Hind leg problems. I'm worried :(

We had a day trip at the lake today. My Corgi (Newman) had a blast swimming and walking around exploring. When we got home, I noticed when he got out of the car, he was limping a little bit in his hind legs. I checked legs to see if anything had bitten him. They looked fine. He took a nap, but when it was time to go outside to potty, he couldn't get up. He struggled to get up several times. It seemed like his hind legs were giving out on him. When he walkes, he limps a little as well. I am going to make an appointment with the vet Monday. I really don't know what to expect and am very worried about my Newman. Has anyone had problems with their Corgi's hind legs like this? Can anyone give me advice about what to expect from the vet visit? Please help!

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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on June 26, 2011 at 12:17am

IVDD (Intervertebral Disc Disease) might be a possibility. It's sudden onset, I think. Google that, or call the vet if they're available weekends; I know nothing about it but I think prompt relief of the inflammation can be helpful in that case. Ask the vet if there's anything harmless you can do before Monday on the presumption that it is IVDD -- maybe anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen?
I think there are IVDD threads here.
Just a wild guess, of course.

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Permalink Reply by Cyndy Glasscock on June 26, 2011 at 12:25am

Our first corgi, Buddy had a sudden lameness years ago that turned out to be a damaged ACL. The only way to conclusively diagnose accost tissue vs . Bone injury is through X-rays. I would strongly advice chains giving your dig any over the counter meds unless instructed by your vet. A dogs GI system is sensitive and you could accidentally do more harm than good. If you haven't called a local after- hours vet for guidance you may want to do that. Your own vet may also work in partnership with other vets locally to take turns with attracting calls.

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Permalink Reply by Cyndy Glasscock on June 26, 2011 at 12:27am

Not "attracting" - meant after hours :-) I love my iPhone and it's ability to type what it thought I really meant .

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Permalink Reply by Cyndy Glasscock on June 26, 2011 at 12:28am

And I would strongly advise against giving any human OTC meds, such as ibuprofen without consulting a vet first.

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Permalink Reply by steve smith on June 26, 2011 at 5:18am

NO IBUPROFEN without consulting a vet...it can be fatal. Even in low dosage. Cyndy is right.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on June 26, 2011 at 2:15pm

yes, NEVER give Ibuprofen or Tylenol or anything other than buffered baby aspirin to a dog. YOU WILL KILL IT if you do. Its not a matter of it can be fatal, it WILL be fatal. It will cause irreversible organ damage and no matter how much treatment you do you may not be able to save your dog. I am pushing the doom and gloom scenario here because working at a vet I have seen several young healthy dogs die because of owners who gave human anti-inflammatory drugs to their dogs who had some soreness or pain. I hate seeing it, I hate treating it, and I hate watching the dog and the family suffer.

(stepping down from my soap box now)

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on June 26, 2011 at 4:09am

How old is he? If he isn't used to a lot of exercise he may just be stiff and sore. Franklin had some soft tissue damage a few months back from over exerting himself. He had a day of REALLY hard play and actually couldn't even put weight on his right hind leg. Every once in a while he will still favor the right leg but I've had a full set of x-rays done and he's been seen by 2 vets and all say he is totally fine. So in this case, I wouldn't rush him to the vet on an emergency basis. I'd just take him for a short walk tomorrow to loosen him up and keep him calm for a day or two and see how he does.

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Permalink Reply by steve smith on June 26, 2011 at 4:24pm

If he still needs pain meds I would have rimadyl handy. Hope that he is doing better now. Keep us updated.

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Permalink Reply by Vee Luther on June 28, 2011 at 3:58pm

My vet tells me to give a limping corgi (30 lbs) one buffered baby aspirin, per day for 3 days and see if the limp goes away. This has happened to one of my dogs several times and has resolved in 3 -4 days so I've assumed it's a sprain or strain on soft tissue. First time, we did xrays and found no problems.