeling pain. Good luck at the vet, it is so tough to have them hurt because they don't really understand why but be strong!
Hopefully it won't be anything major. Wynn has had a few bouts of this in his life with nothing major but just overdoing it...Good luck on your vet visit.
Gretzky had a recurring limp on his rear right leg, and I took him to an osteopath who said it originated from tightness in his shoulders.  After just one adjustment his limp disappeared and I've had him adjusted about every 6 weeks since and he never limps after sprinting or long hikes. 
Sidney and I hope Luke feels better soon and that the vet says it's an easy fix. He came up lame a year ago and needed surgery for hip dysplasia...but he's all better now!
Back from the vet, it's not his ACL, thank god! She did a lyme test, a full physical on all his legs and had me gait him outside up and down the driveway and she couldn't find anything wrong. She said he had no signs of elbow or hip dysplasia, and his knees were fine when she did the drawer test to check for ACL damage. She didn't even think an xray was worth my money at this point so we are doing a week of anti-inflammatories and 3-4 weeks of limited activity (no jumping, sprinting, etc). Hopefully that heals it up! If not then we'll proceed with the xrays. Thank you everyone for the well wishes!

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